"The return on investment is high, thanks to the way GFI products help us maintain staff productivity" - Olivier Fourquin, IT Manager at Euraltech, France

Euraltech, a French company offering global industrial solutions, uses a range of GFI products (GFI MailEssentials, GFI MailSecurity, GFI DownloadSecurity and GFI FAXmaker), to maintain a secure network environment and to save on cost and time. Olivier Fourquin, IT Manager at Euraltech, explains how and why.

Protecting the network with the GFI MailSecurity and GFI DownloadSecurity Suite
Euraltech strongly believes that email content security and download security products are a necessity against everyday threats to the network.

The company chose the GFI MailSecurity/DownloadSecurity* Suite to protect its network from possible malicious attacks. GFI DownloadSecurity for ISA Server controls files entering the network via FTP/HTTP and ensures that they are virus-free and not malicious, whereas GFI MailSecurity provides email content checking, exploit detection, anti-Trojan and anti-virus for Exchange and SMTP mail servers.

Through the multiple virus engines present in this suite, Euraltech found it could achieve the best possible protection via the leading anti-virus engines on the market, two of which are bundled with each product. Since every anti-virus engine has its own strengths and weaknesses, multiple virus engines complement each other to provide higher levels of security.

"The return on investment is high, thanks to the great savings made by not having to face the cost of repairing a site after it has been infected by a virus," announced Mr. Fourquin.

In addition, GFI DownloadSecurity integrates with Microsoft ISA Server and Active Directory, allowing the company to configure rights in terms of user rather than machine. Mr. Fourquin remarked that the firewall provides very good value for money and GFI DownloadSecurity adds further value by being a highly cost-effective plug-in.

Adding key email tools to a spam-free network with GFI MailEssentials
Euraltech also makes use of GFI MailEssentials for Exchange/SMTP, a server-based anti-spam solution that includes disclaimers, auto replies and mail archiving among its features. According to Mr. Fourquin, one of the benefits of installing the product is having an anti-spam solution that allows the company to sustain "a real professional aspect to email, with no abusive disruptions".

Euraltech is pleased with the GFI MailEssentials Bayesian filtering, header checking and keyword checking functions that can block spam originating from new or unknown spammers. Moreover, the company found that with GFI MailEssentials, blacklisting is easily managed internally and this is further complemented by using the product's DNS blacklist feature.

The Bayesian filter uses a mathematical approach to detect spam. This method is based on the emails received that Euraltech identifies as spam and the ham (legitimate mail) that Euraltech sends. Bayesian analysis is widely acknowledged by leading experts and publications to be the best way to catch spam.

Meanwhile, the server-based auto-replies feature in GFI MailEssentials allows Euraltech to handle users' changes of address with ease, whenever changes occur within the company.

The GFI MailEssentials mail monitoring feature enables administrators to keep a central store of the email communications of a particular person or department. Because one can configure the mail to be copied to an email address, all email can be stored in an Exchange or Outlook store, so that email or content can easily be looked up. Mr. Fourquin pointed out that this feature enables Euraltech to maintain a constant Internet communication speed, avoiding abuse.

GFI MailEssentials includes a utility that can download mail from POP3 mailboxes. It supports both single and multiple recipient POP3 accounts. For Mr. Fourquin, this facilitates the integration of new agencies that crop up due to external growth, without having to wait for the modification of the worldwide DNS.

"The GFI MailEssentials return on investment was apparent after less than a year, thanks to the way the product helped maintain staff productivity," said Mr. Fourquin.

Reducing working time and costs with GFI FAXmaker for Exchange
Euraltech also identified the need to invest in a fax server solution in order to lessen the costs and time wastage that were resulting from printing faxes and paper handling as required by traditional faxing methods.

"We were looking for a product that adapted to our needs and not only to our price range", said Mr. Fourquin. One requirement was that the product worked with Microsoft Exchange, Euraltrech's choice of mail server.

The company opted for GFI's native fax connector for Exchange, GFI FAXmaker for Exchange 10, for unlimited users. Mr. Fourquin found it to be the ideal solution owing to its seamless integration with Exchange Server within the domain, which eliminated the need to install any components on the client's machine. He is also pleased with the product's ability to simplify the process of routing faxes to the end-user.

"The advantages of having GFI FAXmaker are tangible and can be measured in terms of savings on the cost of printing and savings due to time management - especially thanks to the fast transmission of documents to the final recipient," observed Mr. Fourquin.

By using GFI products, Euraltech is guaranteed a safe network environment free from viruses, Trojans and other potential threats. Moreover they are able to increase efficiency while lowering costs.

Created in 1994, Euraltech is an international company headquartered in France that designs and supplies automated production systems for the automobile, aeronautics and steel industries.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

July 2004

* Note: GFI DownloadSecurity has since been replaced by GFI WebMonitor for ISA Server.