Network Engines, Inc.a leading appliance partner for Microsoft(R) security solutions, today announced that gourmet jelly bean maker, Jelly Belly, has streamlined its worldwide VPN access by migrating users from a Linux-based enterprise firewall to two NS Series Security Appliances. Immediately after deployment, Jelly Belly’s remote users saw exponential improvements in network access speeds, while the company’s network infrastructure team achieved a much more automated security management process through Network Engines’ unique update capabilities.

The NS Series is a family of integrated security appliances powered by Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004. Continuing difficulties with the VPN capabilities provided through Jelly Belly’s perimeter firewall prompted the company’s IT infrastructure team to evaluate the latest version of ISA Server 2004 and then consider various deployment options.

“Anyone in a Windows(R) environment would definitely benefit from NS Series appliances - anyone in a small IT staff - or even in a big IT staff that doesn’t want to spend a lot of time dealing with VPN issues,” said Nicholas Saechow, network manager for Jelly Belly Candy Company.

After deciding on the appliance route, the next step in Jelly Belly’s evaluation process was to deploy a NS6400 evaluation unit in a test environment, both to validate remote-user access performance and also to determine if the NEWS(TM) (Network Engines Web Services) management interface worked as described. “We were very impressed with how quickly the Network Engines appliance came on line,” added Saechow. “We were also pleasantly surprised with the improved performance, and also our newfound ability to automate the security patch process. It ended up being a win-win situation for Jelly Belly users and the IT staff.”

“The Jelly Belly deployment is a textbook case of the benefits that IT organizations large and small can realize with the NS Series of security appliances powered by Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004,” said Mike Riley, vice president of marketing and corporate strategy for Network Engines. “We look forward to serving Jelly Belly’s future network security needs as it expands to supply more of the world with gourmet jelly beans!”

For more information about Network Engines ISA based hardware firewalls and Web proxy appliances, check out www.networkengines.com