Challenges: Key Control & Accountability
IP Services, a managed IT services company based in Eugene, Oregon, has proudly partnered with CyberLock for 20 years to help secure its critical information assets. IP Services began as an advanced Internet protocol (IP) engineering team inside the Fortune 500 integrator, MicroAge. In 2001, following a successful spin off from MicroAge, IP Services built a datacenter and a network operations center in Eugene, Oregon. Scott Alldridge, CEO of IP Services, had a vision to leverage his team’s experience and expertise to become the premiere High Availability IT Service Management provider for organizations that need rigorous management of their business-critical systems.
Solution: CyberLock
When IP Services first established its Eugene datacenter, the team understood that it needed a lock and key solution that provided sophisticated security on individual server racks. Protecting the data housed in these server racks would be vital to the success of the company. Fortunately, an internet search revealed an intriguing solution that just happened to be developed and manufactured a mere 35 miles away. Videx, Inc., a Corvallis-based manufacturer and engineering firm, had recently launched the groundbreaking CyberLock ® key-centric access control system. To secure its mission-critical server racks, IP Services selected CyberLock over mechanical locks and keys, which can present serious key-control and accountability challenges, particularly when employees are dismissed or keys are lost or stolen.
The battery inside each CyberKey smart key energizes CyberLock’s durable electronic lock cylinders, bypassing the need to install and maintain expensive wiring. Since CyberLock electronic cylinders are installed without power or network cables, installation is quick, easy, and affordable. CyberKey smart keys are programmed with personalized access permissions, allowing IP services to create precise schedules that govern when personnel can access each of the various server racks. Importantly, each lock and key can store a detailed audit record of every access attempt, ensuring accountability throughout the
organization.
In the two decades since IP Services secured its first server rack, the talented team at Videx has refined, modernized, and expanded the capabilities of the CyberLock system. When the time came, Scott Alldridge reached out to Videx to learn about their latest innovations. A lot had changed since IP Services purchased their original CyberLock system. Back then, CyberKey smart keys had to be physically connected to a communication device in order to update access schedules and download audit trail data to the software. While those early CyberLock products met the needs of IP Services for many years, Alldridge admits that “there were limitations” in the software when to came to programming keys and making changes. As technology evolves, so do we.
With every aspect of design, manufacturing, and software development taking place at the Corvallis headquarters, CyberLock responds quickly to changes in technology and operational needs. CyberLock’s innovative Wi-Fi enabled keys — a first for the key-centric market — and a fully redesigned Enterprise software platform have given IP Services a host of new features that make their experience with CyberLock more streamlined and efficient. The CyberKey Air 2 smart keys sync to the CyberAudit-Web server via an available Wi-Fi network, allowing IP Services’ key holders to update their access permissions almost instantaneously, rather than docking them at a physical device. Additionally, software administrators can now view audit trail data in near real-time, providing all the benefits of a hardwired access control system, without the cost of hardwiring.
In discussing how CyberLock’s key-centric solution meets the needs of a datacenter operator like IP Services, Alldridge explained that CyberLock provides “a unique way to retrofit to [server] racks and allows [administrators] to track individual rack level access[.]” The system even helps IP Services elevate its own offering in the managed IT services market, with Alldridge testifying that CyberLock offers “a great extra layer of security marketing and selling point.” With CyberLock in place, IP Services was not only able to meet access control standards for their SSAE/18 annual audit requirement, they exceeded industry standards on individual racks. All in all, IP Systems now has over 20 server racks secured by CyberLock. According to Alldridge, another benefit to the CyberLock system is, “[t]he ability to sync specific access times . . . with [their] security camera system and visually track any behavior around an access rack.” For IP Services, CyberLock has more than proven its value.
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