Dell SonicWALL firewalls help IRD deliver relief in most challenging environments

BANGALORE, INDIA: Global humanitarian organization International Relief and Development (IRD), successfully leverages Dell network security solutions combining Dell SonicWALL NSA and TZ series firewalls to safely perform its work around the world. This has saved the organization $1 million and created a stable, adaptive and reliable security strategy for its offices in countries across the globe.

A not-for-profit agency that conducts international relief, business and economic development as well as humanitarian and community stabilization projects on behalf of the world’s governments, IRD supports 3,000 people in 47 countries spanning from Cambodia, Zimbabwe and Sudan to Afghanistan and Iraq. Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid funds flow through the organization, translating to a tremendous amount of financial and private data that must be safeguarded in a secure environment.

Because governments providing funding need to be able to conduct ad hoc audits for an accurate view of where funding is spent, IRD must be able to reliably track and report the use of these funds. Compounding the organization’s challenges are environmental issues in many locations including extremely high temperatures and limited internet access and electricity (often only one hour per day).

The same equipment that provides security for financial data and private information also must help those living and working in some of these most challenging environments in the world to maintain high productivity and quality of life. The need to prioritize network traffic for the right time of day must be carefully balanced with security needs, and it is critical that IRD’s firewalls remain resilient and redundant, even in such challenging conditions. To protect its data and keep operations running optimally, IRD needed a secure, reliable and resilient platform that was simple to configure; easy to teach other people how to use, support and maintain; and flexible enough to grow with the organization over time.

Reliable network security is a necessity for enabling IRD to safely and effectively deliver relief and stabilization to the most challenging environments around the world. Working with Dell partner Solutions Granted, IRD implemented a multi-phased approach incorporating Dell’s TZ and NSA series firewalls to address network security needs as the organization grew and evolved. With every security parameter covered, IRD has been able to fulfill its mission of reducing the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable populations while providing tools and resources to increase self-sufficiency.

Mladen Basaric, senior IT director, International Relief and Development, said, “Our focus is on making lives better, and we do so in some of the most challenging areas of the world. Maintaining a highly secure environment is vital to allowing our humanitarian work to continue. We have worked to build a system that is both resilient and redundant, and with Dell SonicWALL Firewalls, we have achieved this result."

IRD required a solution that could be implemented immediately to provide invulnerable security across the network, while offering the ability to safely grow the solution to meet future needs.

IRD deployments often are in war-torn countries with little stabilization and limited resources such as trained support and power. The Dell solutions, which perform effectively under such stressful conditions, often have to switch from city power to generator power, creating dramatic spikes. Consistently, these firewalls have proven highly resilient, with not a single failed appliance in the 11 years since their deployment.

IRD has provided $3 billion in humanitarian work around the world since 1998. Dell SonicWALL products are at the center of the organization, providing integrated financial systems to 40 countries, ensuring that financial data is protected so IRD can remain focused on providing aid and relief.

Simplified, real-time access to data and consistent communications have allowed IRD to deliver accurate reports to government constituents who conduct ad hoc audits.

The Dell solutions’ delivery of high-performance DPI and capability to scale to any size environment ensures that IRD employees can maintain their quality of life without compromising network performance or introducing unacceptable levels of latency.

Effective, rapid deployment requires that local nationals be trained on implementation and ongoing support of the firewall solutions. This training has been delivered in partnership with Solutions Granted, and the ease with which the Dell SonicWALL technology facilitates training has resulted in reliable systems that also offer new opportunities for local talent.