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Case Study

Savvion Helps 3Com Administer Employee Application Security

Automated System Manages Enterprise Application Security and Licensing While Supporting Corporate Governance Programs

When you're a leading global networking provider like 3Com with thousands of employees worldwide, efficient management of employee access rights to restricted applications is crucial for both enterprise security, corporate governance and business productivity. To simplify its application rights administration, 3Com used Savvion's business process automation and management platform to build a Web-based system that streamlines the processes associated with the creation, administration, reporting and management of user accounts.

3Com's IT Application Security (ITAS) system now provides a central point for administering employee application rights for a wide range of restricted enterprise applications, including SAP, Siebel, and Clarify. Built using Savvion BusinessManager™, the automated system also controls access to restricted reports created with business intelligence tools like Essbase and Business Objects.

"Efficient administration of secure application rights is mission critical, both in terms of enterprise security and employee productivity," explains Ari Bose, CIO at 3Com. "Using Savvion BusinessManager™, we were able to rapidly put a process in place that gives us much greater control over restricted application access while providing approved users with application rights more quickly."

Simplifying Security
Users needing access to restricted applications or reports log in to ITAS and fill out an appropriate request form. This initial menu page is customized based on user attributes such as department and geography. The BusinessManager-developed system then automatically sends notification to the appropriate application business owner based on predefined business rules, who reviews the request. If the request is denied, the application owner provides an explanation in the requester. If approved, the system routes the approval to a security administrator in order to set up security rights. Once this is done, the end-user receives an e-mail with a log-in name and temporary password, as well as required software or training instructions.

If it is necessary to install client software, the system also automatically sends an e-mail to open a service ticket. If user training is required, the system even sends a training request to the appropriate application trainer.

"Savvion BusinessManager allows us to build automated systems that streamline our operations and greatly simplify processes for employees," notes 3Com Information Management Director Kathleen O'Neill. "Users now have a central place for requesting application access, while managers can head to one location to notify all application administrators of role changes or employee terminations."

Making Management a Snap
In addition to streamlining secure application access, ITAS provides high-value management features for application business owners. Built-in, real-time reporting features allow managers to immediately create lists of people with application access enabling them as part of 3Com's corporate governance program, to audit security on the fly. Managers can also use Savvion's extensive reporting capabilities to track license utilization and receive immediate notifications when nearing license limits. Furthermore, the system documents each step taken, enabling 3Com to easily establish an audit trail for increased accountability.
"Our BusinessManager-based ITAS system significantly reduces the hassles formerly associated with secure application access," O'Neill adds. "Savvion's BPM platform is also extremely easy to use, with a single process designer having created ITAS in just six weeks."

Bottom-line Benefits
3Com's automated system for approving application access greatly increases employee productivity, both by reducing management workloads and by providing users with application access more quickly. Other business benefits delivered by ITAS include the following:

• Tighter security from improved auditing and termination procedures
• Real-time review of security rights and better management of application licenses through extensive reporting features
• Increased accountability resulting from the automatic tracking of each action taken, creating a valuable, detailed audit trail

"We are pleased with the results that 3Com, a company famous for delivering innovative solutions, has gained using our enterprise process platform," adds John Koenigs, Savvion President and CEO. "We look forward to seeing the creative ways that 3Com will further leverage the power of Savvion BusinessManager to bring innovation to processes across their enterprise."