When a customer needed to update its SSL VPN solution to meet teleworkers’ needs for the Paris Olympics, Ivanti’s key distribution partner Westcon-Comstor illustrated its expertise in zero trust access and commitment to helping users get the most benefit from their Ivanti solutions. 

The story of Westcon-Comstor’s approach is one of the numerous partner success stories we’ll share in the coming months to show the critical role our partners play in helping Ivanti customers navigate the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. 

Westcon-Comstor shines in Paris 

Westcon-Comstor, a leading technology distributor, has been instrumental in helping organizations modernize their security infrastructure. Its partnership with Ivanti is a testament to Westcon-Comstor’s commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions.

Westcon-Comstor demonstrated that commitment with its recent collaboration with a social protection group with five hundred employees. Westcon-Comstor ensured that they were well-equipped to support their customers as they migrated from Pulse Secure Access to Ivanti Neurons for Secure Access and VPN, minimizing disruptions and maximizing Security benefits. 

The customer’s biggest challenge with the Paris Olympics approaching was to update their SSL VPN solution to meet their teleworkers’ needs, as they expected a busy period. By using Ivanti’s zero trust access products, they achieved significant improvements in their network performance, Security posture and operational flexibility.  

A standout feature was the option to integrate a Unified Access Layer (UAL), streamlining the transition toward a zero trust architecture (ZTA). This ensured the customer was well-prepared for future security challenges by maintaining an adaptive and resilient IT environment.   

The power of zero trust access 

The success of this project showcased Westcon-Comstor’s deep expertise in zero trust access, cloud migration, network access control, VPN and secure remote access. Their investment in 3D Labs further demonstrates Westcon-Comstor’s commitment to showcasing the benefits of zero trust architecture to potential customers, enabling them to make informed decisions about their security infrastructure.  

The customer was highly satisfied with the Ivanti solution, and its user-friendliness led the customer to make an additional purchase. 

Westcon-Comstor’s data-driven approach and Renewal Center of Excellence are testament to its commitment to ensuring customers receive ongoing support and value from their technology investments. Westcon-Comstor’s partnership with Ivanti and their customer-centric approach has resulted in a modernized security infrastructure that enabled the social protection group to deliver on its mission with increased efficiency, security and scalability. 

“The standard of excellence we maintain at Westcon-Comstor, from our Renewal Center of Excellence to our presales, is what sets us apart,” explains Matt Piddington, Vice President of Services for Westcon Europe. “We work tirelessly with Ivanti to bring the best to customers and partners, and their success is our proudest achievement. By focusing on comprehensive solution lifecycle management, we ensure customers are equipped with the latest technology to safeguard their operations. We don’t just sell solutions. We create and manage them, driving essential tech refresh initiatives that keep end customers protected.” 

This commitment to excellence and partnership with Ivanti naturally extends into the resources and support offered by Ivanti itself. As Westcon-Comstor focuses on delivering and managing top-tier solutions, Ivanti complements this effort by providing a robust framework of support and resources designed to improve secure access infrastructures. 

Pulse Secure sunsetting and end of life (EOL) 

As Ivanti continues to innovate and evolve our technology offerings, it's important to address the lifecycle of our products to ensure we are providing the most advanced and secure solutions. This commitment to innovation and security is reflected in our recent announcement regarding the Pulse Security Appliance (PSA) hardware. 

On July 15th, 2022, a notification was sent to Ivanti customers stating that all PSA hardware will reach end of engineering on June 30th, 2024. As part of our "Secure by Design" initiative, Ivanti has decided to discontinue support for Pulse Security Appliance (PSA) hardware on Aug. 1st, 2024. After this date, the hardware will no longer receive feature updates or bug fixes. We highly recommend that our customers transition to our more advanced Ivanti Security Appliance (ISA) or virtual solutions for optimal performance and Security. 

To ensure the ongoing Security and compliance of your organization's access infrastructure, we strongly advise migrating to Ivanti's zero trust access portfolio before the end of life (EOL) date. This comprehensive set of solutions can effectively safeguard your networks and data from unauthorized access. 

What’s at stake? 

The legacy PSA platform was developed before the broad adoption of modern cloud infrastructure and services — and at a time when the threat landscape was less volatile and more predictable. This legacy platform can expose an organization to multiple risks. 

Business risks

  • Unplanned downtime. 
  • Impact on core applications and business continuity. 
  • Exposure of sensitive data. 
  • Exposure to ransomware and other security vulnerabilities and threats. 
  • Potential regulatory compliance issues. 

Operational risks

  • Not designed for modern cloud architectures. 
  • No protection for application (layer 7) traffic. 
  • Limited capacity and performance. 
  • Difficult to configure and manage. 
  • No automated system upgrades. 
  • No automated patching. 

By migrating to Ivanti, customers gain increased visibility and control over their entire landscape, ensuring that only authorized users have access to critical resources. Additionally, they benefit from protection against evolving cyber threats and access to the latest cloud-based innovations, ensuring their organizations remain secure and compliant in the face of emerging IT challenges. 

Ivanti zero trust access resources and support 

Ivanti is committed to not only developing cutting-edge zero trust access solutions but also ensuring that our partners and customers thrive in an increasingly complex IT environment. This case study demonstrates the power of Ivanti’s zero trust access solutions, which helped their customer streamline operations, strengthen Security and gain the flexibility they need to thrive.  

To help organizations on their journey to a secure access infrastructure, Ivanti offers a variety of resources and support options to meet their needs. Visit our website to learn more about our secure access portfolio and the potential of our comprehensive solutions. Additionally, our team of dedicated Ivanti security specialists is here to help. 

For those who want a trusted partner like Westcon to help guide them through the migration process, the partner area on our website provides a list of authorized Ivanti partners. These partners have the knowledge and experience to help you get the most out of our solutions and ensure a smooth transition to a secure and robust access infrastructure. 

Additionally, view our new Partner Insights interviews on YouTube with various Ivanti partners and Michelle Hodges, Ivanti’s Senior Vice President for Global Channels and Alliances. 

We also encourage you to engage with our online community by participating in our forums and webinars. These are great opportunities to connect with other IT professionals, share your experiences and learn from industry experts. You can stay up to date on the latest zero trust access developments, exchange best practices and explore new strategies to improve your security posture.