Integralis' Chemistry Right For Outsourcing

The chemical company, based here, turned to security solution provider Integralis U.S., East Hartford, Conn., which provided Rockwood with an Activis-branded e-mail content management service called e:)scan.

"We were looking at maybe two to three people added to the staff, because you'd need a 24-hour situation to make sure every patch is in place, every virus is caught," said Rockwood CIO Mark Yankowskas. "We felt it was the best possible solution for us at Rockwood."

Integralis' security focus helped cinch the deal, he said.

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Rick Romke, Integralis' general manager U.S. operations

"We don't have to continually worry about what's happening in the world of viruses. [Integralis applies all the fixes," Yankowskas said. "They're right there as soon as a virus is out."

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In addition to viruses, Integralis also scans for spam, inappropriate content and leakage of corporate proprietary data.

"E-mail's become such a standard form of communication, you really need to have proper scrutiny of it," said Rick Romke, general manager of Integralis' U.S. operations.

The e:)scan service relieves a company's IT staff of the burden of an additional task, he said.

"If you're an overtaxed network administration group, the last thing you want to do is be the Internet mail police," Romke said.

Yankowskas said the annual cost of e:)scan is about one-fifth the cost of the combined salaries Rockwood would have paid to hire three IT professionals.

Pricing for e:)scan starts at $6 per seat per year, based on the number of users.

%A0ANATOMY OF A SOLUTION

>> COMPANY: Integralis U.S., East Hartford, Conn.
>> FOCUS: IT security>> Problem and Solution: Newly formed global company Rockwood Specialities needed a better solution for filtering and maintaining its e-mail system. Instead of hiring additional IT professionals, the company opted to outsource e-mail management to Integralis.
>> PRODUCTS and SERVICES USED: Integralis Activis-branded e:)scan
>> LESSONS LEARNED
%95 Outsourcing e-mail filtering and management can be less expensive than hiring additional IT staff.
%95 Service protects the corporate network from viruses, spam and malicious use.
%95 Filtering allows companies to quickly implement individual e-mail policies for divisions.

Rockwood began looking for an e-mail management solution about two years ago, when it formed as a result of the acquisition of several divisions of U.K.-based LaPorte by investment company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Rockwood's worldwide operations include pigments, specialty compounds, timber treatments and semiconductor manufacturing chemicals.

Yankowskas runs Rockwood's global network out of its Alpharetta, Ga., office with a staff of three, including himself. The company turned to Integralis "to find the best solution for a company our size with a limited IT staff," he said.

With the Integralis managed service, the e-mail of the 22 different companies under Rockwood's umbrella is routed to Integralis' servers, where it is scanned for viruses and filtered for spam or violations of Rockwood's e-mail policy. E-mail is then either distributed to a destination or quarantined. Integralis notifies Rockwood's IT staff via a secure Web site for a determination on whether quarantined e-mail should be released or deleted.

Despite the plethora of viruses plaguing networks, Rockwood's has been virus-free, thanks to Integralis, Yankowskas said. And most spam is stopped before it reaches Rockwood, he said. "Viruses and spam are two things that will kill an e-mail system," he said. "Nothing is foolproof, but a majority of spam doesn't make it through the system. It's an ideal situation for a business."

Yankowskas said he also liked the fact that Rockwood could tailor the e-mail rules to its business needs. "The flexibility was great for us," he said.