Implementing the highest level of online security for its customers

In business since 1978, GSP started as a jack-of-all-trades printer, producing everything from political signage to bumper stickers. In the mid-eighties, the company began to focus on producing point-of-purchase (POP) signage for major retailers and developed a proprietary software system, POPManager®, that enabled GSP to guarantee on-time delivery of the right sign to the right store - every time. POPManager® is now the industry-leading tool for minimizing POP costs by ensuring site-specific POP kits with no overage.

Today, GSP delivers site-specific, best-in-class graphics to over 55 multi-site operators and over 25,000 retail locations throughout the world. The company also provides retail branding and marketing services with a focus on site-specific execution to help transform customers’ growth strategies into store-level success.

Problem: Growing pains & growing expectations

As GSP’s retail clients became more focused on data security, GSP enlisted the services of a 3rd party to perform a network and application security audit on their proprietary web applications. The only major recommendation following the audit was that GSP upgrade encryption of traffic into and out of GSP’s apps. Thus began the search for an affordable load balancing solution.

Solution: Kemp’s LM2400 (hardware version)

Scott Boyce, IT Operations Manager for GSP, began conducting extensive online research. “We looked at more expensive load balancers from F5 Barracuda, but Kemp offered the same functionality at a fraction of the cost,” stated Scott.

GSP implemented the hardware version of Kemp’s LoadMaster 2400, which features enhanced SSL acceleration capabilities coupled with intelligent Layer 7 application content switching.

The LoadMaster deterministically and efficiently distributes user requests among web and application servers to ensure that end users have the best possible experience. LoadMaster 2400 gives GSP greater control, enabling the organization to easily adapt to network changes by providing a resource optimization layer in front of physical and virtual application systems.

Summary

“The Kemp implementation process was painless,” said Scott. “Clear instructions were included with the device and the web-based interface was extremely intuitive. The additional online resources answered any questions we had as we configured the device.”

The implementation of the LM-2400 has made it possible for GSP to provide clients with the peace of mind that their data is protected while also minimizing any performance degradation of GSP web servers.

“Technical Support has also been a pleasure to deal with,” Scott added in conclusion.