Vordel - XML and SOA appliances for XML network management

S�dzucker Case Study

Multinational food company deploys Vordel to secure communications with trading partners and suppliers

Vordel secures SAP XI integration infrastructure for Europe's largest sugar producer

Company
S�dzucker AG is a multinational food materials group with some 18,000 employees and a turnover of � 4.6 billion. S�dzucker is also Europe's largest sugar producer, with over 50 sugar factories reaching from France in the west, via Belgium, Germany and Austria, to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Moldova in the east

Challenge
S�dzucker wished to improve its business intelligence by allowing its employees to monitor the status of its goods shipments in real-time. To implement this, S�dzucker linked its internal SAP system to the tracking systems of its freight-forwarders, using the SAP Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI).

This new connection between S�dzucker and its logistics partners introduced a new set of challenges:

An audit trail of all transactions passing between S�dzucker and its logistics partners must be maintained
Access Control must be used to ensure that only logistics partners, not untrusted third-parties, are allowed to access S�dzucker's internal systems
Data sent into S�dzucker's internal systems from its logistics partners must be examined for any potentially harmful content
All data must be encrypted to avoid shipping information being eavesdropped.
A real-time "dashboard" of transaction information must be provided
S�dzucker must not be required to learn complex new languages such as XML Schema, in order to manage this new business-to-business connection

These six requirements must be met without slowing down the connection or making it prohibitively difficult for logistics partners to connect to S�dzucker.

Why Vordel?
S�dzucker chose VordelSecure to provide security and management for its connections to its logistics partners. As well as protecting S�dzucker's SAP systems from malicious or unauthorized data, VordelSecure also met the requirement to deliver a full transactional audit log and display data traffic on a real-time monitoring console.

Vordel worked closely with S�dzucker and leading security consultancy, SHE Informationstechnologie AG, to define the appropriate security and governance policy for the SAP XI system. Security enforcement rules were created to protect the data being sent between S�dzucker and its freight-forwarders, and to provide strong authentication for clients.

Benefits

Secure framework for future cross-enterprise services - S�dzucker plan to implement more connections using SAP XI and other XML-enabled products. The XML gateway means that these connections can also be secured, using the same infrastructure as is used for the connections to freight-forwarders.
Increased visibility of shipping information - The real-time connection from S�dzucker to its logistics partners means that shipping information is now available in real-time. Without the appropriate security and governance framework in place, this type of integration would simply not be possible.
Compliance with regulatory guidelines for auditing and non-repudiation - via maintenance of full audit trail of all data passing in and out of S�dzucker to trading partners.
Competitive advantage through using new integration technology - Vordel gives its customers the confidence to perform cross-firewall integration, by providing a security and governance framework.

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