Webster Bank, N.A.

Success Story

Financial institutions are more focused than ever on security and compliance issues. Webster Bank implemented Novell® solutions to simplify user access, reduce administration, support compliance and increase overall security. The bank's secure identity foundation has paved the way for rapid growth.

Overview

With $17.8 billion in assets, Webster Bank N.A.is a subsidiary of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE: WBS). The bank provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, insurance, financial planning, trust and investment services through 157 banking offices, 304 ATMs, telephone banking and the Internet. Webster Bank has more than 3,300 employees throughout the United States.

Challenge

Webster Bank's goal has been to double in size every few years and has completed six acquisitions in the last three years to fuel this growth. One of the biggest challenges for the IT team is to rapidly integrate these new IT environments and create consistency across a growing enterprise.

Managing growth requires the IT staff to provide all users with fast access to information, without the need to remember multiple passwords. The bank also needs to safeguard security and comply with a multitude of regulatory requirements including Sarbanes-Oxley, GLBA and HIPAA.

Novell solution

"We did our due diligence and after looking at alternatives knew that Novell SecureLogin was the best solution for us. We brought in a SecureLogin expert and in just 30 minutes he resolved our top five identity management issues."

John Jahne
Vice President of Network Services
Webster Bank

Webster Bank selected Novell SecureLogin to simplify user access to a host of critical applications and reduce password-related helpdesk calls. The bank also selected Novell ZENworks® to automate desktop management across multiple locations.

"We did our due diligence and after looking at alternatives knew that Novell SecureLogin was the best solution for us," said John Jahne, vice president of Network Services at Webster Bank. "We brought in a SecureLogin expert and in just 30 minutes he resolved our top five identity management issues."

Webster Bank integrated SecureLogin with Novell eDirectory™ and Microsoft Active Directory to provide 3,300 users with single sign-on access to nearly 25 core applications. Users now have simplified access to Web and teller applications, expense reporting, HR systems and end-user banking applications. The IT staff can quickly integrate new applications into its environment following an acquisition to give all its users the right access to the right information.

"With the number of applications we have, we absolutely needed single sign-on," said Jahne. "Many of our users were required to remember 8-12 passwords. Now they can get much of what they need with a single ID and password."

Streamlined password management also allows Webster Bank to enforce a higher standard of security by requiring frequent password changes. Users now have self-service options that allow them to reset their own passwords so the helpdesk is no longer bombarded with password-related calls.

With a Novell solution to manage user identities, Webster Bank is already seeing improvements to its corporate security and continues to receive favorable audit rankings.

"As in most financial institutions, we have a heavy focus on compliance that has intensified in the past few years," said Jahne. "With Novell, we can keep a good handle on security and keep our enterprise as tight as possible. This keeps us ahead of other banking institutions and makes our customers comfortable doing business with us."

In the future, the bank will evaluate a Novell security and identity solution to automate user provisioning and de-provisioning, replacing time-consuming manual user administration processes.

Webster Bank selected Novell ZENworks to automate desktop management and upgrade approximately 3,300 desktops to Microsoft Windows XP. From a central location, the IT staff can distribute applications and updates throughout its enterprise and manage workstations via remote control. The staff will no longer have to travel to more than 200 locations to distribute applications or troubleshoot software-related issues.

"For a company our size, we had to automate desktop management - there was no way we could survive without it," said Jahne. "We looked at several other desktop management products, but ZENworks came out on top. We constantly have new applications and ZENworks makes it easy for us to deploy them in days, rather than weeks or months."

Results

"As in most financial institutions, we have a heavy focus on compliance that has intensified in the past few years. With Novell, we can keep a good handle on security and keep our enterprise as tight as possible. This keeps us ahead of other banking institutions and makes our customers comfortable doing business with us."

John Jahne
Vice President of Network Services
Webster Bank

Implementing Novell SecureLogin has reduced the number of user passwords by nearly 75 percent and gives users fast and secure access to critical applications. Tighter security has increased the bank's ability to comply with regulatory requirements. The bank now has the security and identity management foundation to accommodate rapid growth through acquisitions.

Novell ZENworks has reduced desktop administration time by nearly 40 percent, while nearly eliminating IT travel time to deliver new applications and upgrades. The overall stability of its workstations, and the ability to troubleshoot issues via remote control, will also help the bank reduce some of its outsourcing costs for desktop management.

"Novell products are really solid," said Jahne. "We are proud of what we have accomplished with Novell in the past few years to support our business. It has really enabled us to work together as a centralized team to do everything in the most efficient way possible."