Powering modern digital retail with secure, intuitive remote access

Koçtaş needed to shift remote access from a legacy VPN to a comprehensive SASE architecture. And for good reason. VPN connectivity exposed the company to potential breaches: it lacked continuous security inspection and was unable to secure all applications. The user experience was unnecessarily complex and it was difficult for the IT team to pinpoint the root cause of users’ remote access problems.

Koçtaş is Turkey’s leading home improvement retailer, providing millions of customers with high-quality, competitively priced homewares. It is a subsidiary of Koç Holding A.Ş, the largest industrial conglomerate in Turkey.

Koçtaş has more than 400 physical stores and continues to grow through its digital channel, the Koçtaş Marketplace, which is also flourishing, with a fivefold increase in product lines this year alone.

700 Koçtaş mobile staff used to rely on other technologies to access corporate applications, SaaS, and the internet. “We had quite a few tickets from staff struggling with access,” says Baran Cirpici, Senior Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Manager, Koçtaş. “Using this standard VPN connection, we also didn’t have much insight into the traffic passing through the network.”

As a result, it was difficult to pinpoint the root causes of connectivity problems. Baran explains, “People would contact us saying, ‘I can’t connect; I need a new PC.’ Or, ‘My PC is running slow, there’s a problem with the internet.’ Without a full picture of the situation, we couldn’t easily diagnose the fault.”

Complexity was also absorbing resources and increasing risk.

Koçtaş’s remote access requirements were to:

• Protect the hybrid workforce with ZTNA 2.0 security.
• Provide an exceptional user experience.
• Safeguard all application traffic while securing both access and data.
• Gain end-to-end visibility and insights across network traffic.

Koçtaş implemented Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access and Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM) to protect all apps and data, reduce the attack surface, and provide the 700 mobile users with a secure, rewarding experience.

Prisma Access was implemented in just one week, replacing the Check Point VPN connections. “Prisma Access has been a great success. It’s secure, easy to use, and popular with our hybrid workforce. It protects all application traffic – dramatically reducing the risk of a data breach,” says Baran.

Among many innovations, Prisma Access delivers least-privileged access at the application-layer, together with continuous trust verification and security inspection. “Whereas in the past people needed to connect and disconnect with the VPN, they are always connected now” says Baran. “It’s quick, seamless, and secure. We can also control all traffic, whether it’s a YouTube channel, a shopping website, or other domain.”

ADEM is integrated to visualise and manage the user experience. Now, when users report a problem with their connection, the team can immediately identify the root cause. There’s no more finger-pointing. “For example, when a person says, ‘My connection is slow,’ the team can see whether the problem relates to their router, device memory, or other service. We don’t have any complaints now.”

This always-on secure connectivity is part of a comprehensive, unified Palo Alto Networks product portfolio spanning network, endpoint, and security operations. Acting as one, it is helping Koçtaş manage a continuously evolving attack surface while driving operational efficiencies through AI and machine learning.

Koçtaş is experiencing the following benefits from Prisma Access, which:

• Safeguards fast-growing retail environments: Koçtaş is safely enabling retail applications and preventing modern threats. Prisma Access User-ID, for example, continuously monitors user behaviour for suspicious activity.
• Supports retail growth: Koçtaş can continue to roll out new retail stores (and its online service) across Turkey, confident that staff can work anytime, from anywhere. Data, applications, devices, and people are consistently protected from vulnerabilities.
• Drives exceptional user experience: People can concentrate on selling homewares without having to focus on the security configuration of other IT processes. ADEM, for example, helps to identify the precise source of a connectivity problem for rapid resolution.
• Enables seamless working: Mobile staff can connect securely to the Koçtaş network regardless of time of day or location. Being away from the office or a store is no longer a barrier to productive working. All traffic is inspected, irrespective of source, location, and device.
• Unifies cybersecurity: The single, connected Palo Alto Networks product portfolio provides trusted, integrated network and endpoint security from a single dashboard.

Learn more about Palo Alto Networks on the website, where you can also read many more customer stories.