All Out Security
All Out Security is a leading provider of security and systems monitoring tools for JD Edwards and other IBM i applications. Founded in 2004, All Out have over 300 customers who use their tools to monitor and control access to their databases. By encrypting the data during the reporting process, their TRACE© product provides the required level of visibility over database access to satisfy both internal and external audits. Using before and after images, the tool can quickly identify any changes made to records in a database, leading to a greater level of security against malicious or inadvertent data loss. Customers have come to view the functionality of TRACE© as being essential to their day-today operations. Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) in Minneapolis, MN, have managed to reduce issues identified during audit by 100%, with Sr. Programmer Analyst Supervisor Paula Rivet commenting, “We are a small team but are delighted with the amount we can do with very little effort, using TRACE©. My personal goal is to never have any issues with our Audit – with TRACE© I have been able to achieve this objective!” With over 650 users accessing their JDE EnterpriseOne system on a regular basis, TRACE© has also enabled MAC to significantly reduce time and resources spent on Help Desk queries without impacting the performance of the ERP.
Challenge
Whilst the functionality of TRACE© has earned plaudits from customers across the globe, the green screen interface was becoming an issue for users who were accustomed to Windows-style graphical applications. In particular, users of JDE EnterpriseOne highlighted issues arising from having to step back from a rich graphical ERP system to a green-screen monitoring tool. Although the functionality was great, tasks could take longer than necessary due to the absence of an intuitive interface.
Furthermore, All Out Security set a strategic objective of transitioning TRACE© from being a tool for IT and technical professionals to being an end user tool for Help Desk, Training Officers or Application Analysts.
This new user community expected a Windows-style graphical interface, and the learning curve and general unintuitive nature of the green screen was hampering efforts to achieve this objective. In addition, All Out Security’s own sales team experienced difficulty in product demonstrations as prospective customers were distracted from the rich functionality of the tool due to the aging interface. This meant that sales were being lost due to the perception that the tool was dated.
Solution
All Out Security evaluated a number of options, but decided on Newlook because of the ease of use, the speed of implementation and the minimal cost of ownership. The implementation process, from planning to production, took just 10 days, and as well as being a crucial factor in winning new business, many existing All Out Security customers have expressed an interest in upgrading to the graphical version.
All Out Technical Director Luke Phillips commented “I have always believed that TRACE© is technically one of the smartest products we have – for its ease of installation and obvious cost/benefit advantages to our clients – but working with Looksoftware has helped us take the software to the next level. TRACE© is essentially a data mining utility which can eliminate the need for expensive archiving and auditing/security solutions by providing immediate historical data access without either the cost, or the footprint of traditional products. Now Looksoftware has enabled us to integrate the product with PC based applications such as Microsoft Office – users can get a real-time email if any unauthorized or inaccurate database update occurs, and a real-time Excel showing all unauthorized database changes over any historical period with just 2 clicks of a mouse.”
Results
All Out Security Director Richard Belton describes the introduction of a graphical version of the tool as “A significant step forward for the application”. He commented: “We have found the new interface has opened up new markets for us. Traditionally we have worked with the technical community to enable them to produce compliance reports, however the introduction of a graphical interface has enabled us to market the product to a completely new audience of Windows end users and help desk users, for whom a greenscreen interface would be a significant challenge. They are now able to track the nature and sequence of an error, resulting in reduced risk and enhanced data recovery capability for the business.”
Belton added “We know we have made incremental sales because of the new interface. Product demonstrations are now slick – we can pull up some data and have it downloaded or emailed all in one simple operation that gives the product that ‘WOW’ factor.” “Finally the ability to offer a ‘oneclick’ download to spreadsheet option is of tremendous benefit to a Help Desk – they can track and highlight errors in real time and educate the user on the proper process whilst reducing call times and resource requirements. We anticipate significant growth in our customer base in the coming months thanks to the modern look, feel and functionality of TRACE©.”
