Forum Oilfield Technologies Selects Cymphonix’s Network Composer to Stop Network Congestion

Ability to Shape and Prioritize Bandwidth Helps International Manufacturer Optimize Network and Improve Productivity

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 17, 2009 - Concerned about the effects of social media use, Forum Oilfield Technologies (FOT) has chosen Cymphonix Network Composerâ to prevent malware infections, manage bandwidth and filter Web content across its network.

"Cymphonix's Network Composer, has let us reclaim complete control of our network," said Sean Barnes, manager of IT infrastructure, services and support for Forum Oilfield Technologies. "This solution dramatically reduces malware infection, increases productivity and optimizes bandwidth - ultimately saving us money. Businesses face the adverse effects of social media use everyday. It's a relief to know we can count on Cymphonix's solution to manage our Internet security. This frees us up so we can spend time on other tasks."

As an international manufacturer of oil drilling supplies, Forum Oilfield Technologies operates multiple branches worldwide. FOT has 18 networked independent offices with up to 70 users at each location simultaneously accessing a single Internet connection. Due to rapid growth in a short period of time, FOT was required to consolidate network resources, resulting in acute network issues.

Forum Oilfield Technologies immediately experienced a substantial decline in Internet speed, resulting in an influx of helpdesk calls. Upon analysis, FOT found employees were regularly streaming media from sites like Sirius and XM Radio, as well as accessing media-rich applications such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace during the workday reducing employee productivity and network performance. This use pattern also exposed FOT and its users to security attacks.

"Consequently, our IT staff was obligated to allocate time to workstation repair resulting from elevated malware infections. This required at least four to six hours of recovery time per machine," explained Barnes. "This placed a huge strain on our resources."

Barnes recognized the problem bandwidth congestion and increased malware risk posed to FOT's network. He began looking for a solution that could provide visibility and control to manage Internet traffic, Web content and security threats. 

"We evaluated products from Websense and even tried Open DNS solutions, but these options didn't give us the amount of control over Web traffic that we needed," commented Barnes. "When we first learned of Cymphonix's Network Composer we were immediately drawn to the idea of a stand-alone solution that provided visibility into our network, enabling us to prioritize content and manage bandwidth."

"Forum Oilfield Technologies' experience with Network Composer is typical of what we hear from other customers," said Brent Nixon, president and CEO of Cymphonix. "Companies must find a balance between access and control. It's a huge and growing challenge. We are unique in our ability to cut the time, effort and cost needed to find and solve the risks that come from being connected to the Internet." 

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