Saints march into new Internet safety system

Scalable Networks has completed an Internet security solution for Southampton Football Club.

Implemented across the club’s Staplewood training ground, St Mary’s Stadium and FA-registered training academy, the solution is designed to facilitate the application of user security policies and ensure greater efficiency and system performance across the network.

The club’s IT manager, Mark Wierzbicki, said: “We operate a complex mix of applications, ranging from educational, performance and injury analysis tools, to regular business critical tools for finance, HR, sales, etc. Ensuring the performance of these applications is of paramount importance, so we need stringent security hardware and policies in place.”

The club has deployed Internet filters, meaning it is able to allocate and monitor Internet access on a per-user group basis.

“As with all organisations, the security threat is equally as likely to come from our users, as it is from an external source, and this is a fundamental driver for our security strategy,” stated Wierzbicki.

“Additionally, we’re morally bound to oversee the education and leisure time of our teenage students, and ensure that unsavoury content does not find its way onto our network.”