Executive Summary
A large U.S. electric utility needed to replace two separate legacy products, one for remote access and another for file transfer. Each required its own credentials, management, and renewal process, adding complexity to an already critical OT environment.
The utility selected Xona following hands-on lab validation and a formal third-party risk assessment. Xona consolidated remote access and secure file transfer into one platform, integrated permissions with the utility's existing Active Directory groups, and supported a production rollout in under 90 days.
The result was a simplified OT access environment, with two products replaced by one, centrally managed permissions, and positive feedback from users following deployment.
The Challenge
One of the largest electric utilities in the United States needed to modernize how its OT teams managed remote access and file transfers.
The utility relied on two separate legacy products, one for remote sessions and another for file transfer. This created several challenges:
- Separate credentials and management: Each product introduced its own credentials and security exposure.
- Multiple renewal cycles: Maintaining two products increased operational complexity, particularly as renewal deadlines approached.
- Strict security requirements: Any replacement platform had to pass the utility's formal third-party risk assessment before purchase.
- Operational continuity: The utility needed to consolidate access tools without disrupting the critical systems its teams depended on.
With an upcoming renewal window, the utility saw an opportunity to replace both products with a single platform designed for OT environments.
The Xona Solution
The utility selected Xona after a hands-on technical evaluation and a formal third-party risk assessment. The evaluation covered authentication, authorization, remote application access, secure file transfer, session recording, and centralized management.
Xona deployed its Critical System Gateway with centralized management and integrated identity and permissions with the utility's existing Active Directory environment.
Key capabilities included:
- Consolidated access and file transfer: Replaced two legacy products with one platform for secure OT remote access and file transfer.
- Active Directory integration: Permissions automatically inherited from existing directory groups, eliminating the need to maintain individual user access lists.
- Session visibility: Full session recording supported oversight and accountability for remote activity.
- High availability: Critical locations received high-availability protection to support operational continuity.
- Validated permissions: Administrators verified access permissions end to end before production rollout.
The utility completed its production rollout in under 90 days, including directory integration, following its lab validation and formal security review.
The Results
- Simplified operations: The utility replaced two separate legacy products for remote access and file transfer with one Xona platform, reducing the number of tools its OT team needed to manage.
- Production rollout in under 90 days: The utility completed deployment and Active Directory integration in less than 90 days, following lab validation and a formal third-party risk assessment.
- Centralized access management: User permissions automatically inherit from existing Active Directory groups, eliminating the need to maintain separate per-user access lists.
- Security validation: Xona successfully passed the utility's formal third-party risk assessment before deployment to production systems.
- Positive user feedback: The first production check-in confirmed successful implementation and positive user feedback. Quarterly business reviews were established to support ongoing operations.
