Universiti Malaysia Perlis Secures and Optimizes Web Experience for 8,500 Users with Blue Coat ProxySG Appliances

SUNNYVALE, Calif., November 16, 2010 – Blue Coat Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCSI), the technology leader in Application Delivery Networking, today announced that Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), one of Malaysia’s top engineering universities, has deployed Blue Coat^® ProxySG^® appliances with Blue Coat WebFilter to secure and optimize the Web experience for 8,500 users. With the Blue Coat ProxySG appliances, UniMAP can define flexible Web access policies while mitigating the impact of bandwidth-intensive, rich-media applications such as video, resulting in lower management costs, improved application performance and greater Web security.

“We need to protect our users from Web threats and other malicious content while providing optimal application performance and readily available Internet access across our distributed campus,” said Hj Nasrudin Abd Shukor, director of the Information Communication and Technology Center at UniMAP. “The Blue Coat products meet the high expectations of our community of academics, students and administrators and allow me to utilize my staff more efficiently, giving me peace of mind.”

UniMAP deployed the solution across its campuses in three days and can now easily define and alter policies based on users, content, groups and times of day with the ProxySG appliances. With the ability to categorize every URL into up to four categories, WebFilter gives UniMAP the granular visibility into Web content that allows it to create flexible access policies without overblocking content. 

Additionally, WebFilter is supported by the cloud-based Blue Coat WebPulse™ service, which rates new content in real-time and immediately applies definedpolicies, freeing IT security officers to focus on more strategic objectives. The WebPulse service provides on-demand security intelligence based on real-time URL requests from 70 million users worldwide to quickly identify new Web content, including malware and other malicious content. The discovery of malware by one user immediately protects all users, providing UniMAP with greater security than it would have on its own.

In addition to providing flexible control of Web content and a first line of defense against malware, the ProxySG appliances are uniquely adept at managing video traffic. Advanced functionality, including stream splitting and video caching, minimize the impact of video on the network by reducing the number of video streams that need to be downloaded. By optimizing video traffic, Blue Coat appliances free up bandwidth for other applications and improve the Web experience for all UniMAP users.

“The deployment of the ProxySG appliances has enabled Universiti Malaysia Perlis to get more value out of its network for the benefit of the entire organization,” said Nick Nindra, managing director for ASEAN, Blue Coat Systems. “In keeping malware at bay and recreational applications under control, the University has improved Web performance and security, so university staff and students can take advantage of the latest applications and technologies, including video.”

UniMAP, situated at the northernmost part of the Malaysian peninsula, specialises in electronic-based engineering and has grown from 116 engineering students in 2002, to more than 8,000 today. The university consists of eight engineering schools that offer 27 separate undergraduate programmes, as well as many postgraduate degree options.