Cooper-Standard Revs Up Global Collaboration With High-Performance Remote Access Solution From Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR), the leader in high-performance networking, today announced that Cooper-Standard Automotive, a leading manufacturer and OEM supplier to the automobile industry, has deployed the market leading Juniper Networks Secure Access (SA) 2000 SSL VPN appliances for secure global remote access to its corporate intranet from a variety of computer platforms including the newly released Windows Vista operating system. Cooper-Standard relies on the Juniper Networks SA appliances for high-performance connectivity to its corporate intranet providing customers, employees and partners with the ability to securely collaborate on projects and quickly adapt to ever-changing business requirements. By leveraging the Juniper Networks SSL VPN, Cooper-Standard eliminates the need for client-software deployments and costly ongoing client maintenance and support when compared to traditional IPSec solutions.

“The Juniper Networks SA solution gives us the ability to collaborate in real-time with our partners on anything from placing orders to changing specifications on a given product, this saves us a significant amount of time and money when compared to traditional methods,” said Jeff Sonne, manager of Network Services at Cooper-Standard Automotive. "Additionally, with a growing number of partners and employees using personal computers located in home offices, we needed a solution that would be compatible with everything from Windows Vista to Linux and Mac. The Juniper Networks SSL VPN gives us the flexibility to support nearly any operating system available which further enhances our ability to collaborate with our partners and customers anywhere in the world.

Cooper-Standard works closely with its managed security services provider, CentraComm a Juniper Networks Elite J-Partner, to provide first-line operations and reporting for its worldwide network. CentraComm helps Cooper-Standard customize and manage its security infrastructure by offering a completely outsourced solution that is easy to use and is cost effective.

Leveraging the Juniper Networks SA 2000 SSL VPN, Cooper-Standard is able to provide its partners, customers and employees with secure 24 x 7 remote access to business critical applications and data on its corporate intranet. This allows its manufacturing partners to access up to the minute data thereby increasing efficiency and allowing Cooper-Standard to get its products to market more rapidly.

Additionally, Cooper-Standard relies on the Juniper Networks security appliances to help in the creation of reports for auditing purposes which helped it pass a recent Sarbanes-Oxley pre audit. “Auditing is not a joy for anyone,” says Sonne. “When our auditors came in to talk about Internet security I was prepared to spend all day but when I gave them a report that was generated by our Juniper security devices it took five minutes. We passed the audit with the highest rating possible.”

The Juniper Networks Secure Access SSL VPN appliances running the enhanced Instant Virtual Extranet (IVE) version 5.5 software enables users to securely access applications from a greater range of devices and platforms, including Windows Vista, Windows Mobile and Intel-based Mac. The IVE 5.5 software offers complete support for Windows Vista with full terminal services, end-point security and policy assessment which scans each end user’s machine and enforces policy-based security standards in real-time. The enhanced software provides in-depth auditing capabilities to assist in regulatory compliance with easy to generate reports that allow for tracking network users, their application access, timelines, and a host of other activity. Additionally, the Juniper Networks SSL VPN appliances offer cost-effective In Case of Emergency (ICE) licensing. The Juniper ICE licensing helps customers temporarily scale the total number of SSL VPN users to ensure continuity of operations during disaster or emergency situations, where company issued computers may not be available.

“Juniper Networks is continuing to meet its customers’ needs by fully supporting Windows Vista on the Juniper SA platform. This allows companies to provide its employees and business partners with greater choice and control to quickly meet high-performance business requirements,” said Sanjay Beri, senior director of product management at Juniper Networks. “Additionally, security conscious organizations such as Cooper-Standard, can instantly and transparently grant appropriate access to applications and resources to its employees, contractors and partners on almost any operating system, further enhancing business productivity.”