ACUK – Unifi EFG Firewall Upgrades and Cyber Security
ACUK operates multiple outdoor activity centres across the UK, delivering residential adventures, leadership development, educational programmes and corporate team building experiences. With large sites, busy operational teams and an increasing reliance on cloud services, dependable connectivity and strong cyber security are essential to keeping their centres running safely and efficiently.
Challenges
ACUK’s network estate had grown organically over time, resulting in a mixture of older firewall hardware, inconsistent configurations and limited visibility across their remote sites. This created several operational and security challenges:
- Inconsistent security posture across locations made troubleshooting difficult and increased the risk of misconfigurations.
- Legacy equipment no longer offered the level of protection required to defend against modern cyber threats.
- Lack of central visibility meant that monitoring and managing networks across multiple centres required more manual effort than necessary.
Solution
To modernise ACUK’s network security and create a standardised approach across all centres, we deployed the Unifi EFG Enterprise Fortress Gateway Firewall paired with enhanced cyber security measures. This solution provided:
- A unified, cloud managed firewall platform with advanced IPS/IDS security and real time threat alerting.
- Centralised Unifi controller management, allowing streamlined oversight of all network devices and configurations.
- A scalable, future ready security foundation with improved performance, visibility and control.
Implementation / Process
The upgrade programme was delivered through a phased, collaborative approach to minimise downtime and ensure smooth adoption:
- Pre installation planning with ACUK to confirm requirements, agree scheduling and validate network specifics.
- On site deployment of the EFG firewalls, including configuration of network controllers and re adoption of existing devices into the refreshed infrastructure.
- Cyber alerting setup, enabling immediate notifications for unusual activity and ensuring rapid response from our support team.
- Licensing and configuration alignment, ensuring the organisation had full clarity on Unifi’s annual licensing model and long term operational expectations.
Results/Benefits
Following the deployment of the Unifi EFG gateway and associated security enhancements, ACUK immediately benefited from:
- Strengthened security posture, with modern firewall protection, improved threat detection and real time alerting.
- Restored and improved network reliability, with all devices cleanly re adopted and configurations standardised across sites.
- Centralised network management, enabling easier troubleshooting, faster response times and clearer visibility of multi site operations.
Key Takeaways
- Standardising on the Unifi EFG platform has given ACUK a consistent, secure and scalable foundation across all activity centres.
- Centralised management simplifies operations and reduces the risk of misconfiguration across geographically dispersed sites.
- Real time cyber alerting and improved visibility ensure ACUK’s teams stay proactive, protected and prepared against evolving cyber threats.
- Upgrading legacy hardware has improved overall performance, ensuring their centres can deliver seamless services without being held back by outdated systems.
For more information about our services, please call us today on 01604 790979