Thomas More, a Belnet customer for more than 10 years, was one of the first to subscribe to the new anti-DDoS solution Advanced DDoS Security.
Filip Wuyts , IT Program Manager at Thomas More Kempen:
"In addition to the attractive cost of the DDoS protection service, we are also very satisfied with Belnet's flexibility."
With over 20,000 students and more than 2,000 staff spread across 10 different locations in the provinces of Antwerp and East Flanders, Thomas More is the largest university college in Flanders. Therefore, a high-performing and stable network is crucial for the organisation. We asked Filip Wuyts, IT Program Manager at Thomas More Kempen, a few questions.
Why did you choose Belnet's new anti-DDoS solution?
First and foremost, as the provider of our external IP addresses and domains, Belnet is best positioned to take on DDoS protection as well. Cost was also a deciding factor. For comparable protection, you will easily pay two to three times as much with commercial providers. Moreover, it was clear to us that we did not want to host the DDoS protection ourselves. After all, in addition to a hefty investment for the infrastructure, this also entails recurring costs for keeping the solution up-to-date. Finally, we are very satisfied with Belnet's flexibility. Last year, when we faced DDoS attacks on our network and we enlisted the help of Belnet, they worked with us to find a solution to counter these attacks as quickly and efficiently as possible.
What other security-related services would you like to see Belnet offer in the future?
In the first instance, I would say an SOC (Security Operations Centre) that can be hired to continuously monitor our IT environment and intervene when necessary. In addition, I think Belnet can act as a procurement hub for all kinds of security services in the cloud, which customers can then use as they wish. The Belnet community can then benefit from the economies of scale of such a centralised purchase.
What is your biggest challenge in terms of your campus network?
Several vendors are currently proposing Software-Defined Networking (SDN) as the solution to setting up complex networks like ours in a manageable way. But we are still left with a range of questions about creating a segmentation plan, including micro-segmentation in the data centre and the pros and cons of the various security solutions we need to best meet the zero trust concept.