ghd

Good Hair Days (ghd), has selected Egress Protect to encrypt confidential information.

ghd benefits from centralised user management and authentication through Egress’ integration with Microsoft Active Directory, using ADFS (Active Directory Federation Service). This has enabled the business to share and collaborate on new products with the confidence that information could not be leaked and Intellectual Property (IP) would be protected.

Founded in 2001, ghd has become a leading brand and household name around the globe. Much of this success has relied on its ability to create new and innovative styling products and tools, supported by patented designs and technology. As a result, ghd required an encryption solution that would support their rapid pace of development by enabling their employees to share confidential documents electronically.

Ben Rowe, IT Manager at ghd, explains: “Our brand is built around innovation, so our IP is highly valuable. However, we didn’t have a way of securely sharing and collaborating on new products or patents, which opened the business up to risk. Not only does Egress provide encryption certified by UK Government, it also offers sophisticated technical features that streamline user management.

Integration with Microsoft Active Directory through ADFS supports ‘single sign-on’, meaning that our employees can access and share data via a variety of desktop, mobile and web-based applications. In addition, Egress Protect is extremely simple to use. Our recipients don’t need to download or install additional software, and can communicate securely with our partners and suppliers absolutely free of charge.”

As a global business, with heads of business operating on different time-zones and regions, sharing information electronically is often the main source of communication on every aspect of business operations, from HR through to legal and finance. As such, it is equally important to ensure that these communications are not transmitted to the wrong person within the business as it is to ensuring they are not sent to someone externally in error. Therefore, Egress is now the defacto tool for any sensitive information sharing within the organisation.

Rowe continues: “As with any large retail brand, ghd needs to regularly share documents and large files electronically, both internally with employees and with external third parties. As this information includes highly sensitive legal and contract documents, we recognised the need to ensure that this information being sent will only go to the intended person. It’s so easy to send messages in error, but if that’s an employee’s pay or HR review, then it could cause big problems if it is sent to the wrong person. So we needed a solution that could allow for a degree of human error, so that if anything was sent to the wrong person then it could be recalled and the recipient would not be able to read the contents. However, it was not enough to just have a tool; we needed one that would not only provide the highest level of information assurance, but that would also be simple to manage internally and easy for our third parties to use. Egress ticks every box!”

Kelly McCann, UK Sales Director at Egress, comments: “It is positive to see leading brands, such as ghd, prioritising data protection and putting information security at the heart of their data sharing practices. At Egress, we recognise the need for encryption to provide comprehensive security and control but at the same time be easy for IT staff to manage and employees to use. We look forward to working closely with ghd in future to ensure their information security practices will continue to support their business model and growth.”