Inspired by people and driven by innovation, GN
Challenge:
GN struggled with limited visibility and control over its Azure cloud network, complicated by legacy systems and native tool limitations. This hindered effective management, posed security and compliance risks, and stretched the capacity of a small IT team.
Solution:
GN deployed Aviatrix to simplify network operations, enforce granular security policies, and improve visibility. Features like centralized firewall insertion and advanced traffic analysis tools empowered their two-person team to manage the network more effectively. Automated deployment with Terraform reduced manual effort, and the solution's flexibility supports future multicloud expansion.
Impact:
Aviatrix gave GN full network visibility, improved security, and simplified operations — freeing the team to focus on strategy and enabling future growth.
“It wouldn’t have been impossible to get the visibility we needed natively, but it would have been challenging, and would require us to hire more people to the team.”
Przemek Konitz
Cloud Network Architect
Lack of Security and Network Visibility
GN faced challenges in gaining a better in depth understanding of their Microsoft Azure cloud network on both an overarching and a detailed level, particularly for security purposes. They needed to optimize their network while providing strategic guidance to the business. However, the complexity of their network, which includes numerous legacy systems, exceeded the capabilities of native Azure tools. This lack of visibility made it difficult for their small team to effectively manage the intricate cloud network — and this visibility is crucial. A disruption in the cloud network could have far-reaching consequences and affect mission-critical systems. It is not just a matter of revenue and reputation; as a medical company, GN is governed by stringent regulations and an outage could potentially create compliance issues.
“It wouldn’t have been impossible to get the visibility we needed natively, but it would have been challenging, and would require us to hire more people to the team,” said Przemek Konitz, Cloud Network Architect at GN.
A Single Point of Configuration and Insights
Aviatrix delivers a simplified networking approach for single-cloud environments, focusing on seamless service-to-service communication and robust east-west traffic connectivity across VNets within a region. By offering granular segmentation, the solution ensures precise traffic control and enhanced security, enabling organizations to define and enforce fine-grained policies for their cloud networks.
Aviatrix integrates a centralized firewall (FireNet), streamlining the insertion and management of security controls to maintain consistent policy enforcement across the environment. With advanced visibility tools like FlightPath, the solution provides a comprehensive view of network traffic, allowing users to analyze flows, capture packets, and diagnose issues effectively. This solution ensures resilient connectivity, operational simplicity, and secure cloud networking.
GN installed Aviatrix at the point of interconnectivity between its on-premises environment and the dedicated networking part of its cloud. The solution was easy to deploy — a fully automated process with Terraform — and is easy to operate and manage by just the team of two who oversee the whole cloud backbone. “Aviatrix was essential for us initially because the native Azure tools available at the time didn’t meet our needs,” said Søren Stentoft Hansen, GN’s Director of IT Security & Network, Group IT. “Although native tooling has improved since then, Aviatrix continues to innovate and consistently stays ahead of the curve.”
A Flexible, Easier-to-Manage Cloud Infrastructure
Aviatrix provides critical security, visibility, and so much more. “Previously, we’d have to hand-configure everything. By the time you’d get to the Nth device, you’d be tired and miss something,” said Hansen. “With Aviatrix, it’s all done by code, and we know that the same configurations are being pushed everywhere.”
Aviatrix also captures various flows, making troubleshooting much easier. With all the information combined neatly in one place, the small team can quickly and easily get the information they need and then spend more time on other tasks.
As GN considers moving to multicloud, Aviatrix offers great flexibility with additional networking and infrastructure options. If they decide to add Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in the future, Aviatrix can quickly get them 95% of the way there. Because Aviatrix overlays cloud-specific APIs, the GN team can add new cloud service providers with no additional skills required.
“If we were fully native in Azure, we’d be tied in tight to Microsoft and wouldn’t have the option to move quickly. With Aviatrix, however, we can make decisions based on business considerations — our infrastructure doesn’t hold us back. GN has a lot of M&A activity and Aviatrix is important for helping us integrate different cloud setups,” said Hansen.
For 155 years, GN Store Nord (GN) has developed technology to bring people together through their leading intelligent hearing, audio, video, and gaming solutions.
