Cesar Castillo is a family-owned logistics company, founded in 1942. They’re known as the number one logistics company in the Caribbean, covering Puerto Rico and nearby islands. Cesar Castillo works with Constant Edge to secure their email environment, with a blended solution of Proofpoint Essentials and IRONSCALES.
Cesar Castillo’s IT director, Luis Jojandry Rodríguez spoke with Constant Edge to discuss how we have helped them to secure their email environment.
To start this case study, it would be great if you could give me a brief overview to Cesar Castillo, and to yourself.
Cesar Castillo is a family-owned company that began operation in 1942. Logistics is the strength of the company, and we have another business division selling over the counter products, and RX products. We’re known as the number one logistics company in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and nearby islands.
I'm the IT director, I'm in charge of IT department and Security Department. That was the way I found Constant Edge. We were looking for a solution to mitigate email security situations. We actually tried different products, we tried ATP, and others. But we didn't find a good combination of benefits and price. We had a demo with IRONSCALES and Proofpoint, and we really liked it. That's one reason we are customers.
What were the initial challenges you were having with your email security system? Why did you start looking for a solution in the first place?
As we always say, the most important piece is the users. And, even when we were giving them some security awareness training, they still had the options to open some malicious emails. One time we had a [email security] situation that was treated pretty fast, and we didn't have any major issues, but it was an alert for me in that moment.
I talked to the CEO, and I told him: "We really need a more robust solution for email security." And then we began to look for solutions. We had that one situation that alerted me, that it's, pretty important. Because for one email, we can have a situation where all the servers or computers in the network can be affected.
Were there any particular features that you were looking for in an email security solution?
First of all, we were looking for a solution that can be proactive and can block the majority of spam and emails with malicious content. And also, were looking for a solution that be reactive. In this case, IRONSCALES, as it's always scanning.
And actually, the ATP Microsoft solution didn't offer me that. They offered me a lot of dashboards, a lot of reports, and a lot of features. But, in IT, we have to be monitoring them, to take actions. And we are a small shop in terms of IT employees. We are about two guys, three guys for infrastructure monitoring, and security. So, we were looking for a solution that works. We still have to take a look at it and take decisions, but a solution that we can work fast, and can be implemented fast also.
What made you decide to choose Proofpoint and IRONSCALES for your email security solution?
We performed that test, first of all with that demo with of ATP. Then, we performed a demo with Proofpoint and IRONSCALES. We took a look at the prices, but more than that it was about the benefits. We concluded that the blended combination between IRONSCALES and Proofpoint was a lot better than the ATP option that we were also looking at.
Have using Proofpoint and IRONSCALES solved those initial email security problems you were having?
Yeah, actually, they have solved a lot. We still have, you know, to be to be there monitoring, my guys are monitoring the process. But definitely, I think that they have been solved, because the users are also more aware to the situations. They're taking a look at it; they just should shoot us an email. If they have some doubts, they use IRONSCALES they just press the button to report the email. So definitely, yeah, we have seen that improvement. It is very good.
What have you liked best about working with Constant Edge?
I have to say, they're always there for us pretty fast. And I know that they are in a different time zone from us. They always answer us, shoot us an email. If we need a conference or we need a Teams meeting, they're available. I have to say that the implementation process was pretty good actually. Pretty good. So, they are great guys.
How important is it that the implementation process goes smoothly?
Very important. Nowadays, everybody uses a lot of processes using emails. It's not necessarily the best options to set out, but for some cases we use emails to receive orders to, and to do business. So that's pretty important for us. And that was pretty good. Actually, there was no major downtime in the process. The implementation was very, very successful.
Would you recommend that other logistics companies work with Constant Edge?
Definitely. Logistics companies are third-party partners for other customers. We're in the middle of their business, we're like an extension of their business. So, we have a lot of communications going in and out. I definitely recommend having this type of security that is pretty easy to work with and to administer. I would definitely recommend to other logistics companies this blended solution.
What is the number one thing you'd highlight about working with Constant Edge, what have you been most impressed by?
It’s simple. That's the word that I would use. One of the reasons we didn't buy ATP from Microsoft is actually that, it was not easy to pinpoint, and to work through specific problems. For that solution, we needed a person to be working through all of those processes, and to gather the information. That was pretty difficult. So, we were looking for a solution that is simple. And if I have to highlight something about Proofpoint, it's that it is very simple to use.
