ACE Online is a higher education course provider in India, focusing on preparing students for government examinations or higher level education, including engineering certification. A wide range of comprehensive exercises from ACE Online help graduates enhance their qualifications for better employment opportunities.
The startup provides on-demand videos and interactive Live Classes. It also offers an online mock test series, expanding learning possibilities. It’s a digital platform of ACE Engineering Academy which is one of the leading coaching institutes in India. ACE Engineering Academy was established in the year of 1995.
However, creating and managing interactive learning and online content posed certain problems. The provider must consider secure access to the platform, protecting intellectual property, and gerunding a digital setting for potential students. Shashank Kumar, Engineering Lead at ACE Online, shares a story of how the startup tackled data protection challenges.
The challenge
Finding ways to protect copyrighted content
ACE Online consists of diverse teams that include engineers, marketers, salespeople, and a production team that creates learning content. It is all about better productivity in the context of hybrid work and small teams. Yet, for a startup that provides examination materials, data security is crucial for business continuity.
Click to tweet“Different team collaboration, content access for online students, and security of intellectual property require different layers of security to establish overall platform protection.”
The company needed to ensure that remote workers connecting from home to internal resources and systems were their authorized employees. Thus, the startup needed a solution that allowed employees to work from a distance and ensured secure connections.
Another challenge arises from the market in which ACE Online operates in. Although the company has a number of competitors, they are one of the industry leaders in India. Therefore, content protection, the main source of the company’s income, must be protected from a leak or a breach.
Click to tweet“Since the online courses are sufficiently secure, copyright enforcement is vital to maintain this delicate kind of content.”
As the source of capital and business growth, educational content quickly became the center of security demand. The approach focused on ensuring an understanding of who logs into the platform. From content creators to technical teams—whoever needs to connect to the internal database and anything else work-related.
The solution
Secure and authenticated connection to the learning platform
NordLayer’s solution was the first VPN incorporated into ACE Online’s infrastructure. With a virtual private gateway setup, the startup kicked off network security for the entire organization, especially remotely working staff.
Click to tweet“Remote employees have to use NordLayer to the full extent. VPN setup is mandatory regardless of the communication method utilized.”
The service has no disruptions and was extremely simple to roll out. An easy-to-use, approachable solution from the very beginning gives a good start. More importantly, with NordLayer, users don’t experience latency, although you can expect that from using a VPN tool.
Click to tweet“Internet speed isn’t that good in India. But with the NordLayer solution, ACE Online users don’t experience latency or service disruptions.”
But how did the startup discover NordLayer? First, they were using the consumer VPN product NordVPN and found that there was a business alternative for securing company network access. Their positive experience with using the best in the market virtual private network tool led them to try out NordLayer, which proved to be the right choice.
Why choose NordLayer
NordLayer fulfilled ACE Online security requirements provided by the tech team. It had to secure but not interrupt the company’s daily operations. And it had to be compatible with our business use cases and provide security for different scenarios.
Click to tweet“Using the VPN ensured there were no security issues—our code and database are not exposed over the public Internet.”
The startup has established rules that users and teams on what circumstances must be connected to the private network when working outside the office.
Hybrid connection enablement and security with NordLayer
It also depends on the task and exceptions, but VPN usage usually applies to those who work remotely. It allows teachers to stay at home and start classes for online students without the need to be present in the studio.
The outcome
Safeguarding intellectual property with a click
Cybersecurity is crucial in the online training market and, generally, in the education industry. However, in India, digital security isn’t that established yet. Cybersecurity is still adapting to the nation’s evolving technological landscape. This prompted the government recommendations for organizations to use VPN solutions as a cybersecurity measure.
Click to tweet“From an education provider's point of view, the most important thing is to protect the content from being misused. It’s about the trust and credibility you provide to your students and institutions that seek qualified personnel.”
Learning software that requires putting in a lot of work, time, and expertise is a valuable catch for competition, and in a matter of moments, you can be left without anything. Using NordLayer, the company can protect its content with a simple and intuitive solution setup.
Click to tweet“You can create very good software, but it won't make sense if it's not secured.”
Therefore, securing your intellectual property matters for a successful business model, Shashank Kumar, Lead of Engineering at ACE Online, notes. And NordLayer provides user-friendly and robust security measures to accomplish it.
Pro cybersecurity tips
Identifying the right technological solutions and best engineering practices is a daunting task, often overwhelming. Yet, the insights of seasoned professionals are invaluable. That's why Shashank Kumar, the Lead of Engineering at ACE Online, agreed to share some tips.
Protecting intellectual property and ensuring seamless team productivity are paramount for businesses. NordLayer's secure network access solution embodies this commitment by offering an advanced VPN with Virtual Private Gateways. This fortifies the protection of sensitive intellectual assets and guarantees uninterrupted daily operations.
Furthermore, the integration of the NordLynx protocol showcases NordLayer's dedication to speed and efficiency, ensuring peak team productivity without disruptions. When it comes to blending security with operational efficiency, NordLayer stands out as a beacon of modern digital protection—reach out to our team to learn more.
