De Graaf Bakeries is a well-known player in the baking industry and operates from three locations: one for sweet goods, one for savory snacks and a cold storage facility with a distribution center. In this dynamic 24/6 production environment, the company works closely with about 10 to 12 different machine suppliers.
The many machine suppliers each brought their own remote access solutions into the factory. The result? No central overview of who connected when or what changes were made to the software.
Due to NIS2 regulations, it became crucial to regain control. Using firewalls to manually grant access was not an option. In a factory with rotating shifts, this would lead to an unmanageable amount of manual work for both the technical service and the IT department.
Apple pies in De Graaf Bakeries factory
Maikel van de Groep, Head of Operational Technology, and Martin Verhaar, Head of IT at De Graaf Bakeries, led this project together. IXON was a logical standard to consider, since 80% of their suppliers were already using it.
Using IXON Oversight and the Secure Vendor Access application, De Graaf Bakeries was able to easily integrate the existing IXON devices in their factories. This provided immediate added value without adding complexity.
"Everyone understands IXON; you don’t have to be a computer expert."
- Maikel van de Groep, Head of Operational Technology at De Graaf Bakeries
The solution also offered major benefits for the IT department. Martin notes that using Microsoft as the SSO provider is ideal: internal employees can continue to use their existing login credentials and 2FA method. Furthermore, the company can use “Custom Fields” to assign a unique code to the IXON routers, which ensures seamless integration with their asset management system (Ultimo).
Result
The most important result is complete control and transparency. “We’re in control, and it’s very simple,” says Maikel. “For the supplier, there are advantages to using the familiar workflow with IXON, but we’re in charge.”
This control also prevents disputes on the shop floor. Maikel explains: “If there are disputes arising from errors made by the machine, there’s clarity: was a change implemented as a result of a remote connection, or not?”
Thanks to the comprehensive user management system, everyone is granted exactly the right permissions. There’s a smart group structure organized by supplier, location and production line. Engineers who work across locations can approve all requests, while a local technician only has approval rights for his own factory. For new machines, only engineers initially have access, after which this is easily transferred via IXON to operations and technical support.
In addition to the operational benefits and compliance with NIS2, this also results in a lower risk profile for cybersecurity insurance, which can lead to cost savings.
"You’re really closing a gap when it comes to risks."
- Maikel van de Groep, Head of Operational Technology at De Graaf Bakeries
With relatively little effort, De Graaf Bakeries has managed to eliminate a significant business risk by switching to IXON’s solution. Thanks to the flexibility in user management, the company can now grant everyone secure and targeted access, while keeping things extremely simple for users. With this step, De Graaf Bakeries has not only regained full control over external connections but has also successfully complied with a crucial component of the NIS2 legislation and regulations.