iLOQ is a Finnish growth company that offers comprehensive locking and access management solutions both in Finland and internationally. The strong internationalisation of recent years has placed special demands on the chosen partner in terms of security solutions. At the beginning of 2022, iLOQ has offices in ten different countries and retailers in 30 countries. The company’s headquarters are located in Oulu.
“Scalability is very important to us, especially from the perspective of international operations and strong growth,” says Pasi Kiljunen, IT Manager at iLOQ.
In addition to the seamlessness and agility of implementing a unified operations model, the capabilities of a partner are, of course, important.
“Competence is the number one thing that matters. We have a long cooperative relationship with Loihde. Doing business is easy and there is no need to spell things out. It’s a pleasure to work with the experts of Loihde,” says Kiljunen.
From equipment and interfaces to security solutions
Loihde is responsible for the operation of iLOQ’s data network. Switches, firewalls and wireless network hardware are under the surveillance and management of Loihde. In addition, the cooperation includes business network subscriptions and terminal devices’ security services. The long-standing cooperation has grown year by year, and its latest manifestation is Loihde’s 24/7 Cyber Security Operations Centre, or CSOC. Although iLOQ had only been using the CSOC service for a few months at the time of this interview, they had already had good experiences with it. Background noise has been eliminated and relevant events stand out.
“I sleep better at night when I know what’s going on in our network. In addition, if anything unusual occurs, the events are reacted to,” Kiljunen concludes.
Strengthening cyber security has received special attention in recent years at iLOQ as well as at many other Loihde customer companies.
“Our own business is also in security, which is why security is a particularly important and essential part of everything we do.”
Close cooperation refined over the years
Over the years, the long-standing cooperation has found a common tune.
“It is also good that the partner is able to challenge our policies in a suitable way, for example, whether an approach is reasonable or not,” says Kiljunen.
And what about after CSOC? What could be the next step in developing iLOQ’s corporate security?
“New things are under way. In 2022, we are now living in a very uncertain time, and security must always be developed.”
Loihde’s OneManage customer portal also receives praise from Kiljunen.
“OneManage provides a good overview of how the various services of Loihde work.”
A relatively recent joint effort is the relocation of iLOQ’s headquarters in Oulu. Network equipment, firewalls and WLANs were all restored over one weekend.
“Once again we had expert contact persons available and everything went smoothly. The goal was to get the move taken care of during the weekend, and everything was finished by Sunday.”
Jussi Viljanen, Sales and Customer Relations Manager at Loihde, states that clear goals are the basis for advancing cooperation.
“A good conversational connection is important for the development of customer relationships. Once the common goals are clear, it is easier to find solutions to achieve them.”
