Informatica builds a secure cloud and AI foundation by platformizing with Palo Alto Networks

SUMMARY

More than 80% of Fortune 100 companies use Informatica, the enterprise data management platform, to unify, connect and manage large amounts of data. Users can combine data from different sources to gain valuable insights and make informed decisions. Central to Informatica’s mission is a robust security posture that safeguards customer data, demonstrates operational resilience, and ensures the organization’s reputation and trust. With continuing growth, Informatica is focused on two initiatives: expanding its services for federal customers— a move that requires compliance with additional security standards—and building AI-enabled applications and systems.

RESULTS

85%

reduction in security alerts

96%

reduction in cloud security point products

speed to market through FedRAMP-certified products

Challenge

Consolidating security to reduce complexity and risk.

As Informatica migrated to the cloud and increased adoption of AI, its security team began focusing on how they could safeguard these initiatives. They needed to:

Ensure security of cloud workloads, cloud-native app development and app hosting.
Meet FedRAMP compliance requirements to attract new federal customers.
Simplify management and free security teams from repetitive manual tasks.
Provide a framework for secure AI app development.

“We realized that maintaining a large supplier list is a big risk, so we looked to strategically consolidate our toolset.”

– Jatinder Singh

Head of Product Security and Compliance, Informatica

SOLUTION

Improving security solutions to support new cloud investments.

Securing data and services for customers is a top priority for any tech company. Singh explains, “A strong security posture is essential for achieving our vision, as it allows our customers to adopt solutions confidently and realize the full value of their data.” A customer since 2011, Informatica began using Palo Alto Networks solutions to secure its corporate enterprise, then moved to include its production (customer-facing) environment. When the company embarked on migrating its on-premises products to the cloud and embraced cloud-native app development, it turned to Palo Alto Networks as its security partner for this next phase of growth.

Path to Platformization

Securing corporate offices

PA-Series Next-Generation Firewalls provide network security for 34 sites and a data center.

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Endpoint security

Cortex XDR secures customer-facing and corporate environments

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Cloud-native application protection

Prisma Cloud secures workloads across AWS, GCP, Azure and Oracle

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Advanced security treatment

Cloud-Delivered Security Services:
Threat Prevention
WildFire
URL Filtering

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Branch connectivity

Prisma SD-WAN delivers application reliability and performance

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Coordinated cloud and endpoint security enables product maturity

To protect its AWS, GCP, Azure and Oracle environments, Informatica selected Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud. The solution allows the company to secure cloud and AI development by “shifting left” to move security earlier in the development lifecycle. Prisma Cloud consolidated 27 different tools across four cloud providers down to a unified platform with a single console, streamlining the process for analysts to reduce the number of alerts they see and the time to resolve them.
Informatica also adopted Cortex XDR for extended detection and response across more than 38,000 endpoints in its production, enterprise and FedRAMP environments. The solution stops the most sophisticated attacks with AI-powered detection and real-time prevention. It provides complete visibility across its endpoint and cloud environments, enabling rapid investigation and containment of fast-moving threats. This coordination between endpoint and cloud security significantly advanced the maturity of Informatica’s security practice for faster defense against cyberthreats.

"The fact that Prisma Cloud and Cortex XDR were delivered by a single vendor was a huge bonus and helped us mature at a faster rate.”

– Jatinder Singh

Head of Product Security and Compliance, Informatica

Simplified and secure corporate networks

Within its enterprise domain, Informatica deployed PA-Series Next-Generation Firewalls to protect corporate network traffic. It then added Cloud-Delivered Security Services, such as Threat Prevention, WildFire and URL Filtering, for more advanced protections across infrastructure, applications and data. The company also chose Prisma SD-WAN to simplify network management and connect employees across 34 sites worldwide to mission-critical apps. What most attracted Informatica to both the Next-Generation Firewalls and Prisma SD-WAN was their cloud-native architectures. The NGFW uses App-ID technology to apply fine-tuned security policies based on applications, not IP addresses. Prisma SD-WAN also provides Layer 7 analytics to give granular visibility into application performance and ensure the best possible WAN path is chosen to keep the business operational and productive.
Platform approach drives efficiencies and cost savings

By taking a unified platform approach across network, cloud and endpoint security, Informatica has achieved greater automation and speed to market. FedRAMP-certified solutions massively accelerated Informatica’s journey to serve federal customers, which it intends to build on with more advanced security controls in the future. The organization also reduced security alerts by 85%, freeing up the time of SOC and Cloud Security analysts, and consolidated four different security vendors—all providing multiple point solutions—into just one partner, Palo Alto Networks.

Securing AI with more stringent data protection.

As a next step, Informatica is prioritizing greater data identification and classification within AI-enabled applications and the use of AI to stop further threats in real time. Singh knows Informatica can partner with Palo Alto Networks on the next evolution of its business: “Trust has surely been the defining factor of our relationship with Palo Alto Networks. And, of course, they are experts in what they do.”