Securing the digital journey for Signo

Granular control of mobile working strengthens community impact

The Signo Foundation provides a variety of services to the deaf community in Norway. The organization works alongside the public sector to deliver practical assistance and guidance across health, education, and employment. It provides individuals and families with support throughout their lifetime, from schooling to career development, to help with living independently.

Signo’s origins are from within the Church of Norway.Today, it is an independent, non-profit organization that works with the Norwegian government. It is expected to comply with an increasing number of regulations, from data protection to working standards. Regular reporting is now a daily reality.

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One-stop-shop for applications provides mobility and increased security

Delivering practical support to Norway’s deaf community with special needs

The organization needs to enable secure mobile working. Many of its 1,000 employees work offsite, in the community, at schools, and in homes.
It is now standard for teams to work from their own or Signo-issued mobile devices. “We began our digitization journey ten years ago,” says Richard Meltzer, Senior IT Advisor, Signo. “Today, we have more than 100 apps in use.” The primary challenge for Signo, with an IT team of just five, is keeping its digital workflows secure. Meltzer wants the users’ experience of mobile working to be simple and unrestricted, but government contracts demand the highest security standards.

Citrix Secure Private Access means it is faster and safer for users to access the apps they need. The apps we use most regularly are now all inside Citrix Secure Private Access.”

– John Arve Knippen, Head of IT, Signo

Empowering a mobile workforce

Signo has been a Citrix Workspace user for more than 10 years. John Arve Knippen, Signo’s Head of IT, says this proved invaluable in managing virtual desktop access for users, particularly with the rapid uptake of mobile working in recent times. The adoption of Citrix Secure Private Access, deployed alongside long-term IT partner Atea, has since strengthened access control.

“We wanted to incorporate Citrix Secure Private Access as part of our Cloud strategy. The apps we use most regularly are now all inside Citrix Secure Private Access,” says Knippen. “The combination of DaaS and Secure Private Access gives us a complete platform. It’s now faster and safer for users to access the apps they need.”

Citrix Secure Private Access reduces the administrative complexity for Signo. Once the user is authenticated to Citrix Workspace with a primary identity, Signo can publish new SaaS apps with single sign-on access. If needed, Signo can then set enhanced security policies for specific apps.

The unified portal enables Signo employees and contractors to access all the applications they need from one place, with context-aware access to hybrid applications and data. In addition, this simplifies the transition from traditional to SaaS apps, with a consistent level of security. Together, this allows Signo to move at its own pace, adding new applications when needed, in an agile manner.

Citrix Secure Private Access operates on the principle of zero trust network access (ZTNA), which assumes no trust and continuously verifies every access request. Signo administrators can protect the organization’s network and end-user devices from malware and data leaks by filtering access to specific websites and SaaS applications. Once authenticated, Signo employees have access to all critical business applications from any device irrespective of whether they are in the office, at home, or travelling.

We cannot expect to be tech leaders; our focus has to be the user experience. We lean on Citrix and Atea for their guidance and roadmap.”

– Richard Meltzer, Senior IT Advisor, Signo

Enhanced security insights

In addition, the interface provides a wealth of security information on application performance. It enables the Signo team to understand user behaviour and determine risk profiles. The web filtering feature evaluates the risk of each hyperlink selected within the SaaS application. “Regular reporting is a huge part of how we work today,” says Knippen. “Citrix Secure Private Access gives us the information we need to demonstrate to our government stakeholders that we are working securely and managing risks.”

Streamlining the way technology is managed Signo remains, at heart, a human-centered organization. It is also the largest employer of deaf individuals in Norway. Technology is there to enhance the work of employees. Mobile working simplifies many of the administrative tasks faced by Signo employees – time reporting, shift scheduling, and status updates. Time saved on these tasks means more time devoted to those who need it most. “We cannot expect to be tech leaders, our focus has to be the user experience,” says Meltzer. “We lean on Citrix and Atea for their guidance and roadmap.” The engagement with Citrix underpins the modern way of working at Signo. It enables Knippen and Meltzer to continue providing new apps and ideas, without tying them in complexity. In recent years, video calls have become standard, cutting travel times and extending Signo’s community reach. “With Citrix, we’ve been able to give our colleagues an incredible amount of mobility,” says Meltzer. “It’s one platform for device, user, and application management.”

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