If ID&C got their secure file sharing wrong, they would be flushing almost 20 years down the drain. But they really had no choice. And it all came down to two numbers, and a weekend pass.
For ID&C, an award-winning supplier of security wristbands and accreditation products to the international festival and events sector, a data breach could mean the loss of a client and severe damage to its reputation.
The firm has spent the last 19 years perfecting its product lines, so that organisers can rely on the business to prevent ticket-touting and other forms of fraud where people access events without paying for tickets.
A pioneer in wristband technology, ID&C has invested heavily in printing and digital technology and employs some techniques used in creating bank notes. It has around 20 security options, making its products almost impossible to copy.
Their commitment to security has won them contracts with a growing group of event and festival organisers around the world. Each year it supplies more than 30 million wristbands and passes, and it has the capability to print more than 50,000 vinyl wristbands in 24 hours.
“Our business is growing fast and it is largely coming from the technology side,” says Craig Bennett, ID&C’s Marketing Manager. “In the last three years, we have pioneered the use of RFID wristbands” (RFID is a contactless, wireless technology).
“RFID and some of our other internal printing technologies have really pushed the business forward; we’ve gone from around 12 people three years ago to 25 today. In terms of geographical reach, 90 per cent of our business used to be in the UK, however now we class ourselves as a genuinely global company with customers in Europe and America.”
With a concrete reputation for keeping the touts and fraudsters at bay, ID&C needs to maintain the integrity of its products throughout the design process – tricky when ideas, concepts and proofs are being emailed digitally around the world.
For this reason, ID&C joined Maytech, selecting the FTP-Stream platform and enhanced security features to provide SFTP. The solution has impressed clients with its suite of security features, ease of use and performance in efficiently carrying vast amounts of data every month.
Transferring anything from basic mock-ups to very large 3D files, as well as concept pitches, security and reliability are key, Mr Bennett explains, “The protection of wristbands has become essential because they are proof of purchase.”
“The development of wristband artwork needs to be behind closed doors literally until the moment it is transferred by us to the festival site. In some cases wristbands have replaced tickets completely to save money, so the importance of security is immeasurable.”
An established festival might have 80,000 people attending it, each buying tickets worth, say, on average £200 for a weekend pass; it’s easy maths to work-out that compromised security could cost the management company dearly.
Not only that, but festival licenses are granted based on organisers’ ability to hit strict health and safety targets. If extra revellers carrying fraudulent wristbands gain access to the site, then the whole event could lose its license the following year.
“We get feedback from our clients saying that the Maytech solution is really refreshing and reassuring, because previously we spent time password protecting and encrypting documents and reassuring clients that things were secure.”
“Obviously creating passwords and sharing them takes time, and there is margin for error – they get forgotten or typed in wrongly. In some cases they’d have to come back to us and ask what the password was. It wasn’t very efficient.”
Mr Bennett says the ultimate selling point for the Maytech product is that it offers his clients complete reassurance. By running off Maytech’s security credentials such as their ISO 27001, he can instantly reassure people that they are dealing with a “serious company who live and breathe secure data transfer”.
After security, he says the second most important feature of the Maytech solution is that it’s easy to use. The events industry is not full of office-types; they’re out in fields creating experiences for people and need the technology they use to be easy and smooth-running.
“Any small obstruction can hinder our relationship with a client, so the fact it’s easy to use, flexible and the fact that the client has control is definitely up there as a very important aspect of the product. It’s a case of: ‘here’s the link, here’s your login and this is the password’.”
Bringing Maytech on board has boosted ID&C’s existing credentials. Having a secure file sharing platform with some of the best security attributes in the business means it goes hand-in-hand with ID&C’s ethos.
“We have already introduced the service to some of our biggest global customers and they are very happy with the product and its features. Swapping to Maytech has been a no-brainer. There have been improved efficiencies, greater customer reassurance and it adds weight to our claim of being genuine innovators in our field.”
It sounds like Mr Bennett would recommend us to a friend: “We would definitely recommend Maytech, although definitely not to any of our competitors!” he says.
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