Modernizing Security, Preserving Trust

A regional financial institution found itself at a critical crossroads. With a newly appointed CISO eager to accelerate innovation while reinforcing security, the bank needed to modernize its cybersecurity posture—without slowing down the customer-centric digital experiences it was known for.

The security team, lean by design, had to do more with less. Protect sensitive data. Support business growth. Keep operations humming. All while making a strong financial case for every technology investment.

In short, they needed to get strategic. And fast.

Under the leadership of their new CISO, they prioritized security that could deliver measurable business outcomes: reducing risk, cutting cost, and enabling innovation. The team was juggling a patchwork of legacy tools—including an aging VPN solution—with limited visibility across its environment. There was no Data Loss Prevention (DLP) program, no formal zero trust framework, and no centralized way to monitor cloud application access.

The ask to Consortium was clear:

• Help us simplify our environment
• Give us better visibility
• Mak e it cost effective
• And do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt operations or compromise the customer experience

Consortium kicked off the engagement with a Metrics That Matter® (MTM®) analysis—an assessment designed to spotlight areas of high inherent risk and low return on existing security investments.

The findings told a familiar story: too many tools, too little integration, and not enough actionable insight. But they also pointed toward a high-impact opportunity.

Working closely with the client’s security and IT leaders, Consortium designed a strategy around platform consolidation. Instead of managing multiple siloed tools, the bank could adopt a unified cybersecurity suite centered around three critical pillars:

• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)

All of it would be delivered through Zscaler’s all-in-one solution—providing secure connectivity, data protection, and cloud visibility in a single package. Consortium’s team helped design the architecture, configure policy, and guide deployment across the bank’s environment.

And the kicker? The bundled solution came in at a lower cost than the legacy VPN it replaced.

In just a few months, we helped transform their security infrastructure from a patchwork of outdated systems into a modern, cohesive framework built on zero trust principles. The outcomes were measurable:

• $896K in cost savings from tool consolidation and licensing optimization
• Full retirement of the legacy VPN, replaced with zero trust based sec ure access
• Established a DLP maturity baseline, giving the team a framework for proactive data protection
• Real time activity monitoring via CASB, ensuring that users only access what they’re authorized to
• No disruption to operations internal users actually experienced faster, more seamless access to the right tools
• Improved visibility, security governance, and long term scalability

The client didn’t just reduce risk—they raised the bar for what’s possible with a smart, metrics-driven cybersecurity strategy.