Sapphire & Check Point: Strength in Partnership

Sapphire
info@sapphire.net I 0845 58 27001 I www.sapphire.net
“Sapphire is a fully accredited Check Point Certified Support Partner with expertise across the
whole end-to-end portfolio of products allowing them to architect, deliver, support and manage
Check Point’s market leading technologies to customers old and new.

Check Point view Sapphire as a key partner.”

Michael Wakefield
Head of Channel Sales UK & Ireland, Check Point

“Check Point is a key Partner for Sapphire being the largest and fastest growing area of our
business. More and more companies are asking Sapphire to supply, install, support and
manage their Check Point estates. The Next Generation Firewall technology offers our
customers the most comprehensive protection of their networks, endpoints, users and their
data across cloud, datacentre and enterprise networks.

We offer Check Point design, implementation and support services from our accredited team of
consultants across the entire Check Point portfolio. Coupled with that is our Check Point
license review service, a bespoke offering, designed to help our customers to reduce the time,
effort and cost required to own world-class security solutions.

We don’t need to tie customers into long-term service arrangements. Instead we create and
deliver an ideal service for each customer based on their individual requirements – the
foundations for a successful and mutually beneficial partnership.”

David Lannin
Director of Technology, Sapphire

Sapphire
info@sapphire.net I 0845 58 27001 I www.sapphire.net
Partner Status

Sapphire is an established Check Point partner, having worked with Check Point Software
Technologies since 1996, our team has over 60 years combined technical experience
supporting and managing Check Point implementations.

Our Check Point services include 24x7 support, design, implementation, support as well as
bespoke service offerings with flexible terms and deep integration with Check Point Research
and Development. In addition to this, Sapphire has full UK coverage with offices in
Basingstoke, Darlington and Glasgow. With over 300 Sapphire customers, Check Point
recognise Sapphire as a key partner, working together to offer customers the very best
security available today.

Sapphire is known and respected within Check Point for its technical expertise and
knowledge of all Check Point solutions. Holding an extremely mature understanding of
Check Point licensing, Sapphire is able to advise clients on the best and most cost effective
way to deploy Check Point solutions.

Sapphire has extensive experience in dealing with all UK sectors and has been involved in
deploying and supporting some of the most complex global Check Point infrastructures. Both
our helpdesk and technical consultants are SC cleared and familiar with working with Check
Point in local and central government environments.

In order to guarantee its customers the best level of service and support Sapphire is a Check
Point Certified Support Partner (CCSP) allowing support issues to be raised directly with
Check Point technicians in the United States and Israel when necessary.

Due to its capabilities and work within the security industry Sapphire is also recognised by
Check Point as a Consultant Partner, able to offer business advice and assistance beyond the
Check Point range. This knowledge covers integration, deployment, implementation and
general business operations so that solutions offered, installed and supported by Sapphire fit
harmoniously within each organisations current infrastructure and mode of working.

Sapphire deploy solutions from across the entire Check Point Infinity portfolio, including
some of the latest advances in cloud and endpoint security:

Cloud - Check Point’s CloudGuard IaaS (formally known as vSEC) integrates with the largest
number of private and public cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft
Azure, ensuring cloud environments are instantly and easily protected against even the most
sophisticated malware and zero-day attacks.

Endpoint – Check Point SaaS (formally known as SandBlast) is a family of advanced threat
prevention solutions, protecting users from advanced threats including malware,
ransomware, phishing and zero-day attacks. Sapphire are a specialist Check Point Sandblast
Certified Partner.

Sapphire
info@sapphire.net I 0845 58 27001 I www.sapphire.net
Certifications
Sapphire prides itself on its in depth and complete understanding of all Check Point products
and underlying technologies.

All Sapphire engineers have been working with Check Point products for many years and in
some cases since Check Point first became available in the UK in 1994. Engineers are
located throughout the UK and certified by Check Point. The table below shows the number of
qualified engineers and their certifications:

Certification Number of Engineers

Check Point Certified Administrator (CCSA) 5
Check Point Certified Expert (CCSE) 5
Check Point Certified Master (CCSM) 1
Check Point Certified vSEC Administrator 3
Check Point Certified SandBlast Expert 2
Check Point Certified CloudGuard Expert 2

Sapphire has 18 technical staff and 7 of these hold UK HMG security clearance (SC). We have
experience of supporting customers with European, American & global operations supplying
extended support and services to meet the requirements of working outside of normal UK
hours.

Support
Sapphire support is backed by a comprehensive Service Level Agreement (SLA), which
guarantees response times based on clearly defined call priorities, ensuring efficient handling
of all support issues. We offer around the clock Check Point support, with both 24x7 and 8x5
support options.

Sapphire’s helpdesk staff are certified to Check Point Certified Security Administrators
(CCSA) and Check Point Certified Security Engineers (CCSE) levels. Our helpdesk staff have
both support and implementation experience with Check Point, ensuring problems are quickly
addressed and working resolutions provided quickly and efficiently.

Sapphire is an accredited CCSP (Collaborative Check Point Support Provider). Sapphire staff
handles all helpdesk calls internally. We do not outsource any support calls to 3rd parties or
distributors. We have the ability escalate calls within the Check Point TAC when required;
currently 95% of 1st and 2nd line support calls are resolved internally.

New Technology
Sapphire is also an active member of Check Point’s beta testing programmes and work
closely with Check Point R&D for the development of new versions and solutions. Access to
these programmes gives Sapphire an early understanding of new product releases and any
issues that may arise around version upgrades so that we are able to advise our clients
accordingly.

Sapphire also acts in an advisory capacity with R&D in advising on features and functionality
that we see within our customer base. We have been involved extensively with products such
as Check Point GO and Check Point SandBlast, developing its capabilities and influencing
how the technology is used by customers around the globe.

Sapphire
info@sapphire.net I 0845 58 27001 I www.sapphire.net
Training
Sapphire provides accredited training courses via an Authorised Check Point Training Centre
(ATC) or can offer bespoke Check Point training, which can be delivered onsite. Bespoke
training is tailored to the customer’s own environment to ensure that it maximises the
relevance of the content.

Policy Review Services

Firewall policies are not static, but change and adapt to the needs of business. Having a good
understanding of how and why policies have been created and the impact these can have on
evolving business is essential in ensuring there are no unwanted holes in the security policies
in defined throughout a Check Point estate.

Sapphire offers a Policy Review Service, where peace of mind and confirmation of the policies
currently in use are relevant to your business needs. We identify poor configurations, open
ports which should be closed, as well as performing a complete health check of the Check
Point devices and their Operating Systems.

License Review Service

Sapphire offers its Check Point customers an annual license audit service. We ensure that the
correct licenses are assigned to gateways within the license repository, remove any old
evaluation licenses or unused licenses and update the Check Point Usercenter Account so
that this clearly reflects the locations of each asset.

We identify unused security features which could strengthen the overall security. We also
identify unused licenses and recommend what can be removed safely, reducing costs of
license renewal. This makes the licenses easier to manage and more cost effective. It is also
an opportunity to check that the address details are correct for the hardware appliances,
which ensures a speedy resolution to hardware replacements if required.

Maximising investment
In addition to providing clients proactive updates on the latest Check Point features, versions
and solutions, Sapphire work with our customers to review how the existing functionality is
being used within the operational infrastructure, advising on how best to configure the
solution to ensure maximum investment.

All new appliances from Check Point come with various subscription blades (IPS, Application
Control and Identity Awareness) built in as standard for one year. We often find that many
customers do not configure these additional blades during that time. Sapphire can advise on
how best to configure these, not only increasing the security posture of the organisation, but
capitalising on the money already spent on their Check Point deployment. These benefits,
alongside our license review service ensure that we maximise functionality while minimising
the recurring costs each year.

Sapphire
info@sapphire.net I 0845 58 27001 I www.sapphire.net
Sapphire
Sapphire delivers high calibre IT assurance, security and forensic services to customers who
demand the highest standards of quality and dependability.

Sapphire is fully certified to ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus. Whether your need is driven
by regulation, client requirements or just plain good business practice, the issues that need to
be addressed are often the same and Sapphire’s breadth of experience across all industry
sectors is there to help you.

Founded in 1996, have offices throughout UK in Basingstoke, Darlington & Glasgow.

Sapphire’s credibility is built not only on its reputation among clients but is also demonstrated
by its certifications, being members of both the CESG CHECK and CREST schemes and we
are also the founder of the National Information Security Conference
(www.sapphire.net/nisc) which is now in its 19th year.

Alongside its portfolio of solutions, of which Check Point is a strategic vendor, Sapphire also
delivers the following Professional Services through industry-accredited consultants:

• ISO27001
• GDPR readiness
• Cyber Essentials Plus certification
• Business Continuity
• Penetration Testing
• Computer Forensics
• Data Recovery
• Security Audits
• CISO as a Service

Sapphire prides itself on its ability to deliver innovative and dependable security solutions that
address real business needs. Constantly reviewing current and future requirements through
our team of strategists, Sapphire delivers cost effective services and solutions fit for purpose
today and that are able to scale and grow to adapt to organisations’ changing business
needs.

Details of our full service range can be viewed on our website http://www.sapphire.net/our-
services/.

Sapphire
info@sapphire.net I 0845 58 27001 I www.sapphire.net