As the TOKAI Group diversified its business, its web presence rapidly expanded, leading to complex back-end operations. To quickly meet demand, employees created web pages using external hosting services. However, if the employee left the team, the webpage was left unattended. “A website without an administrator is a potential target for cyberattacks, posing high risk to brand reputation and data security,” said Tatsuya Kurebayashi, a member of the Development Department, Group ICT Development, System Solutions Division, at TOKAI Communications Corporation. To simplify web management and improve IT security, the TOKAI Group wanted to create a centralized application development and operation environment using containers.

The TOKAI Group tested several container technology solutions before deciding to use Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated, a managed service container platform that offers enterprise features supported by Red Hat technical experts. “If you use containers, your applications and execution environment are packaged together, making development much easier. But if you want to use containers on premise, you will continue to need people to manage the infrastructure,” said Mr. Kurebayashi. “We decided to adopt the OpenShift Dedicated managed service, running on Amazon Web Services, to pursue maximal efficiency in both development and operations.” To date, the TOKAI Group has centralized applications for approximately 20 websites without administrators, and it plans to add more websites and business-critical applications.

With its managed container platform with greater automation, resource provisioning times have been shortened from 5 days to 1 hour. TOKAI Group has also improved governance with automated patching and updates. By removing cyberattack vulnerability from unmanaged websites and unifying management, the group can protect its brand image and mitigate security threats. “Red Hat is closely involved in Kubernetes development, rather than just using it in their products,” said Mr. Kurebayashi. “We trust Red Hat to manage our infrastructure.” TOKAI Group’s new managed service platform from Red Hat has helped save 50% in operational costs. The group has also reduced the time needed to manage its web presence, creating a foundation for future cost savings.