Case study
Artificial intelligence company replaces legacy VPN with ZTNA in 10 minutes
A rapidly growing fuel technology company needed a more secure and scalable alternative to its existing VPN environment.
BlastShield enabled secure remote access without the instability, bottlenecks and exposure of traditional VPN architecture.
The environment
Supporting modern retail fuel pricing infrastructure
PriceCast Fuel (PCF), developed by A2i, is an AI-driven retail fuel pricing and optimisation platform built for the fuel retail industry. The platform combines artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data to support predictive, consumer-behaviour-based fuel pricing.
The organisation needed secure access to both cloud and on-premise environments while supporting a growing number of remote employees.
The problem
The exisiting VPN architecture could no longer support the business
During the pandemic, A2i rapidly expanded its remote workforce. Their existing VPN environment became increasingly unstable under the growing demand for bandwidth and remote access.
The existing hardware VPN solution had originally been designed for smaller-scale business environments and scaled poorly as usage increased.
Operational issues included:
- Slow and unstable connections
- Centralised VPN bottlenecks
- Dropped sessions
- Poor remote performance
- Increasing operational friction
At the same time, the organisation became increasingly concerned about the security vulnerabilities and exploit opportunities created by traditional VPN access.
The challenge
Finding a viable VPN alternative
The organisation wanted a solution that could:
- securely support hybrid work
- preserve performance at scale
- eliminate broad network exposure
- remove dependency on usernames and passwords
- remain easy to use and easy to deploy
A2i specifically needed a Zero Trust Network Access solution capable of preventing:
- Account takeover
- Lateral movement
- Remote access compromise
The BlastShield approach
Zero Trust Network Access without traditional VPN limitations
Instead of exposing the network itself, BlastShield only allowed users to connect to the systems they were explicitly authorised to access.
Instead of exposing the network itself, BlastShield only allowed users to connect to the systems they were explicitly authorised to access.
Secure remote access
Passwordless authentication
Multi-factor authentication including biometrics
Secure access across cloud and on-premise environments
The organisation was then able to roll out the solution quickly across the rest of the company with minimal resistance from employees.
Operational Improvements
Easier remote work with less friction
- manage changing passwords
- deal with unstable VPN sessions
- deal with unstable VPN sessions
- complete ongoing phishing-related training for credential risks
The ease of deployment also reduced the time and cost typically associated with configuring traditional VPN or remote access solutions.
Security & control improvements
Reduced exposure across remote enviornment
Using BlastShield’s microsegmentation capabilities, A2i was able to reduce unnecessary exposure across users, systems and suppliers.
The organisation strengthened protection against:
- phishing attacks
- credential compromise
- ransomware spread
- lateral movement
- supply chain attacks
BlastShield also reduced the potential “blast radius” of a breach by isolating systems and preventing malware from spreading unchecked across environments.
Business Impact
Secure remote access built for modern operations
Blastshield enabled A2i to:
- support scalable remote work
- reduce operational friction
- strengthen security posture
- Improve remote performance
- simplify access management
- reduce the likelihood of costly randomware incidents
Most importantly, remote access no longer slowed the organisation down.
