Delivering secure services at scale

When semiconductor and infrastructure software company Broadcom acquired the enterprise division of cybersecurity company Symantec in November 2019, no one could have predicted that the world would change so radically just a few months later. However, thanks to Broadcom’s investment in cloud services, the company and its newest acquisition transitioned seamlessly to new workplace realities.

“When we bought the Symantec Enterprise security business, there were only about 750,000 cloud proxy users,” recalls Andy Nallappan, chief security officer, and head of software engineering and operations for Broadcom. “But suddenly, in March 2020, Covid hit. Symantec customers sent employees home, and it went to 4m active cloud proxy users.”

Key to Broadcom and Symantec’s success was Broadcom’s ongoing transition from on-premise to cloud computing, specifically to the Google Cloud Platform. Mr Nallappan and his team already had experience in transitioning acquired companies to the cloud and software-as-a-service business models, which helped them to complete Symantec’s transition before the Covid crisis hit.

Cost savings and happy teams

Just as its acquisitions have transitioned to modern architectures in the cloud, Broadcom has been moving its own workloads off-premises to drive operational efficiencies.

In about a year, Broadcom eliminated 165 software test labs by hosting the bulk of the work on Google Cloud and running it on team members’ laptops instead of on workstations in dedicated physical spaces. As a result, Broadcom realised a 50% cost saving on testing, with the added benefit of increased employee satisfaction.

The benefits result from scaling cloud resources up or down as needed, with rewards accruing to employees who manage resources effectively. “Our bonuses are based on effective spending,” Mr Nallappan explains. “Team bonuses go up as their costs are optimised.”

It is a win for the organisation and a win for team members. Broadcom enjoys some of the best operating margins among its industry peers.

Google Cloud provides Broadcom with a host of other benefits as well. It lets Broadcom teams apply patches across applications and users as soon as they become available, enhancing security. It helps the company onboard large numbers of users without degrading service.

It also provides low latency and further security benefits arising from data travelling mainly on Google’s fast and secure private network. Also, development teams can innovate more quickly as a result of Google Cloud’s common platform for multiple applications. “We are able to accommodate user needs at a faster pace,” Mr Nallappan explains.

Upskilling and talent retention

Mr Nallappan sees increased employee satisfaction across all areas of work at Broadcom, as a result of the technologies available on the Google Cloud platform. Broadcom employees “feel good about modernising their skills,” he says.

Such upskilling opportunities and the resulting uptick in employee satisfaction help Broadcom to retain talent, he emphasises. This is an especially critical need in a tight job market.

“Everybody’s thriving,” Mr Nallappan concludes.