Background

RhinoDox is a cloud-based, Intelligent Content Management platform for manufacturing companies. Their software streamlines communication and transparency by connecting people, content and business processes to deliver the power of lean manufacturing. Built on AWS, the platform provides an end-to-end solution, including the digitization of documents and forms, secure and accessible cloud storage, unparalleled ease of searching and finding documents and business process automation. RhinoDox reduces the time spent searching for documents and fulfilling mundane tasks so resources can spend more time driving revenue.

The Challenge

As a SaaS based content management platform, securing and maintaining the integrity of their environment, as well as their clients’ data is paramount. RhinoDox wanted to ensure they were up to date with the latest best practices and newest services from AWS to maintain the integrity of their platform and to meet the compliance requirements of their customers, partners and vendors.

The Solution

RhinoDox engaged Uturn to perform a Well-Architected Review (WAR) of their AWS environment. The WAR is a half-day analysis of a workload against AWS best practices conducted by AWS Pro Certified Solutions Architects. This analysis covers the 5 Pillars of the Well Architected Framework which include; operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, and cost optimization. After completing the review and comparing their environment to thousands of successful AWS implementations, Uturn provided RhinoDox with a detailed report with prioritized recommendations to improve their architecture.

With an emphasis on the Security Pillar, Uturn implemented an AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect RhinoDox’s website and APIs against cross-site scripting, SQL injection and temporarily block IPs trying to exploit specific URLs. “In some cases RhinoDox may rely on 3rd party software. Vulnerabilities identified in that software can take a long time to fix as we wait on vendor timelines.” said Travis Whelan, VP of Engineer at RhinoDox. “AWS WAF provides a safety net for us to mitigate these issues while we wait for vendor fixes”

Additional benefits from the WAR included enhanced encryption of the metadata store and increased savings with a Reserved Instance recommendation report for their production workload. Uturn provided a roadmap with an action plan for items deemed to be critical or in need of improvement. “Completing a WAR with Uturn allowed us to establish a baseline.” continued Mr. Whelan. “We can now conduct these reviews on a regular basis to measure our improvement as we grow.”

Benefits

  • AWS WAF provided protection against XSS, SQL Injection, and other common web exploits
  • Additional layers of protection to their data store
  • Uncovered additional cost savings without sacrificing performance or availability
  • Established a baseline to measure future improvements

About Uturn

Uturn Data Solutions is a technology services firm and Advanced Tier AWS Consulting Partner helping businesses achieve digital transformation through the use of cloud technologies. We are market leaders in leveraging the power of AWS to accelerate innovation, increase operational efficiency and help our clients future proof their businesses.