OP-CBS, a specialist software provider, used MySQL Enterprise Transparent Data Encryption to secure its data and attract larger enterprise-level clients.
Introduction & Background
OP Computer Business Solutions, Inc. (OP-CBS) provides customized software solutions to support customs, logistics, and foreign trade operations between Mexico and the US. Established in 1994, the company dedicates its products and services to the customs and logistics sector.
Its team of experts applies cost-reducing solutions and flawless control of documentation and merchandise—streamlining customs brokerage, logistics, as well as import and export-related tasks and automating processes.
Business Challenges & Goals
OP-CBS began using MySQL in 1997 for non-critical workloads before moving its core customs software to the MySQL Community version in 2010.
Since then, the company has experienced considerable growth and has become a leader in the Mexican customs market, with more than 500 clients running its software to manage the transit of goods through the country's main customs ports.
While many of its clients have traditionally been smaller customs brokers and freight forwarders, OP-CBS has also secured contracts with larger logistics and shipping multinationals, as well as global retailers and industrial manufacturing conglomerates. The company’s business strategy was to continue targeting large enterprises, but it was frequently unable to meet their strict security requirements—for example, ensuring that data is encrypted while at rest.
To continue targeting large enterprises, the company needed a more robust and scalable database platform and stronger technical support to ease the increasing burden on its IT team.
Business Results & Metrics
By deploying MySQL Enterprise Edition as the backbone for its business-critical customs software, OP-CBS has been able to greatly expand business opportunities and achieve regulatory compliance.
The company upgraded MySQL Community Edition to MySQL Enterprise Edition 8.0 to tighten security using MySQL Transparent Data Encryption (TDE). OP-CBS's data are now encrypted automatically and in real-time, which greatly reduces the risk of security breaches, as potential hackers will be unable to read private data from tablespace files, backups, or disks.
OP-CBS won a national contract with UPS, a parcel delivery multinational, because it has strong database security, including encrypting data when it's not being used. UPS will use OP-CBS's software to manage customs processes at over a dozen Mexican ports.
With its more secure, trusted, and robust MySQL Enterprise database, OP-CBS can now better target larger clients as well as other logistics and customs agencies that prioritize data security. The company is also able to manage larger workloads using MySQL Enterprise Scalability and meet more demanding client service level agreements, while fully complying with government and industry data regulations.
OP-CBS's IT employees now have a more manageable database platform and spend much less time dealing with security and performance issues. They are also able to resolve problems faster and more effectively, thanks to the 24/7 assistance provided by MySQL Enterprise Support.
The strategic partnership with the MySQL team was instrumental in driving OP-CBS's security initiatives and helped the company develop standards for the new, fully supported MySQL platform. MySQL experts continue to support OP-CBS's growth by sharing architecture recommendations and helping the company scale out to meet its future business demands.
Why MySQL Enterprise Edition
While OP-CBS had achieved steady business growth with MySQL Community Edition, the lack of advanced security features hindered the company's ability to land larger contracts. Security was therefore the number one factor in OP-CBS's decision-making process.
MySQL consultants demonstrated the multiple security advantages of upgrading to MySQL Enterprise Edition, showing how MySQL Enterprise Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) protects data at rest and would help the company achieve compliance and secure its database environment. OP-CBS's stakeholders were equally impressed with the wide range of MySQL Enterprise tools and features, particularly the round-the-clock support options offered by MySQL Enterprise Support.
"The large, prestigious clients that make up our target audience were asking us for data encryption at rest. MySQL Enterprise Edition offered us the best way to achieve this through MySQL Enterprise TDE. We also highly valued the technical support, which has been just perfect, saving our time, increasing our knowledge, and always very accessible," said Osiel Perez.
Next Steps
OP-CBS deployed MySQL Enterprise Edition for its core business customs application. Due to the project's success, the company will be using MySQL Enterprise Edition for its other software products.
Additionally, the company will explore other MySQL Enterprise tools to further streamline and simplify its database management processes.