Innovation in IT Security for ESET

Deciphering data security management for millions of devices.


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Mission Critical

Great design does not just transform user experience, but can also shift the mindset of an entire business. When ESET commissioned Frontend.com to redesign their Remote Administration Console they believed they understood their customers. A global UX research study uncovered a very different truth.

Network security management is an onerous task. As the volume and mobility of network devices increases, it becomes more difficult to safeguard against security threats. It takes only one infected device to bring a business to its knees. The price of failure is high. In 2015, Lloyd’s insurance estimated that cyber attacks cost businesses as much as $400 billion a year.

 

 

ESET is a world leader in IT security technology. Their products protect over 100 million connected devices in 180 countries every day. Renowned for their speed and performance, ESET regularly top antivirus comparison tables. Yet their products were often rated as difficult to set-up and complex to use. All of that changed in 2014 with the introduction of version 6 of the ESET Remote Administrator.

The Remote Administrator Console made installing ESET over the network simple. The predefined policies enabled the set-up to work out of the box.

ESET Customer, UK

ESET Remote Administrator desktop application screen.

ESET endpoint security icon suite.

One of the most intuitive security servers I have ever used. I cannot see why a security team would choose anything else.

ESET Customer, USA

Global Research Strategy

The key to this turnaround was rooted in research and a deeper understanding of customer goals. Over the last five years, we have implemented a global research strategy within ESET to gather insights and validate new product development. In that time we have visited over 100 customer sites across three continents to understand user goals.

In such a specialised domain, it is vital to conduct primary research in order to advance the user experience design. However, in this case, our own lack of specific domain expertise was a significant barrier to fully understanding user needs. To overcome this we designed a collaborative research approach involving members of the ESET technical team in every interview. This not only ensured that we gathered meaningful data, but it also gave the product team first-hand experience of their customers and the issues that they faced. This both energised ESET’s team and transformed their understanding of their customers.

Two Frontend.com team members working at standing desks.

Frontend.com team member placing post-it notes onto a wall.

As part of our approach we implemented a persona-driven design strategy within ESET to help communicate the requirements more effectively across the many teams. Those personas have evolved over five years with each subsequent round of research. They have redefined ESET’s understanding of their customers and abolishing many previously-held assumptions. They have become a central tool within the organisation, not only for design but also for the training and marketing teams.

One of the most intuitive security servers I have ever used. I cannot see why a security team would choose anything else.

ESET Customer, USA

End-to-end Innovation

User-experience innovation in the technology space requires collaboration across diverse design disciplines. Over time our design team have worked with ESET to create more streamlined product solutions with interactive dashboards, guided task flows, intuitive user interface behaviours, as well as updating the online look and feel. We created a cohesive new visual language for the user interface, including a revised suite of icons, layout patterns, and branding guidance. The result is a business product suite that works for large corporations and small businesses. One that radically optimises the performance of ESET’s products.

Our work with ESET was shortlisted for the IXDA Awards 2016 in Helsinki.

Outstanding. A wealth of information and functionality is available from the console, but the design avoids overwhelming the user. We had no difficulty carrying out every day deployment, monitoring, or management tasks. ESET have done a tremendous job.

AV Comparatives Magazine



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