CTXM heads for the cloud

Online gambling software developer CTXM and PsiPay, an operator of the EcoCard brand have successfully collaborated in an Internet cloud-creation project, working in tandem with VMware. The initiative is part of a drive to expand the range of virtualised solutions available to the e-gaming industry.
A company spokesman said this week that the combination of CTXM’s industry experience and VMware’s cloud computing expertise provides e-gaming and electronic payment operators with a valuable service, helping to increase security and reduce the costs of maintaining data stores and large IT infrastructures.
“The protection of sensitive customer data and the security of online transactions are paramount in these industries, which is often further complicated by the company having multiple geographical locations that have varying IT installations,” the spokesman said.
CTXM’s chief technical officer, Victor Stepanov, explained: “Securing access to organisational data, preventing database leaks and enforcing robust security policies is a primary concern for e-gaming operators and payment providers. Through our partnership with VMware, we are now able to provide cloud installations and virtualised desktops that offer considerable advantages to operators.”
Stepanov claims that a virtual network is able to apply enhanced perimeter security on an operator’s data without the need for specific hardware or multiple software instances. In addition, virtual networks provide enhanced business recovery procedures irrespective of the multiple physical locations a business might have.
Cloud computing and storage provides operators and support staff with virtual desktops that eliminate the need to store sensitive data locally, thereby reducing the possibility of unauthorised transfer to a mobile storage device and theft, or inadvertent loss.
“Deployment procedures are standardised and scalability is obtained by cloning predefined profiles,” Stepanov continued. “Maintenance processes such as software updates or disk-based backups are centralised to avoid expensive downtimes for operators.”
In the PsiPay project 30 workstations located in two countries were virtualised through the use of VMware. The result improved security and efficiency whilst providing the payment company with flexible access to its systems with negligible downtime from occurrences such as hardware failure.

Related and similar