Global pharmaceutical leader's SecOps transformation with HCLTech
Overview
A global pharmaceutical leader is setting new benchmarks in cybersecurity excellence. Driven by their mission to improve people’s lives, our client partnered with us to strengthen their digital defenses and safeguard critical assets. Together, we’re ensuring that innovation in healthcare continues securely by protecting both intellectual property and patient data every step of the way.
Operating across multiple regions with thousands of servers and privileged accounts, the organization demonstrated remarkable foresight in identifying significant security vulnerabilities and operational inefficiencies that required immediate transformation. Rather than accepting the status quo, leadership championed a comprehensive modernization initiative.
The challenge
Addressing complex cybersecurity and operational demands in a regulated environment
As a forward-thinking organization in a highly regulated pharmaceutical industry, our client identified multiple cybersecurity and operational challenges that needed to be addressed to maintain their leadership position:
Operational transformation opportunities:
- Application teams working independently without standardized ITSM processes
- Thousands of privileged accounts requiring better management and oversight
- Legacy access patterns accumulated over years presenting optimization opportunities
Strategic modernization requirements:
- Platform team responsibilities requiring clearer definition and boundaries
- Opportunity to better align business needs with cybersecurity delivery models
- Fragmented SecOps across multiple vendors requiring consolidation
- Automation maturity enhancement to improve process efficiency
Vision for future-state operations:
- Transition from traditional T&M to innovative managed services model
- Consolidate multiple vendors into a streamlined, efficient operating model
- Simplify the security landscape while dramatically enhancing user experience
- Achieve significant cost optimization through intelligent automation
The organization's leadership recognized that the scale and complexity of their global infrastructure required a trusted partner capable of delivering comprehensive cybersecurity transformation with proven automation capabilities and outcome-based delivery.
Vision
Centralization and modernization of cybersecurity operations for measurable business outcomes
Our client’s vision was clear: implement a next-generation cybersecurity operating model that would centralize operations, enhance security posture and deliver measurable business outcomes through automation and standardization. To achieve this ambitious transformation, they partnered with HCLTech as their strategic technology partner.
The solution
Executing a comprehensive cybersecurity transformation with HCLTech
The pharmaceutical leader partnered with HCLTech to execute their vision of comprehensive cybersecurity transformation, successfully introducing centralized operations, advanced automation and a next-generation operating model designed for scalability and resilience.
Centralized AppOps excellence
- Established centralized AppOps team with privileged access for application administration and service management
- Implemented comprehensive middleware administration and environment provisioning
- Successfully deployed CI/CD pipelines for automated application deployments
360-degree security coverage
- Delivered comprehensive security across Infrastructure and Endpoint Security, Identity and Access Management and Privileged Access Management
- Deployed security automation at scale using multiple tools and technologies
Global operations excellence
- Established global SecOps with 24x7 coverage through strategic right-shoring
- Created dedicated chapters and guilds for IAM, Data and Endpoint Security and Vulnerability Remediation Governance
- Achieved comprehensive E2E SecOps consolidation with enhanced service delivery
The impact
Delivering measurable security, operational and strategic value
Our client's transformation vision delivered exceptional and measurable outcomes across all key performance indicators:
Security excellence achieved:
- Strengthened enterprise security posture and compliance by executing large-scale remediation of critical infrastructure and eliminating systemic account vulnerabilities.
- Mitigated enterprise-wide security risks by proactively remediating critical infrastructure and enforcing compliance standards across all systems
- Enhanced organizational risk posture and compliance maturity through robust adoption of Change Management practices, reducing operational vulnerabilities
- Implemented NextGen Agile SecOps Operating Model with a remarkable 50% improvement in incident response time
Operational excellence delivered:
- Achieved 40% increase in deployment efficiency through intelligent application installation qualification and automation
- Successfully replicated best practices across all applications
- Established robust collaboration frameworks across critical security domains
Strategic value realization:
- Achieved substantial cost optimization through automation in managed outcome model
- Successfully transformed vendor landscape from multiple disparate providers to a unified, managed services approach laying the solid foundation to transform operation using agentic AI
Conclusion
This global pharmaceutical leader’s visionary approach to implementing next-generation Security Operations (SecOps) capabilities has not only strengthened their security posture but also delivered substantial operational efficiencies and cost savings. This transformation positions the organization as an industry leader, fully equipped to navigate an increasingly complex threat landscape while continuing their mission to improve people's lives worldwide.
