Modern enterprises run on complex IT systems that need constant monitoring. But traditional tools are often expensive, inflexible, and ill-suited to today’s cybersecurity challenges.

A telecom infrastructure company faced this challenge firsthand: licensed monitoring tools strained budgets and restricted the flexibility needed to adapt to changing infrastructure and security demands. To move forward, the company partnered with Axians to design and implement a secure, scalable, and future-ready monitoring architecture powered by open-source technology.

At the core of the project was Zabbix, a powerful open-source platform built for enterprise-grade monitoring. The goal was straightforward: replace the outdated system with a solution that could oversee network devices, servers, virtual machines, containers, databases, and applications, while making cybersecurity a fundamental part of the design, not an afterthought.

The first step was a comprehensive review of the existing environment. Axians assessed configurations, mapped data flows, and identified gaps that could expose the organization to risk. From this, a new architecture was designed with security built into every layer:

  • Encrypted data collection to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of telemetry.
  • Hardened storage environments with strict access controls and audit capabilities.
  • Identity integration with Active Directory for centralized, role-based access.
  • Multi-factor authentication to secure administrative access and mitigate unauthorized entry.

Deployment with security and performance in balance

After validation, the architecture was rolled out across multiple environments. Virtual servers were configured to balance performance with security, and the platform integrated seamlessly with devices from vendors such as Cisco, Dell, Juniper, and F5. Custom templates further expanded monitoring beyond the legacy system’s limits.

More than a replacement, the platform delivered significant enhancements: expanded metrics, smarter alerting, and dashboards tailored to both operations and security teams. This provided real-time visibility into performance, availability, and security events.

Axians as a Zabbix training partner, delivered certified trainings for the company’s technical teams, to ensure long-term success. The program went beyond system usage, focusing on secure operations, incident detection, and response workflows, empowering teams to manage and evolve the platform independently and securely.

The transition to an open-source, security-first monitoring architecture brought significant benefits:

  • Cost efficiency through the elimination of licensing fees and lower operational expenses.
  • Security compliance with enterprise-grade measures, from encrypted data flows to identity-based access controls.
  • Scalability and flexibility with full ownership of the monitoring infrastructure and freedom to adapt.
  • Operational readiness through trained teams equipped to manage and secure the platform.

This project demonstrates how open-source solutions, implemented with a cybersecurity-first approach, can deliver powerful, compliant, and cost-effective monitoring for large-scale enterprises. By embedding security into the architecture, the organization gained stronger visibility, control, and a resilient foundation for future growth, without sacrificing protection or flexibility.