Case Study: State of Colorado achieves stronger network security, 40% faster traffic and major cost savings with Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Security Platform

Colorado Strengthens the State of Network Security

The State of Colorado’s Governor’s Office of Information Technology needed to secure a large, diverse set of agencies supporting 5.3 million residents amid a rising tide of targeted attacks—more than 8.4 million threats per day. A patchwork of legacy firewalls and VPNs was costly and hard to manage, while employees still needed fast, reliable access to applications and data to serve citizens.

Colorado deployed the Palo Alto Networks Next‑Generation Security Platform—PA‑7050 firewalls with Threat Prevention, URL Filtering, WildFire and Panorama—to centralize visibility, automate protections, and enforce consistent policies. The implementation delivered clearer traffic control and automated updates, improved firewall efficiency (up to 40% faster traffic flow), saved about 60 staff hours per week, reduced operating expenses an estimated 76%, and is projected to save $1.3 million through device consolidation.

State of Colorado

Suma Nallapati

Chief Information Officer, Governor’s Office of Information Technology