CASE STUDY- GROUPE SEB UK Limited - September 2004
by LapSafe®

Theft-Trace(tm)- International Laptop Recovery

The Client

The French owned company, Groupe SEB, is a worldwide manufacturer of small domestic appliances. Their four divisions operate the 'household name' brands of Tefal, Rowenta, Moulinex and Krups, the strength of which is evidenced by the fact that somewhere in the world one of their products is purchased every six seconds. The UK headquarters, Groupe SEB UK Limited, operates from offices in Langley, Slough, with an office also in Dublin.

The Requirement

As laptop use increased within Groupe SEB UK, so did the risk of theft. Perhaps more significantly in this case however, the company saw a consequential spiral in the cost of their insurance premiums. In an attempt to do something about this rise they began to examine the products available on the market that would act not only as a deterrent to crime, but that would satisfy their insurer's demands and lower their outgoings.

The Solution

Currently holding around 50 software licenses, Groupe SEB UK was the first company in the country to buy into the idea that tracking and recovering a stolen laptop would be effective and cost efficient. Although their principal reasons were related to satisfying the requirements of their insurers, the company was also keen to safeguard their own data and information.

The software allows them to track a laptop as soon as it is reported stolen. Groupe SEB UK work on the entirely reasonable theory that sooner or later, most stolen laptops will be used to log on to the Internet. As soon as this happens, the device can be located and the police contacted. To date, three laptops have been traced in this way, as IT Manager, Colin Barnett, explains: "At Groupe SEB data security is of great importance. We ensure that users adhere to good practice and that passwords are secure and regularly changed, but the tracking software means that we can remotely erase all company and personal data as soon as the stolen computer is used to access the Internet. One of the main benefits from our point of view is the total peace of mind that this system provides. In today's environment where intellectual property can be equally as significant as tangible assets, this is of enormous value. We would not be without this system: it has become Groupe SEB UK's policy to license all new laptops."