Western Union Drives 50% Reduction in Manual Security Workload and Achieves 99% Asset Coverage with Axonius
MWN-AI** Summary
Western Union has reported a significant transformation in its security operations, achieving a remarkable 50% reduction in manual workload and reaching 99% asset coverage through the implementation of Axonius Asset Cloud™. This change is pivotal for Western Union, a leader in cross-border money movement and payments, as it seeks to protect a complex global infrastructure that includes multiple data centers and hybrid cloud environments.
By integrating data from 38 different security and IT tools, Axonius has emerged as a critical source of truth for Western Union, enabling the security team to manage their extensive technology footprint effectively. The Axonius platform automates many previously manual processes, allowing security controls to be applied consistently while enhancing operational efficiency. This automation liberates resources, enabling security personnel to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine tasks like validating security agent coverage and preparing for audits.
Douglas Salazar, Senior Manager of Engineering Operations at Western Union, emphasized the importance of Axonius, stating that it simplifies the complex challenges faced by their global organization. The tool not only provides a comprehensive view of the asset landscape but also is essential for operational success.
Key benefits realized by Western Union include the ability to monitor ephemeral cloud workloads—an area known for causing blind spots—thus improving visibility from 85% to 99%. Additionally, the automated dashboards significantly enhance readiness for PCI and SOC audits, streamlining evidence collection processes. Furthermore, Axonius facilitates rapid assessment and security of assets during mergers and acquisitions, contributing to efficiency and integration speed.
Overall, Western Union’s partnership with Axonius demonstrates a significant shift in cybersecurity operations, showcasing how visibility can translate into intelligent, actionable security management.
MWN-AI** Analysis
Western Union's recent achievement of a 50% reduction in manual security workload, alongside reaching a remarkable 99% asset coverage through the deployment of Axonius Asset Cloud™, serves as a significant case study in the cybersecurity sector. This pivotal transformation underlines a crucial trend: the increasing reliance on automation and integrated solutions to bolster organizational security and operational efficiency.
Investors should recognize this transformation not merely as a technological upgrade but as a harbinger of broader shifts in the cybersecurity landscape. The ability of Western Union to streamline its security operations signifies an effective response to an increasingly complex threat environment where visibility and rapid response are paramount. By automating manual processes, Western Union has liberated its engineering talent to focus on strategic vulnerability management, which is essential for mitigating risks associated with sensitive financial transactions.
For companies nested in technology and service sectors, this case highlights the importance of investing in platforms that provide comprehensive asset management and exposure visibility. Firms looking to enhance their security posture should consider integrating similar solutions that offer a single source of truth for asset data, particularly those that encompass ephemeral assets in cloud environments.
Furthermore, the enhancement of audit readiness and the agility observed during mergers and acquisitions indicate that companies leveraging such intelligent systems are not only improving their security stance but also gaining a competitive edge in operational scalability and compliance.
In summary, Western Union's success with Axonius underscores a pivotal market opportunity for both service providers and organizations. The investment in unified security solutions can lead to operational efficiencies that safeguard against evolving cyber threats while enabling growth and strategic resilience. Investors should thus watch for companies adapting to this proactive cybersecurity paradigm, as they are likely to emerge as leaders in their sectors.
**MWN-AI Summary and Analysis is based on asking OpenAI to summarize and analyze this news release.
NEW YORK, March 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axonius, the asset intelligence platform for unified security operations and exposure management, today announced that its customer, Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, has achieved a 50% reduction in manual workload for its security engineering operations team and increased its enterprise asset coverage to 99% by deploying the Axonius Asset Cloud™.
In an environment where visibility is the foundation of cybersecurity, Western Union’s team is responsible for protecting a complex global infrastructure spanning multiple data centers and hybrid cloud environments. By consolidating and correlating asset data from 38 different security and information technology (IT) tools, Axonius has become the company’s trusted source of truth. The Axonius Asset Cloud builds a complete, accurate and always up-to-date model of the entire technology footprint, enabling the Western Union team to automate previously manual processes, ensure security controls are consistently applied, and dramatically improve operational efficiency.
“Western Union’s success is a powerful proof point of a fundamental shift in cybersecurity,” said Joe Diamond, president and interim CEO of Axonius. “Visibility is just the starting point. The real business value comes from turning that visibility into intelligent action. By automating their asset management, Western Union has freed up valuable engineering talent to focus on strategic initiatives, strengthened its security posture and demonstrated what it means to build a truly resilient enterprise. We are proud to be their partner in this transformation.”
From Manual Complexity to Automated Clarity
Before implementing Axonius, Western Union’s security teams contended with fragmented data and blind spots. These challenges were compounded in their cloud environments, where ephemeral assets – virtual machines created and destroyed in a matter of hours – created significant visibility gaps and made it nearly impossible to consistently apply security controls. This led to time-consuming manual efforts for tasks like validating security agent coverage and collecting evidence for Payment Card Industry (PCI) and System and Organization Controls (SOC) audits. With Axonius, these workflows are now automated.
“We are equipped with industry-leading security solutions, among which Axonius stands out as one of the most powerful and effective,” said Douglas Salazar, engineering operations senior manager for Western Union. “It solves puzzles, saves time, and makes the complex simple. In a global organization like ours, having a single source of truth to see our entire asset landscape and automate our response is not just an operational advantage, it’s a business imperative.”
Key outcomes from Western Union’s deployment of the Axonius Asset Cloud include:
- 50% reduction in manual workload: By automating asset inventory and policy enforcement, key personnel now dedicate more time to strategic security projects.
- 99% asset coverage, Including ephemeral cloud workloads: The team gained near-complete visibility across all environments, increasing coverage from 85% to 99%. Crucially, this includes ephemeral instances in Amazon Web Services (AWS), solving a major blind spot for modern cloud security.
- Accelerated audit readiness: Automated dashboards provide on-demand evidence for PCI and SOC audits, significantly reducing the time and effort required for evidence collection.
- Enhanced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) agility: Axonius enables the team to rapidly discover, assess, and secure assets in newly acquired company environments, accelerating integration timelines.
Additional Resources
- Read the full Western Union case study.
- Watch the video interview with the Western Union team.
- Learn about Axonius Asset Cloud, take a product tour or request a demo.
- Connect with Axonius on LinkedIn and X.
About Western Union
The Western Union Company is committed to helping people around the world who aspire to build financial futures for themselves, their loved ones and their communities. Our leading cross-border, cross-currency money movement, payments and digital financial services empower consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments—across more than 200 countries and territories and over 130 currencies—to connect with billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and a global footprint of hundreds of thousands of retail locations. Our goal is to offer accessible financial services that help people and communities prosper. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
About Axonius:
Axonius is the asset intelligence platform for unified security operations and exposure management. The Axonius Asset Cloud is the one source of truth for assets and exposures across your entire environment, providing all the right context to prioritize risks and coordinate fixes. Cited as one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity startups, with accolades from CNBC, Forbes and Fortune, Axonius supports millions of assets for leading customers across industries and around the world.
The power to transform asset intelligence into intelligent action. Learn more at www.axonius.com.
Axonius, the Axonius logo, Axonius Asset Cloud, and Axonius Federal Systems are all trademarks
of the Axonius affiliate group. All other trademarks and brand names are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contact:
press@axonius.com
FAQ**
What specific strategies did Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) implement to achieve a 50% reduction in manual workload with Axonius Asset Cloud™?
How has the 99% asset coverage achieved by Western Union Company WU impacted their overall cybersecurity posture and operational efficiency?
In what ways has Axonius Asset Cloud™ enabled Western Union Company (WU) to enhance their audit readiness for PCI and SOC compliance?
Can you elaborate on how Western Union Company (WU) utilizes Axonius for accelerated M&A agility in integrating new assets?
**MWN-AI FAQ is based on asking OpenAI questions about Western Union Company (NYSE: WU).
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