Secure access for hybrid IT

·         66% of organisations expect that within two years, more than 30% of their cloud-resident data will be sensitive

·         53% of mobile knowledge workers wait at least a week before applying a security patch or update to the devices they use for work

·         45% of organisations that have repatriated a public cloud-based application(s)/workload(s) have deployed them on converged infrastructure

Ubiquitous access to applications and dynamic resource provisioning are the new normal, yielding an increase in advanced threats and massive data breaches. As enterprises embrace digital transformation and migrate their applications and infrastructure to multi-cloud, access requirements have become more stringent and complex to prevent attacks and data leakage. To reduce risk, organisations are applying a Zero Trust strategy of “verification before trust” by incorporating stronger user and device authentication, granular access control, and enhanced segmentation no matter where the application and resources reside. 

“Business leaders face a digital imperative to boost user productivity, while also mitigating the risk of data breaches that are growing in size and frequency,” said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, CEO of Pulse Secure. “From our inception, Pulse Secure has focused on providing a pragmatic approach to Zero Trust Secure Access that balances user experience with compliance. By incorporating SDP architecture within our Access Suite, we can deliver the deployment flexibility, scale and investment protection sought by enterprises and service providers.”

Pulse Secure Access Suite provides remote, mobile, cloud, network and application security with comprehensive VPN, Mobile Device Management (MDM), Single Sign-on (SS0), endpoint and IOT device visibility, Network Access Control (NAC) and virtual Application Delivery Controller (ADC) capabilities. Pulse SDP complements this integrated solution set by offering direct device to application/resource secure connectivity only after successful user, device and security state verification including geo location and behaviour-based anomaly detection. As a result, organisations gain seamless accessibility while streamlining access provisioning, improving performance and reducing the visible attack surface. More so, organisations gain greater economies and a non-disruptive way to readily implement SDP functionality when, where and how they require.

“Despite industry suggestions about VPN replacement, SDP is not a panacea for all applications and hybrid IT infrastructure as enterprises migrate to the cloud. While deployments can offer comparatively simple, secure connectivity, SDP projects tend to be based on specific use cases and projects. VPN and SDP will likely co-exist for a while, so organisations need to keep an eye on joint usability, management and costs,” said Jon Oltsik, senior principal analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. “By offering an integrated secure access suite that supports VPN and SDP architectures for data centre and cloud, Pulse Secure can provide strong value that can be compelling for customers and service providers.”

Pulse SDP augments the Access Suite and offers an array of features and business benefits including:

·         Dual-mode VPN and SDP architecture; provides enterprises single pane of glass secure access management and operational visibility across public cloud, private cloud and datacentre.

·         Extensive multi-factor authentication and authorisation options; ensures users, their devices and the applications they access are continuously verified before and during the transaction.

·         Uniform policy management; enables consistently provisioned secure connections that increase usability and security while reducing configuration errors, policy drift and gateway sprawl.

·         Granular, stateful access enforcement; aligns business and compliance requirements with on-demand, application-level access that supports anywhere access and preferred device.

·         Enhanced user experience; offering users easy and seamless access options including web portal, application-activated, SSO and captive portal.

·         Access responsiveness; separate data and control planes to ensure scalability with proprietary Optimal Gateway Selector™ technology to expedite application delivery.

·         Deployment flexibility; freedom to move or extend implementation on premise, through private and public cloud, and with their hosting provider or managed service provider of choice.

·         Reduced total cost of ownership; unified Secure Access platform that works with a customer’s existing investment and access ecosystem to consolidate disparate remote and cloud access controls and avoid expensive administrative, licensing and management overhead.