As employees today begin to rapidly move toward a distributed work model, it’s incumbent upon IT managers to adjust accordingly. For people to thrive in their new remote settings, they need the right technology – in other words, they need technology that delivers the agility, security, and resiliency necessary to empower them. Oftentimes, what this really means is, they need their employers to make a commitment to network optimization.
The workforce today has no boundaries when it comes to work. People appreciate having the capability to do their jobs from any location, at any time. For IT, this means they need to deliver flexible, adaptable networking technologies that can meet this demand. They also must be scalable to meet the needs of thousands of users and devices – and they need to be secure, too.
This has led many in IT to pose the question: How can we reimagine the firewall? When implemented right, firewall technology can be your foundation for comprehensive security. But your approach must be catered to the unique challenges your business will face in 2021 and beyond. So what strategies should you be thinking about?
Here’s a rundown of five in particular.
Going beyond one control point:
These days, it’s no longer as simple as just securing one hard-and-fast perimeter of your business. Your people are everywhere; so are their devices and their data. This means you need a firewall that has control points everywhere, offering you comprehensive visibility in every place you need it.
Tapping into better security intelligence:
Cyberthreats are becoming more sophisticated every day, and this means you need an equally sophisticated defense system. World-class security intelligence gives you fast, reliable, actionable insights on your system and its vulnerabilities, allowing you to quickly sniff out threats and respond appropriately.
Moving management to the cloud:
In a previous era, many organizations put up firewalls that had piecemeal management structures around them, including inconsistent policies and software that had to be painfully manually updated. When you move to a cloud-based approach, all of that is taken care of by your cloud vendor, and you can focus on the essentials of the job.
Adopting open security platforms:
You want a firewall that meets all of your needs, both now and in the future. Typically, the best way to achieve this is with a broad, integrated, and open security platform that protects your entire infrastructure – both what currently exists today, and what you might scale into later. Open platforms beef up your security by giving you this level of broad visibility.
Go with the right vendor:
As the world rapidly changes, and IT only becomes more challenging, you want a network security vendor that will fully support your team. This means giving you an unrivaled level of threat intelligence and a zero-trust approach to security – helping you defend against every threat, no matter how small.
We believe that Cisco can be that vendor. Cisco’s Trusted Workplace Solutions are proven to provide comprehensive security for all organizations, large and small, and they are sure to help your business put up a firewall that’s fully prepared for the challenges of today. And at Zones, we have a strong partnership with Cisco, which means we are well-positioned to get you up and running, plus deliver all the additional services you need.
For more information on defending your business in today’s environment, check out our eBook about securing a trusted workplace for employees and customers.
Zones : Sep 17, 2020 5:00:00 AM
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