Just to recap some key cloud statistics, IDC estimates that 60% of infrastructure spending will be on public or private cloud by 2022. This contrasts with 46% in 2017. That’s because of the clear advantages offered by a cloud-centric infrastructure, including the ability to lower hardware costs, reduce maintenance requirements, better optimize workloads, and enhance user productivity through the reliable access to cloud-native applications. These benefits are just as valuable at the endpoint as they are in the datacenter.

Changing Endpoint Economics

A recently published IDC InfoBrief, “Linux and the Endpoint security and optimization Market,” states that “global cloud infrastructure expansion is driving growth in underlying endpoint hardware and software that facilitates cloud access in reliable and secure ways.”

So, what’s that mean? Cloud adoption is changing the status quo of end user computing (EUC). Rather than Windows PCs, endpoints and repurposed endpoint devices are the go-to for organizations looking to take advantage of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) workspaces.  (IGEL is having considerable success converting older devices to endpoints with our conversion software.) In doing so, enterprises are capitalizing on the value of the cloud, without heavy hardware spend or forklift upgrade procurement costs.

Simplifying Management Complexity

Not only is the cloud dramatically changing the economics of EUC, it’s also making endpoint computing more manageable and secure. That may seem counterintuitive. With users now roaming, working from everywhere using the cloud, it can be difficult for IT to enact comprehensive policy control and remote support. It can be a complex puzzle that has many companies limiting user behavior, and their productivity, to assure compliance and data security.

But, not for users of the IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS). UMS users have one integrated, low touch system for universal endpoint security and optimization that supports almost any virtual desktop deployment architecture – including the cloud. This means that it’s easier than ever to capitalize on cloud benefits without sacrificing manageability. Something we’re certain will further fuel VDI and DaaS adoption.

The Rise of Linux at the Desktop

Cloud adoption is changing one more thing at the desktop: the operating system of choice. Windows is quickly losing ground. In fact, while Windows remains flat in terms of endpoint OS market share – 39% in 2015 and 2017 – Linux-based endpoint devices have grown 8% between 2015 and 2017 to 35%. That makes Linux the only endpoint OS that’s growing at a global level. And, the cloud has a lot to do with it.

Why? Most major cloud platforms are Linux-based. IDC says that’s “giving the OS a strong base for momentum in cloud environments.” And the Linux trend hasn’t gone unnoticed by major global vendors including Microsoft, Intel and others. You can read more about that in my blog “Why Linux will Rule the World.”

Overcoming the Cloud Security Hurdle

Finally, one more way cloud growth is changing endpoint computing is when it comes to security. A recent report by Gartner said that cloud computing ranks as the top risk concern for executives in risk, audit, finance and compliance. However, leaning on the two technologies outline above, a Linux-based OS and unified endpoint security and optimization, IGEL is enabling IT to overcome the cloud security hurdle. Read my blog “Security: The Key to End User Computing Fulfilling on its Promise.” Here I outline the five ways the IGEL OS enhances the security of EUC – whether on-premises or delivered in the cloud – including the use of embedded protection against viruses and malware through a Linux-based OS that is virtually impossible to manipulate or breach. The security advantages of using a Linux-based OS for the endpoint will continue to propel its use in cloud-enabled infrastructures in combination with enhanced manageability and lower cost.

The cloud will continue to change the landscape of today’s IT – with the endpoint being one of its latest transformations. At IGEL, it’s been something we’ve anticipated for some time. As a result, you can bet that we’ll be at the leading-edge of innovation for cloud-enabled EUC with new features that will make it increasingly more viable, while continuing to lower costs, improve manageability and bulletproof security along the way.

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Digital transformation continues its reign as the popular business topic of the day, competing with security for the amount of attention and anxious debate it provokes. A recent Gartner survey notes that 62% of respondents said they had a management initiative or transformation program in place to become a more digital business. A telling note is that 46% of those respondents said the objective of their digital initiative is optimization, which means a large number of all organizations are more focused on delivering a high-fidelity, end-user computing experience while minimizing costs, and on how they can monitor the metrics that impact the delivery of the end-user workspace experience.

Optimization means improving the performance of your human and technology resources while keeping a watchful eye. To accomplish this, we must have clear, crisp visibility into the metrics relevant to the delivery of workspace applications to your end users and to the devices – the endpoints – they use to be productive. This ability to monitor metrics has become even more important as enterprises evolve from traditional to virtualized desktop environments, and the quantity and variety of devices used by an organization’s employees continues to grow.

Workspace Analytics and Application Performance Management

To drive digital transformation – and optimization – one of the most important workspace analytics tools is application performance management which allows an organization to objectively monitor the user experience. By providing visibility into all of the components involved in remoting an application, these workspace analytics tools help organizations diagnose and proactively respond to user experience and performance issues before they become problems.

User experience metrics are a fundamental part of workspace analytics, but often the data collection process does not include the endpoint. Only when we link the client-side systems to the workspace analytics data collectors does an organization have a full understanding of application performance within virtualized environments. This richer detail gives IT the information it needs to improve endpoint performance and drive digital transformation.

Focus on Endpoint Performance

Optimization is a noble goal, one that nearly half of the Gartner respondents are treating as a priority. Understanding why the endpoint is such a focus promotes success in achieving optimization:

Many, many devices
End users are using as many as half a dozen devices in any one work week, running off a virtual environment, and often remotely. Workspace analytics can give visibility into all these moving parts, interrelating information to provide answers to problems in a timeframe and thoroughness that would be impossible without such a tool.

Hardware liberation
Moving the user application experience to a virtualized environment enables choice and the freedom to use different devices; however, with this choice comes an expectation that users will have the application performance necessary to do their job. End users like the option of varied devices if they work correctly and can deliver applications without headaches. When the virtual delivery fails, the reaction is to say “give me my PC. I have no time for devices that don’t perform!” Here workspace analytics is the preventive measure to head off user frustration.

Security and performance are one
With all this endpoint device flexibility comes the increased threats of rogue applications, users going off the corporate networks while processing sensitive data, or devices that are not equipped with adequate security controls. Workspace analytics can provide insight into what’s going on in the entire stack and can flag possible security issues. An exploit will impact performance; these tools are therefore valuable in risk containment.

Staff savings
Centralized endpoint security and optimization is critical to optimized performance when tens of thousands of endpoints may be in play. Also essential is managing IT staff time relating to endpoint troubleshooting issues. Analytics tools save IT time by providing detailed analysis of a single machine or user, and can help route trouble calls, including escalation where needed.

With Analytics comes Optimization

While improving their competitive edge is an often-talked about motivation for digital transformation, it’s encouraging to see businesses are realizing more often that a digital business must make optimization – performance – a priority as well. If “charity begins at home” then one can say optimization begins at each and every endpoint “home” where the end user’s productivity relies on IT’s clear understanding of how the endpoint is performing and the ability to remedy issues in a timely fashion.

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Our channel partners’ customers are using up to half a dozen devices a week, and at varying locations, making security at the endpoint critical to productivity and threat prevention. The need was highlighted again this month with the release of the 2018 SANS Industrial IoT Security Survey report which found that more than half of the respondents said the most vulnerable parts of their infrastructure are data, firmware, embedded systems or general endpoints. The survey also indicated confusion over how to define an IoT endpoint, leading to inadequate management of assets connecting to the network.

At IGEL we see these security risks escalating even more as IoT devices proliferate, and as the traditional desktop continues to be phased out in favor of mobile devices and screens that workers can access anywhere they want.

Securing the Endpoint

In the midst of this device proliferation, where do you start to provide effective security? At IGEL, we believe a good place to start is Windows, the ubiquitous OS causing constant headaches for our customers. It’s IGEL’s philosophy that Windows belongs in the datacenter where it can be effectively managed, protected from outside attacks, and optimized for application and desktop delivery.

At the endpoint, in the hands of the end-users, IGEL believes you need a rock solid, stable, secure and high-performance OS tuned to deliver end-user productivity – eliminating the security and management challenges that Windows brings. That is an OS based on Linux like IGEL OS – the core of our solution.

Purpose-built for the enterprise, the IGEL OS is a read-only file system which ensures that every boot-up is safe. We have integrated advanced security features into our endpoint security and optimization software solutions to help customers know that their endpoints are fully protected. These include:

• Embedded Security. IGEL OS is virtually impossible to manipulate and extremely resistant to viruses and other malware. Embedded security includes automatic support for critical technologies like two-factor authentication, smart card readers and more.
• Industry-Best Firmware Support. Firmware updates 4x a year with the latest versions of Citrix Receiver, VMware Horizon and Microsoft RDP client, plus software maintenance 3 years after EOL. This level of support is unparalleled in the industry. Also, flexible, failsafe firmware updates validate update packages prior to commit. This allows users to update only what is required, and update according to their design. It also enables users to set up a peer-based “buddy update” network to use during updating, eliminating unnecessary wide area network traffic.
• More Backend Control. Configure specific granular security policies quickly and efficiently.
• Custom partitions. IGEL UMS lets customers simply deploy custom solutions, no scripting needed. This allows for the removal of access to unnecessary and unrequired capabilities by “turning off” unused features.
• UEFI Secure Boot Validated.Enterprises leveraging the IGEL UDC3 and IGEL UD Pocket to convert existing x86-based systems into IGEL OS-powered endpoints, can now also benefit from enhanced security capabilities through the integrity of the IGEL OS which meets the UEFI Secure Boot securitystandard, validated and signed by Microsoft.

As a 100% channel-led, partner-first company, IGEL empowers partners with the tools and resources they need to grow their business quickly and profitably. Security – combined with simple and smart endpoint security and optimization technology – is a core element of what sets IGEL apart for its channel partners.

Further explore IGEL’s approach to complete endpoint security at:

https://www.igel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/WP_Securing-IGEL-OS-Endpoints.pdf

Let me hear your thoughts. Contact me at ayres@igel.com.

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IGEL’s Citrix Synergy lineup this year is a non-stop experience for you to gain technical insights, solve virtualization challenges, celebrate with us as our treasured partners and customers and, most definitely, also have some fun in between sessions!

This event will celebrate our first IT Baller giveaway of $20,000 on Thursday afternoon in the Expo hall.  If you are not already entered in the draw, then attend one of the Innovation Theater IGEL presentations given every hour on the half hour, and complete a short survey.

Also be sure to win your chance to spend time in the IT Baller money machine. Here’s some of the ways to win:

• Attend any of our IGEL Innovation Theater presentations and you’re automatically entered in the draw at the end of every session
• Score highest on our ‘virtual’ race car game powered by IGEL, NVIDIA and Citrix
• Get a golden ticket for wearing your IT Baller swag

What Does the Future of Endpoint security and optimization Look Like?

Find out by joining us at our events including:

• IGEL Technical Boot Camp, May 7
• IGEL Breakout Session, ‘A Software-Defined Approach to Managing and Securing the Endpoint,’ May 9
• Innovation Theater presentations May 8-10 with Citrix, Nutanix, Imprivata, Lakeside, UniPrint, VMware, NVIDIA, and AMD.

When you’re at our booth be sure to check out our UD7 Universal Desktop, the latest addition to IGEL’s portfolio of virtualization-optimized endpoints. The UD7 answers the need for access to multiple, high-quality displays (up to 4 screens, two of which are at 4K resolution, 60Hz refresh rate) for applications such as video production, operations centers or hospital diagnostics centers. It’s another example of how IGEL is enabling the future of secure, innovative work.

And the Future does Include Fun!

Relax between sessions with IGEL at events including:

• IGEL Community Happy Hour with IGEL’s Doug Brown May 7, 5-6:30 PM, Anaheim Marriott Hotel
• Partners VIP Luncheon, May 9, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM, Anaheim Marriott Hotel
• Customer VIP Luncheon, May 10, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, Anaheim Marriott Hotel

And don’t forget our IT Baller prize winner announcement, May 10 at 3PM, at our Booth #202!

Let’s make the future work! See you at Synergy!

The post Hit the IT Baller Money Machine with IGEL at Citrix Synergy: Booth #202, Anaheim, May 8-10 appeared first on IGEL.

Lakeside Software and IGEL are bringing you SysTrack Virtual Channel for IGEL OS, so you can train that magnifying glass on your end users, track just about anything you want to track, take that usage data and funnel it back to improve performance.  Whether it’s disk usage, network performance or latency, it’s trackable, and quantifiable.  From the fingertips to the data center, you will now have all the answers.

Want to learn how to put this improved vision to work for you?  Join us April 26^that 11 AM Pacific Time for a webinar with myself, IGEL’s VP, Systems Engineers, Jeff Feige, and Patricia Diaz, Lakeside’s Senior Product Marketing Manager.  Register at https://www.igel.com/learn-and-connect/events/

And a plus:  this event is IT Baller eligible!

The post Solve the Mystery of the Endpoint User Experience: Answers Revealed at our CUGC Webinar April 26. appeared first on IGEL.

IGEL DISRUPT ANZ took place at Melbourne’s RACV Club over two very full days, encompassing a full day of technical training and workshops, then the main event with a diverse array of speakers, sponsor stalls and much, much more. Some of the very best minds in the business gathered to share their views on End User Computing, the future of the workplace and the fundamental value of improving User Experience.

Many thanks go to the sponsors of the event, as well as those who gave up their time to share knowledge with the forum.

STAND OUT ANECDOTES from the DISRUPT event:

“My first energy bill after moving to an IGEL solution running Citrix sessions was unbelievable. The cost of running our IT department and end points dropped from $10,000 per month to $1,200.” Boban Lukic, Choice Hotels Australasia.

“Since we moved to our IGEL VDI solution, help-desk calls have dropped by 80 percent. We now have more time to focus on other important aspects of the business.” Justin Francis, Eastern Health.

“Last year, we ran two competitions where we gave away a Tesla to someone from the industry that interacted with our events worldwide. True to form, I just saw last week that our major competitors have decided to run the exact same competition, a year after we had so much success with the program. I wonder if that might be symbolic, they are following our lead again!” Marc Doehnert, Regional Manager ANZ, IGEL.

Jed Ayres, CEO North America and global CMO, unveiled the latest IGEL campaign at the end of day two, introducing the IT Baller concept. Become a big-league player in IGEL’s EUC world, spread the word far and wide, and go in the running to be gifted part of the $120,000 prize pool. Share the stories, share the love, get the cash! As you might imagine, the competition was well received, with several partners and customers signing up on the spot…

The ANZ event was very well received, and has generated plenty of excitement within the local industry. IGEL remains firmly in the centre of the local debate around end user computing and improving the user experience, and coupled with a very strong group of dynamic, enthusiastic and deeply involved local partners, is in a very good position to tackle the local industry head-on.

Onwards and upwards, and keep on disrupting! That’s the IGEL way…

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As IGEL’s first Canada country manager, based in our Toronto office, I have to say I am more than delighted to help tell our Canadian colleagues about IGEL’s simple, secure and cost-effective solutions for remote management of endpoint devices.  Having worked for more than a decade developing go-to-market strategies and expanding sales channels in the endpoint and endpoint security and optimization software space, I believe IGEL’s approach to end user computing is the absolute best fit for how enterprises operate today.  They need to deliver productive, secure desktops to users on any device, anywhere, and IGEL is the best solution for this in the market today.

We are fortunate to have Michael Berman joining our Canadian team as sales engineer.  Michael is a Citrix veteran who spent nearly a decade focused on Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop and XenServer solutions.  IGEL clients will find Michael has an encyclopedic knowledge of VDI and no doubt, they will see quickly how Michael will help them deploy IGEL solutions and improve productivity so smoothly they’ll have time to check those hockey games!

IGEL is a channel-first company so our expanded Canadian presence wouldn’t be complete without stepping up our partner program.  We are happy to announce Compugen as the region’s first IGEL Platinum Partner.  Compugen, one of Canada’s top IT solutions and service providers, has been an IGEL partner for some time and is the perfect fit for helping us grow the Canadian market.  Working with our channel team to expand our footprint is our distribution partner, Ingram Micro Canada.

Not a bad start to a new era of IGEL in Canada, eh?  Whether you say the Canadian eh, or the American awesome, one thing is certain:  we at IGEL Canada are ready to make 2018 a powerful sales year!

Please email me to say hello!  We can talk endpoint security and optimization, maple syrup, hockey and predictions on the Olympics!

The post Want to Sweeten Up Your Endpoint Sales? Talk Maple Syrup and Management with our new Canadian Team! appeared first on IGEL.

We like to say Simon has a maniacal focus on the midmarket and he proves this every day, getting out in the field, talking to IT teams and end users, gaining first hand details on what matters to them in terms of a first-rate virtualization and endpoint environment.

It’s nice to see the industry recognizing Simon’s midmarket dedication, naming him to The Channel Company’s Top Midmarket IT Executives list for 2017. The annual list honors influential vendor and solution provider executives who have demonstrated an exceptionally strong commitment to the midmarket. Simon will receive the award this week at the 2017 Midsize Enterprise Summit Fall, in San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 17-19.

After less than a year on board at IGEL, Simon has made his mark in spectacular fashion, demonstrating to the midmarket how IGEL can help companies improve productivity and get the most business benefits from virtualization, using our endpoint security and optimization software to deliver a secure, satisfying desktop experience on any device.

Simon has been a key player in IGEL achieving such historical milestones as an 890% in software revenue in the U.S. market in the first half of 2017 and 156% worldwide through aggressive sales and marketing initiatives. He has also helped to establish new routes to market through innovative Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) managed service offerings from Platinum Partners Entisys360 and MTM Technologies. Simon has also worked to expand our IGEL Platinum Partner Program and helping to establish Channel Partner Advisory, Customer Advisory and Marketing Advisory Councils.

He’s a maniac, Simon, but in a good way! We applaud his commitment to IGEL and the midmarket!

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Delivering the best possible virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) performance means taking a fresh look at what ‘desktop’ means today. The endpoint, or desktop, now can be a physical endpoint, a software-defined endpoint, a traditional laptop, a phone or tablet.

A recent story in APM Digest revealed the amount of operational waste enterprises are experiencing as IT devotes significantly more time to performance issues related to digital transformation initiatives. The research study detailed in the story finds that IT professionals are losing over 2 hours every business day, or 522 hours per year. Study respondents noted a more complex technology environment was a leading culprit in these performance issues.

Complex technology isn’t going away. In fact, more than likely, digital transformation will continue to add technical complexity. One area that enables enterprises to reduce complexity and streamline operations is their virtual desktop infrastructure. Virtualization is a linchpin of digital transformation and effectively optimizing an enterprise’s VDI is essential to moving forward with digital technologies.

To reduce operational waste and achieve better performance across the desktop environment, consider these five actions that can help IT deliver positive VDI performance for their users:

1. Accommodating Self-Serve Access. Employees should be able to access certain applications without having to contact an IT help desk. Enabling ‘self-serve’ application access, as appropriate, allows employees to access their personal desktop workspaces, and needed applications, without using valuable IT time.However, there is a flip side to this: IT needs to control how far employees can take self-service. If employees are spending too much time onboarding more advanced applications, and less time being work-productive, then those applications may need to be controlled by IT and virtual desktop management.
2. Paying Attention to the Edge.  Using centralized management software, IT can control and manage edge devices’ use of applications residing in the data center. For example, software managing endpoints can retrieve a user profile and populate the endpoint with applications that a user needs to be productive. This centralized VDI approach can result in the economies of a single IT person managing as many as 30,000 endpoints – a great reduction in IT time and resources!
3. Thinking Software, not Hardware.  Enterprises are moving away from endpoint hardware investments to software that supports the pace of digital transformation. Improving endpoint performance means being able to quickly onboard new employees, deliver custom configurations to a remote workforce using a variety of devices, and to quickly populate new applications for ready use. Endpoint software such as endpoint firmware is a means of delivering profiles and applications via a single pane of glass, regardless of device.
4. Understanding User Expectations. Your average worker today wants to use many devices, with the expectation the device will deliver what they need to do their job. The ‘desktop’ of today can range from software-driven endpoints to USB devices. Endpoint security and optimization must be able to manage all these devices, control application access and mitigate security risk. It is challenging since, for example, there are many versions of Android and iOS in use, with the threat that users are loading up applications that can pose risk to the network.USB devices pose one solution, freeing the user from physical boundaries, yet delivering the desired level of endpoint security. A new employee, for example, can plug the device into their personal laptop, and securely receive the configuration and applications they need, without IT ever having to touch the device.Enterprises are searching for these types of solutions that deliver an optimal user experience without adding to operational complexity.
5. Looking at the Bigger Picture. Getting ahead of digital transformation technology needs, and advancements, is critical to winning the digital game. The alternative is never really catching up with technology and being overwhelmed by the complex IT environments that are becoming standard today.
   
   In the study of operational waste, IT professionals said, if they could reclaim those two hours a day, they would spend more time researching and deploying new systems/technologies.Staying up to speed on virtualization technology is essential to digital transformation succeeding. Companies such as Citrix and VMware are innovating technology that plays right into the enablement of high VDI performance. Remote display technology that accommodates workers using graphics intensive applications is an example of delivering innovation that users expect. Freeing up IT time to continue to integrate these enhancements in the user experience has to be part of a thorough digital transformation.

Move Digital Transformation Forward with Optimized VDI

Enterprises are grappling with the challenges of digital transformation, from figuring out cloud deployment, data storage, and BYOD security threats to how to deliver an endpoint experience that optimizes performance.

These five actions will help IT deliver VDI performance that supports digital transformation initiatives. Improvements such as enabling workers to be more self-sufficient, and streamlining endpoint security and optimization will reduce operational waste, reduce both operational and capital expenditures, and maps to the market trend toward centralized endpoint security and optimization software that can accommodate a variety of devices.

Freeing up IT time will allow IT to better plan for more integration of digital technologies which in turn, increases the enterprise’s competitive strength. After all, this is the purpose of digital transformation!

Note: This article initially appeared in APM Digest on September 12, 2017.

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Because governments perform tasks critical to the health, safety and well-being of its citizenry, public sector organizations have a particular sensitivity to threats like the WannaCry ransomware attacks. Adding to this threat is the fact that public agencies work in a distributed environment where employees access data from remote locations using a variety of devices, one where vast amounts of information are made available through the Internet. This complex puzzle of devices, locations, and layers of user access create an environment ripe for cyberattacks. One person curiously opening an email attachment or clicking on a web link can provide the runway necessary to bring down a system.

Information technology teams in the public sector face significant challenges supporting remote workers’ access to the applications and data required to be productive while, at the same time, maintaining security controls that protect against the constant barrage of exploits. These controls are taking on greater importance as ransomware attacks are multiplying, while workers and contractors are demanding expanded information access to do their jobs.

Advanced Endpoint security and optimization Must be Considered for Productivity and Security

Like every other user of technology, the government user lives on the edge. This is to say that the device they use to access information technology is on the edge of the network. For this reason, the endpoint, including all forms of endpoints and virtual desktops, has to be a focus when considering productivity and security. And because users are curious people, advanced endpoint security and optimization is essential to helping ensure secure access to these virtual applications and desktops. Advanced endpoint security and optimization provides the controls necessary to protect workers while giving them the freedom and tools to do their job well, while further lessening the risk that they will fall victim to the next exploit or ransomware attack.

A case in point is UNC Health Care, a not-for-profit, integrated health care system owned by the State of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill. The system is comprised of UNC hospitals, its provider network, clinical programs at UNC School of Medicine, and nine affiliate hospitals and hospital systems. UNC Health Care was ready to go to the next stage of virtualization with a complete Citrix rollout. In so doing, UNC Health need to find a software-based endpoint solution that could leverage some of its existing assets, to control new investment costs. The answer was to employ endpoint software that reduced costs, increased security at the endpoint, and centralized IT management while supporting the various workflows used in healthcare. Furthermore, UNC Health was able to improve the end user experience by provide physicians and staff the flexibility to access medical records and other information while roaming between workstations.

Virtualization Technology Can Streamline Access and Protect Against Malware

Private sector health care organizations like UNC Health are constantly seeking ways to improve application and data access for its staff, and virtualization is proving to be the means to streamline access while protecting against exploits and malware. UNC Health Care illustrates a number of solution best practices that are applicable for a public sector agency wanting to secure its remote and/or roaming workforce:

1. User Context. IT has to consider that staff and contractors will take their work home with them, on occasion, thus creating additional security risk. Agencies need to put in place access controls to limit what the user is allowed to do, based on their location.
2. Device and Network Awareness. Endpoints can be profiled according to network, location or user. Using device management technology, it is possible to lock out devices similar to the way network access controls work. If a device is found to be operating outside of defined parameters, controls are in place to automatically cause these devices to cease to function.
3. Roaming Mode. With staff moving constantly between locations and workstations locations, IT has to provide security controls that support this mobility and yet allow fast access to critical files and applications. IT can configure a roaming mode which allows staff, for example, to simply tap their badge to securely login to their desktop from any roaming endpoint. Additionally, IT could provide a kiosk mode which stays logged in, but runs programs under the user’s context. Users are required to type in their password only twice a day; the rest of the time they simply tap the employee badge on the card reader to login automatically.
4. Certificate-Based Communication. Using software-driven endpoint technology, IT can deploy certificate-based communication between management servers and virtual endpoints. This protects against DoS and man-in-the-middle attacks.
5. USB Control Devices. Where appropriate, another method of giving users the productivity tools they need, and further mitigating risk, is providing staff with a USB-bootable managed micro endpoint. The user simply boots to the USB device to run their PC as a virtual endpoint, accessing only the desktop applications for which they have authorization.

Manage Security at Your Network’s Endpoints For Best Control

Managing security at the endpoint, and controlling application and file access in the appropriate user context, is of paramount concern in the cyberattack era. Advanced endpoint security and optimization that controls limited function devices operating as endpoints are a compelling option for public sector organizations that must balance the desire to provide a flexible, productive user experience with the need to have effective, efficient control over the security of the organization and its data.

Note: This article first appeared in the Industry Insight section of Government Computer News on July 5, 2017.

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