5 Reasons to Move your NAC to the Cloud

Have you ever thought about migrating your network access control (NAC) to the Cloud? Are you apprehensive about taking this step? Traditional NAC solutions were built to address a premise-based infrastructure. A new next generation NAC approach is required to protect companies in today’s BYOD, cloud-based, IoT world.

Enterprises will need to change their security procedures and postures to function in cloud-based IT environments. Classic, on-premise infrastructure-based NAC is ineffective against modern applications and these days security threats that are not part of the IT infrastructure such as, mobile phones and cloud-based applications. Today’s enterprise users are not constrained by enterprise network perimeters as they regularly use mobile devices and cloud-based applications. They often sign up for cloud services for HR or marketing departments, for example, without even notifying IT that they are doing this.

The following five prevalent trends in the enterprise marketplace highlight why a cloud-based next generation NAC is essential to any organization.

1. 1. Disruption – The Corporate Network Goes GlobalEnterprises have been going through a process of de-perimeterization. Traditional perimeters have been torn down by employees’ adoption of BYOD, telecommuting and cloud computing. You can no longer look at the network as a defined infrastructure within a physical firewall. The network is a global network without boundaries. Most workers nowadays are road warriors who spend 50% or less of their time in an office. Companies need to distribute materials, goods, and services to these employees in their offices and on the road all over the world.According to a poll conducted by Gallop News Service in 2015, thirty-seven percent of U.S. workers have telecommuted for work. This is up slightly by 30% from the last decade but four times greater than the 9% found in 1995. The average worker telecommutes two days per month and is just as productive as other employees who work in the office.
      “Borderless” companies need the kind of continuous risk assessment and mitigation that is only possible through the Cloud. There is no reversing these trends.
   2. Flexibility – Supporting Any Type of Business Size InfrastructureCompanies are constantly undergoing changes: reorganizations, M&As, opening branches globally, etc. Only the cloud can deliver the flexibility to support operations for the distributed enterprise. Traditional NAC is too rigid and inflexible and only works in small rigid corporate environments. In larger environments, like a university with its multiple departments, NAC deployment becomes impractical.

Demo CLEAR today!

• Speed – Rapid Service Delivery Required

Enterprises of all sizes need rapid deployment of security measures, rapid adoption of NAC policies and procedures, and immediate expansion around the world. One of the key strengths of application delivery in the cloud is its ability to rapidly deploy and implement services on demand. A NAC implementation on the cloud can adjust and adapt along with developing policies and requirements of the organization.

• Agility, Scalability and Affordability – Enabling Business Growth

Enterprises need agility not only in their software programming but in all facets of their businesses. Scalability is important to support rapid growth. As we continue to recover from recent economic crises, affordability is more important than ever. Cloud computing excels at helping companies become more agile and scalable. It enables companies to pay only for the services that they use, when and where they use them. This “pay-as-you-go” model is much more affordable to businesses than standard software and hardware licenses.

Cloud-based NAC is ideal for organizations with limited resources and limited in-house experts who need to provide convenient and secure network access for personal mobile devices. Cloud-based next generation NAC can be provided without having to worry about the time, costs, or resources associated with installing and maintaining hardware and software and keeping everything up to date.

Demo CLEAR today!

• Machine Learning – Making the Most of NAC

Machine learning takes NAC knowledge and experience from other organizations and applies that learning to your organization. This sharing of compliance and other valuable data and experience can be accomplished most efficiently and affordably in the cloud. Companies no longer have to reinvent the wheel themselves. Machine learning services make many advanced services much more accessible to SMBs at an affordable price.

Next Generation Cloud NAC

This blog was written by Portnox. Portnox is the manufacturer of Next Generation Network Access Control (NG-NAC), that can assist you in protecting your network in general and your IoT devices specifically.

Today, NAC solutions must go well beyond just permitting access to devices and individuals. Portnox CLEAR cloud NAC solution is able to provide both full control of access permissions to the network and full visibility of activities within the network and who conducts them. Furthermore, cloud NAC separates BOYD and mobile devices from the core servers of the company, ensuring network security in the world of IoT. It does so by enabling continuous risk assessment of all components of the network, no matter where they are located.

Today’s enterprises are clearly going through a period of de-perimeterization and they will suffer great losses if they are not prepared for this. With next generation NAC in the cloud from Portnox, network administrators in SMBs can be sure they are provided with all the levels of network security they require.