IT Roadmap

Cross the Border Between Consumer and Business Technology

One border that remains to be crossed is the border between consumer technology and business technology. But it's a barrier that will be crossed one way or another — sometimes against the wishes of IT policy makers.

"In the enterprise, there is growing demand for the acceptance of new computing tools — both hardware and applications — that first gain their popularity in the consumer space before being pulled into the business organization by employees," writes Tom Gillis in his book Securing the Borderless Network.  "Industry analysts generally recognize this trend as the consumerization of IT."

The positive side of this trend is that it represents opportunities to enhance the user's experience and productivity while driving down IT costs for certain applications. The trouble with this trend is security. How do organizations protect their users, their networks and their data when endpoints are beyond control?

The biggest driver of consumerized IT today is the smartphone. Handheld devices are increasingly powerful and the array of applications now available on them continues to explode. Indeed, the smartphone may be the primary computing device of mobile users in the borderless enterprise in the coming years. This raises the challenge of how to secure them and other forms of consumer IT.

"Desktop virtualization is a big part of the answer," contends Gillis. "It is a powerful tool that helps business and personal computing coexist on a single device. The concept is that consumers can have any device they want... But when the time comes to access company data, they must switch to a virtual desktop."

Such moves create a virtual environment in which policies can be rigorously enforced. Every connection can be scanned, logged and analyzed to ensure these policies are followed.

While Gillis acknowledges that the virtual desktop concept will take several years to implement effectively with emerging smartphones, he sees several meaningful steps that can be taken toward this destination in the meantime. He points, for instance, to the convergence of SSL VPN technology, advanced web security, and hybrid-hosted security solutions as a key enabler of secure networks.

While acknowledging that virtualization is only one facet of the security challenge ahead, he emphasizes that there is no holding back the flood of demand that will come from users to integrate business and personal technology. Fortunately, smart enterprises will also have the tools to protect their networks.

Develop a Roadmap for Evolving Your Network Infrastructure

Many small-to-mid-size companies evolve their networks in an ad hoc manner. They purchase point solutions with more of a focus to addressing an immediate need than in assessing how future needs will impact the choice. Not only does that increase the complexity of the network, but it can also create obstacles to supporting company growth.

By creating a roadmap for evolving your network, you can streamline the complexity as you set up IT staff to more easily manage to future needs. We’ve asked Keith Grieshaber, our VP of Technology to answer a few questions to help you plan for your network’s evolution.

Q. What are the components that should be included in developing a roadmap for network evolution?

KG:  Understanding the business strategic goals and objectives for the company as a whole will set the stage for a technology roadmap.  Once this vision is understood by the technology leadership team, the roadmap can include the appropriate infrastructure and technology.  Some common components that affect today’s technology decisions include cloud computing, security risk mitigation, acquisition planning and much more.

Q. How does IT best determine the role of their existing systems/solutions when developing a network evolution plan?

KG:  The existing systems fit into one of three categories.  They do not meet the existing business requirements, they only meet today’s business requirements, or they have the ability to carry the business into a future that aligns with the long term goals and objectives of the company.

Q. What are the pressing challenges you’re seeing in for today’s IT departments around network development?

KG:  For a company to be successful in today’s world, it has to respond quickly to our ever-changing economical environment.  The technology infrastructure must be ready to support key business objectives in hours and days, not weeks and months to capitalize of business opportunities.

Another challenge IT departments face is partnering with the right technology vendor. It is important to choose a partner that will take the time to learn and understand your business, and help leverage your existing technology infrastructure.  True technology partners will reach the level of a trusted advisor.

Q. What are some of the issues around mobility that must be addressed when combining wired and wireless networks?

KG:  A wireless network is a fluid environment that is susceptible to outside interference.   With that said, the wireless infrastructure must be designed to continually meet the business requirements of the wireless network while maintaining security, control, coverage, and stability.  Today’s wireless requirements are usually serve three to five business objectives (e.g. guest access, voice, video) and they must be balanced with the appropriate security when connected back to the wired network.

Virtualization Can Allow Consumer Preference in the Work Place

Blame it on the iPhone, if you like, but consumers are adopting new technologies faster than businesses and then pushing IT to incorporate them into the work place. Trying to stop the insurgence of personal preferences for devices and applications is counterproductive and, likely, unpreventable. 

As Steve Job’s introduction of the iPhone 4 demonstrates, smartphones are evolving quickly to enable more capabilities that we used to need a laptop to achieve—video conferencing is the shiny new object. But, with this evolution comes IT risks that must be addressed. Most noticeably are bandwidth demands, which Steve experienced firsthand during his attempt to demonstrate some of the new functionality on the iPhone 4.

Beyond bandwidth, determining how to secure uncontrolled endpoints (user-owned devices) is a major concern for many companies.  As smartphones evolve into computing devices, the risk will grow. As laptops get smaller and smartphones get bigger, despite the iPhone's new sleek physique, we can only hope they will become more intelligent, more manageable and easier to secure.
The question facing IT is how to allow work-style preferences to become incorporated into the business safely.

Tom Gillis, in his book Securing the Borderless Network, submits that desktop virtualization provides the answer:

“[Desktop virtualization] is a powerful tool that helps business and personal computing coexist on a single device. The concept is that consumers can have any device they want—a smartphone or a laptop, in any color and with any configuration—and can connect to the Internet in any way they please for personal use. But when the time comes to access company data, they must switch to a virtual desktop.”

This solution is highly feasible because, inside a virtual workspace, data is encrypted, devices are analyzed to ensure adherence to corporate policy and the space is clearly defined. By using virtual machines, IT can create a division between business and personal that embraces worker preferences while maintaining the security of business data and assets.