Joining the dots

We love our devices. There are the countless connected tablets, laptops, and desktops; not to mention the products-from cars to copiers-that are connected devices too. From a network perspective, it all adds up to a staggering number of endpoints.

Today, a business's productivity is inextricably linked to the ability of its employees, partners, and customers to access and exchange data. And there is a straight line between productivity and profitability. But hackers also smell opportunity in this evolution. Businesses, of all sizes, are increasingly struggling to defend themselves from the explosive growth in security threats and cyber attacks.

Without significant advances in security technology, management and deployment strategies, the huge volume, form and sophistication of malware has the potential to inflict huge vulnerability on corporate network with catastrophic results. Scare mongering? Absolutely not. Last year alone one of the security solution providers identified nearly 16 mn unique malware samples and is reporting around 44,000 new malware samples every day. So what are we to do?

The Logical Step

The logical step is to secure everything, from endpoint to data center and everything in between, from everywhere-cloud, mobile, and remote. And every aspect of network technology has to be engineered for security, throughout the product lifecycle, supply chain, and manufacturing process.

It used to be that firewalls were installed to protect from outside viruses and malware to keep the corporate network safe and secure-an outside-in focus. This priority has not changed. In fact, it has never been more important or challenging. This is why some leading solution providers are deploying a level of inspection and detection in the form of Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection (RFDPI) technology which scans every byte of every packet of network traffic across all ports and delivers full content inspection to eliminate threats before they enter the without file size, performance, or latency limitations.

Next-generation firewalls now also perform a critical inside-out function by being able to protect and unleash the productivity of the network through advanced feature of application intelligence and control. The corporate network represents the central nervous system for many businesses. If it goes down, all business literally stops. Similarly, if it slows down because its bandwidth is being sucked dry from video, live streaming of TV, or Facebook and Twitter usage, so too business slows down. Many organizations cannot differentiate applications in use on their networks with legitimate business purposes from those that are not business-critical and simply draining bandwidth or plain dangerous. This is where innovations in the form of application intelligence and control connect and give the right people access to the right applications at the right time and with the right bandwidth.

Protection and Performance

In today's enterprise, protection and performance go hand-in-hand. Connecting the dots between these two imperatives and by crafting connected security strategies that deliver outside-in and inside-out protection, organizations will be well placed to do more and gain sustainable and competitive business advantage from their IT solutions and services.