Employees can use their personal IT devices at work without compromising their organisation’s security, according to managed services and cloud computing service provider Advanced 365. The company said cloud computing applications can provide employees with a secure and effective means to do so.
Increase in usage of personal IT devices such as smartphones, tablet computers and non-PC notebooks by employees in organisations has raised security questions amongst IT managers.
Advanced 365 managing director Neil Cross said many organisations still insist that employees only use recognised and secure IT devices on their company’s infrastructure.
However, as tech savvy office workers seek to use the latest mobile IT devices in preference to using aging company PCs and laptops, network security concerns are inevitably resurfacing.
"To address this challenge, it is essential that organisations ensure that their employees have authentication, identity verification and security applications installed on their IT devices before allowing them to access their corporate network," Cross said.
Advanced 365 said that developments in cloud computing technology are now providing an opportunity for organisations to address the security fears without losing control of their desktop environment, even if they cannot directly control the device being used by the employee.
Cloud services, such as Microsoft’s Office 365 (currently in beta testing), allow users to access their company network and applications such as email over a secure internet connection as and when they require. The service comes for a monthly fee.
Further, organisations can opt for a more integrated approach by utilising applications such as VDI, Citrix or online portals such as Microsoft SharePoint to deliver their business applications via a secure controlled environment, said the company.
Cross said, "By choosing the cloud computing platform that is best suited to their needs, organisations can protect their data and be sure that only secure devices are capable of accessing their network."
"Moving to the cloud also allows organisations to address the challenge of meeting the rising demand from employees to access the latest devices without compromising the security of their network, thus ensuring the best of both worlds."
