In any case, enabling a modern workplace means rethinking connectivity. 

The amount of data has grown by 100% over the last two years alone. And, due to mobility, and to cloud adoption, networks are no longer controlled by IT. They are controlled by the SaaS vendor, or the IaaS platform. Or, in the case of home networks, the employees themselves. While the notion of “network security” is becoming obsolete, the Internet is quickly becoming the new corporate network. The question now becomes “How do you securely connect people, apps, and clouds to business resources, and, over the Internet?”

This has led to the creation of a new product category that Gartner calls Security Service Edge. These integrated, cloud-delivered, security services broker secure connections between authorized users and business resources by using identity and policy. This allows employees to work from anywhere, third-parties to safely access data, and infrastructure to be modernized.

With any new technology comes a host of new questions. SSE is no different. The industry is chock-full of questions like what criteria to look for with SSE, where to begin, what the best practices are for adopting SSE, what are the gotchas, and how to communicate the need for SSE to the business…you get the point.

Introducing the Security Service Edge Forum

In an effort to guide companies, and equip them with the answers they need so that they can effectively transform their businesses, we teamed up with a host of IT leaders to create the Security Services Edge Forum. The Forum’s mission is to explore the value of the security service edge for the modern era of work. IT leaders like Mustapha Kebbeh (CISO at Brinks Security), Tom Parker (CISO at Kayak), Matt McCormack (CISO at GlaxoSmithKline), Diego Souza (CISO at Cummins), and several others will work together to help design the best practices for their peers to follow. In doing so they will inspire other IT leaders to think beyond traditional access solutions, and to embrace modern access services that solve today’s business challenges.

2022 will be the year of SSE, and, according to Gartner, “By 2024, 30% of enterprises will adopt cloud-delivered SWG, CASB, ZTNA and branch office firewall as a service (FWaaS) capabilities from the same vendor.” Because of this we feel it’s our responsibility to help ensure that IT leaders can not only make informed decisions when selecting SSE vendors, but that they can play an active role in its development as well.

After all, the best services are those that are built FOR their customers, WITH their customers.

• Watch this short SSE Forum trailer video
• Learn more about the SSE Forum by visiting www.sseforum.io

The post Meet The Forum That Will Explore The Value of Security Service Edge (SSE) For The Modern Workplace appeared first on Axis Security.

Not a New Problem

I’ve spent 20+ years on the front lines of Enterprise IT, most recently overseeing much of the global infrastructure at Columbia Sportswear.  I know exactly how this person felt.  I’ve been there.  They identified a need, found a solution, spent tireless hours evaluating vendors, selected one, ran the gauntlet to approvals and made a commitment to the business.  Their heart was in the right place.  Unfortunately, they encountered a common roadblock.  The dreaded IT silo.  In this case, it was the security team owning a technology and not accounting for the network team.  In the past, these interactions were limited.  Technologies were owned and operated by independently managed teams.  If you needed a server built, it was the platform team.  If you needed a new WAN link, the network resource made it happen.  A new firewall rule, check with the security team.  In the age of Cloud and SaaS, these technologies are blended together.  It is no longer possible for a company to deploy and operate technology without cooperation between IT silos.

The Art of Silo Busting

So what can be done? Based on my experience, here are my suggestions…..

First, start by creating a culture of success. “Culture”, as Peter Drucker says, “eats strategy for breakfast”. The same is true in IT. If you can create space for a diverse team to come together, you will make fertile ground for success. Encourage the staff to fail fast, ask them to think like an entrepreneur, give them room to explore new innovative technologies, create opportunities for the cross-pollination of ideas and break out of the rut of “I’ve done it this way forever…” For IT leaders, embrace servant leadership, For tech leads, embrace mentorship.

Second, as reorganizing teams is a large endeavor and involves risk, start small. For a project involving the challenge of the hybrid workforce, before you select a solution, create a cross functional tiger team. Bring together resources from security, networking, endpoint and even platform. I’d also recommend an operational representative as ultimately, they are the run team for the solution. A key item which is often ignored is designating a business representative as well as an empowered IT leader to manage the team. The business leader must champion the user experience. For the IT lead, select a person who will create the conditions for the culture for success, earn trust and bring the team together when conflict happens.

Ultimately, reorganize your teams. Break down the silos. Focus on two areas. Future and Now. By “Future” I mean the projects a team must deliver for the business to grow. Often, this area is purely an engineering focus but the team must also maintain a close pulse on the needs of the business. The “Now” is managing the operational burden. Keep the lights on (KTLO) and the retirement of technical debt. Here the focus is being “customer first”. Both teams need to be fully cross-functional. Engineers may specialize but must not be “specialists”. Again, don’t lose sight of creating the culture of success. The long term results of your reorg will depend on it.

Alignment Achieved

For the scenario above, once you’ve reached internal alignment and broken through the dreaded IT silo, please reach out to us.  At Axis Security, we are helping global companies replace their legacy remote VPNs with a modern system built for the demands of the hybrid workforce with ZTNA day one.  We provide a robust solution to both satisfy the requirements of the security team as well as the network team (yes, Ping and Traceroute are fully supported under our solution).  Once we’ve successfully partnered to solve your remote access needs, we can also help you further on your journey to empower and secure your workforce by leveraging our groundbreaking secure service edge (SSE) platform.  Our vision is a world where connectivity is alway secure, seamless and simple.  We believe our cloud delivered ZTNA solution will accelerate your business’s digital transformation journey and help you achieve your goals (as well as overcoming a few roadblocks along the way).  Learn how to modernize your remote access solution today!

The post 3 Tips to Avoid Roadblocks on Your Journey to Securing the Modern Workplace appeared first on Axis Security.