FEATURE: BYOD
Digital workplace and IoT
fast replacing BYOD
After managing
multiple devices per
user, businesses are
now moving to the
next realm of digital
workplaces and IoT.
By Arun Shankar.
T
he combination of mobile devices
and cloud-based applications has
changed the nature of the work
environments, where collaborative open
spaces and non-routine schedules are
the norm. Now IoT is driving an even
larger transformation. Although IoT
was once thought to be a consumer
phenomenon, organisations are
realising its potential in creating
smarter, efficient workspaces, intelligent
meeting rooms, location services, and
real-time monitoring.
Combining IoT devices with contextual
information including location,
application, and policies, yields
opportunities to lower costs, build
loyalty, and drive revenue. While IoT
offers rewards, the thought of those
devices connecting to the network is
the stuff that keeps security and IT
managers up at night. Given their sheer
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number, IoT devices need to be an
integral part of the conversation when
planning the network infrastructure
for the digital workplace. The network
needs to be smart enough to classify
and understand the behaviour of IoT
devices automatically.
Security starts with understanding
what is on the network, unmanaged
smartphones, rogue endpoints, and
IoT devices that users may connect to
without consulting IT. Any of these can
“As BYOD rises
in Middle East
workplaces,
most
organisations
do not have the
datacentres
that can keep
up with the
requirements
of a mobile
workforce.”
introduce new threats and broaden an
organisation’s attack surface. A better
understanding of what is on the network
through granular profiling provides IT
with the ability to identify every device
that is connecting to the network,
regardless of type, owner or where it is
connecting from.
This becomes more important as
unknown wireless and wired IoT devices
flood the network. Constant profiling
helps to accurately enforce policies
based on a device’s category type and
attributes, to automatically grant or
deny access privileges to internal and
external resources.
The growing number of mobile and IoT
devices is placing a burden on ageing
infrastructures that were not designed
with mobility and IoT in mind. But it is not
just the number of devices that is causing
bottlenecks and congestion. Consider user
behaviour and new traffic demands.
In organisations within enterprise
and industrial spaces, the number of
expected wired IoT devices can range
from 35% to over 50%. In the past,
network access control discussions
centered on how to secure the wireless
network because that is how most
devices were connecting. The heavy
focus on securing wireless networks
meant that wired networks were left
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