Does your business need Network Access Control? 10 questions to ask

Business networks are changing rapidly, causing new threats to emerge and creating unknown risks that network managers need to consider.

Remote working is now routine, with around 45% of Americans working at home full-time or part-time. Cloud storage accounts for approximately 50% of corporate data worldwide, while the number of IoT-connected endpoints reached 12.3 billion in 2021, and projections suggest it will reach 27 billion by 2025.

These changes have made it vital to secure network devices and control perimeter access. Network Access Control (NAC) is one solution to this problem, but what is it, and how can companies decide if it’s right for them? Let’s find out more.

The name “Network Access Control” is almost self-explanatory. At its simplest, NAC solutions provide a way to manage access to network resources. It makes all devices and users visible to network managers and allows technicians to enforce security policies across every part of corporate networks.

NAC systems allow companies to set finely calibrated access policies when implemented correctly. They can determine exactly how each user moves around networks and which resources they can access. They can monitor users and devices for threats and eliminate malicious actors before they cause damage. And they can do so without compromising efficiency or convenience.

The question still remains, how do you know if your enterprise wireless network actually needs to implement network access control?

To help you make the right decision, here are 10 simple questions you need to ask yourself to determine if an NAC solution is right for your business or organization.

Has your business or another business in your same industry recently suffered a security breach?

Are a large number of your end-users (employees, guests, students etc.) using mobile devices?

Do you hire contractors, or work collaboratively with partners/agencies?

Do you have frequent and large numbers of guests on your environment?

Do you have distributed offices?

Are you planning on moving into a new building, or consolidating sites?

Have you recently been or are you about to be involved in a merger or acquisition?

Are you a public sector organization that is being encouraged by the government to share resources?

Are you in an industry where new regulations or legislation have recently been or are about to be introduced, which relates to information security or operational risk?

Do you have a multi-vendor network?

If you answered “YES” to one or more of the questions above, it’s probably time to seriously consider deploying a network access control solution, if you haven’t done so already.

If you have any questions about network access control or would like to discuss an upcoming project, please contact us here.

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*This information is brought to you by our partner, Aruba Networks.