The Challenge Of Secure Mobile Network Access Anywhere

• Simple, secure access to many types of networks
• Securing systems & information in a mobile environment
• Centralized corporate control & visiblity of network service
• Centralized corporate control & enforcement of user policies
• Unified management & billing of multiple communications transports
• Enabling application performance in a wireless environment

As long as users' systems are physically attached to the company's protected internal network, the IT department has control over how the network is used and complete visibility to all network traffic. But, the devices used by mobile workers are regularly outside the "corporate moat", so the IT department knows very little about the usage of a mobile worker's laptop. Often, the IT department receives no reports indicating the time or cost of use until it is too late.

Companies today have few practical options for directly controlling which network services the mobile worker accesses and, as a result, they have only limited capability to obtain the best consolidated price or the best support services. Many mobile computing expenses are simply buried in travel & entertainment and the true costs are invisible to the enterprise.

The IT department is also limited in its ability to control the installation of unauthorized applications or to prevent dangerous web surfing by remote users. This lack of control risks such problems as spyware proliferation, software license violations, and virus attacks.