Page 27 - Cyber Defense eMagazine for July 2020

remotely is governed correctly via user profiles, associated policies, and access control, all while
supporting productivity, is added to the day-to-day IT process challenges businesses face. In a recent
survey of IT professionals Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) found, after software licensing, inventory and
compliance, the main challenges in delivering a full-featured desktop centered on the pace of change
(30%), troubleshooting issues (29%) and operational costs (29%).

VDI and DaaS offer solutions to these IT challenges, with the benefit of maintaining a high level of security
without impacting user productivity. As ESG notes, businesses have implemented virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI) and desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) to enable remote employees, but only a small
percentage of an employee base made use of this technology. Prior to COVID-19 neither technology
had reached high deployment, percentage wise, within organizations. The ESG survey found 40% of
respondents indicated that their organization currently uses VDI technology but 25% are on the verge of
doing so. Similarly, ESG found 39% of respondents reported DaaS usage but planned an increase. Post
COVID, ESG’s expectation is these deployments will rise to accommodate the changing work
environment.

Answering the Rise of Security Questions

The new business landscape has sharpened the focus to the digital workspace, to make sure the basics
of data security and risk mitigation are handled at the level needed to ensure business continuity. A more
remote workforce has shown how essential endpoint management and security is to business survival.
Businesses are looking at:

1. Balancing the need for access policy controls with employees’ desire to use more BYOD devices
remotely. The ESG survey found a significant disconnect: while 79% of organizations believe VDI
and DaaS are more secure than traditional desktop provisioning, 65% of the respondents will
have restrictions on the devices used to access VDI or DaaS workspaces. These businesses are
not ready to adopt a policy in which employees are allowed to use personal devices. While they
perceive VDI or DaaS as superior options, they draw the line at employee-owned devices.
2. Embracing a digital workspace solution like Citrix Workspace to further enable secure remote
access. Remote application and desktop delivery and access to web- and cloud-based DaaS
apps via a secure browser, paired with secure endpoint management software will enable
employees to access their user profile regardless of location. Whether using the cloud or DaaS,
workloads and sensitive data are protected.
3. Maintaining a high level of security without impacting user productivity. The ESG survey found
improving employee collaboration to be a top priority in delivering desktop environments, followed
closely by detecting security incidences, vulnerabilities, and risk, and managing user expectations
of access, devices choice, and applications preferences. An effective solution is a next-gen,
secure Linux OS on endpoints that can be auto-configured based on predefined profiles for simple
user access. Device agnostic, this type of advanced endpoint software can enable organizations
to secure all those remote BYOD devices without fear of security risk.

Cyber Defense eMagazine –July 2020 Edition 27
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