Cisco To Release 'Always On' Mobile Architecture
The new architecture, dubbed "Cisco Secure Borderless Network," is designed to automatically extend the corporate network in an attempt to protect users from threats and enable them to access company applications and information remotely from any device.
Cisco executives said that the idea behind the release was "built on the back of VPN" to provide a network that was "always on" and "just worked."
"You're always on, always protected, always running. It changes the mindset and simplifies the end user experience," said Tom Gillis, vice present and general manager of Cisco's security technology business unit.
The first phase of the "Borderless Network" rollout will be kicked off with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility, which is slated for official release in the second quarter of 2010. The solution essentially combines AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, with the existing Cisco IronPort S-Series Web Security Appliance and the Cisco Adaptive Secure Appliance firewall, and will be delivered via Cisco IronPort S-Series appliances or as a cloud offering through Cisco ScanSafe.
Specifically, the AnyConnect solution touts instant connectivity, automatic security gateway detection, trusted network detection, and security application access for managed and unmanaged devices.
"For many of us in the enterprise, the mobile experience leaves something to be desired," Gillis said. "I'm not suggesting that the mobile Internet doesn't work. I'm suggesting that it doesn't work well."
In addition, the company also is expanding its Cisco TrustSec, which provides security policy management and access control for remote users, to include Cisco Network Admission Control and Cisco Identity Based Networking services. The beefed up TrustSec, available during second quarter of 2010, will include integrated device profiling and guest access services for 802.1X environments, enhanced 802.1X-based technologies, advanced end-to-end monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities, delivery of security Group Tag and SGT Exchange Protocol for Cisco Catalyst and Cisco Nexus switches.
Company executives said that the impending products address mounting security needs in the enterprise that are required to deal with an increasingly mobile workforce and the constant transmission of data on laptops and smartphones.
"Business are forced to deal with the mobile Internet," Gillis said. "We've entered a world where computers behave like phones and phones behave like computers."
Company executives said that there were opportunities for channel partners to provide assessment and other services around the new architecture but were unclear about the channel's specific role in its delivery.