Using SASE To Secure Networks

The more we rely on open networks, the more our data is at risk of being stolen by a variety of cybersecurity threats. And that could prove costly. T-Mobile estimates the average global cost of a single data breach was nearly $4.5 million in 2023. As a result, businesses and organizations are looking for solutions to ensure their data is protected, while also providing enhanced productivity with reliable connectivity, access to cloud resources and business applications. Paul Spencer, channel chief for T-Mobile, spoke with CRNtv’s Jon Alba to discuss why connected laptops could be the best solution out there.

Jon: Why is now the time for people to consider a switch to a connected laptop?

Paul: With Windows 11 coming, there's this huge industry event that we've never seen before, and so now there's going to be all these buying decisions. And so, one of the things I talk about with partners is, do you think the world's going to be more or less connected wirelessly three years from now? Well, I think the answer is it's going to be more wirelessly connected three years from now.

So, if that's the answer, what decisions should you be making for your organization? What should you be talking to your customers about for their organizations? Should they be buying a connected laptop to increase security and productivity, or is that something you want to wait another three or four years on the cycle?

So right now, it's about future proofing and security, those are the two main topics.

Jon: How do T-Mobile's connected laptops combine with your SASE solution to provide a more secure environment for end users?

Paul: So, we had this little mini conference down in Dallas about a year ago. And in that meeting, we broke for lunch. And there's one of my favorite people in the channel, and I could tell the wheels were just turning.

I came back from lunch, and I just posed the question, “Does anybody have any feedback for what we talked about this morning?” I knew he was going to ask something.

He goes, “Listen, I spend all of my time with the Fortune 100, Fortune 1000 CEOs, C-suite. And all we're talking about is security. But nobody has an integrated security solution into their connectivity. If you guys had that, I think that would be game-changing.”

And I remember I kind of sat back and I looked at a couple other people in the meeting room, because we knew in the backdrop our product team had been building a product with Versa, which is one of the premier security SASE solutions out there. Except this was woven into our network, it was woven into our standalone 5G network, and it was woven into the literally the SIM card that you procure when you buy a 5G laptop.

So, in that kind of situation, we make it seamless, and we make it easy. But more importantly, as the world gets more and more connected wirelessly, T-Mobile has a very, very rigorous stance around the security posture that we take to market with our SASE solution.

Jon: Aside from all these security benefits, how do connected laptops aid with user productivity as well?

Paul: Yeah, that's the million-dollar question. So, the first few were good. But that's probably the best one that you've asked.

And really, I know what companies are looking for, which is “hey, if I sign up for X amount of service revenue, meaning I got to go procure another rate plan that sits against this, what is the trade-off like? How much more productivity am I going to get?”

And this is where I'll go back to the first comment. We're probably a little bit early on where we sit in the laptop market, but I'll take you back to a time. I've been in this industry since 2001, my first job in wireless. And I remember a couple of years later, my boss showed up with this thing in his hand and it was called the BlackBerry. And nobody really knew what the BlackBerry was at that time.

And in fact, what was interesting is then he said, “Hey, we've got to go start selling these things.” We all got trained on BlackBerry, and triple bed security solutions and all these different things way back then. So, we took it out to market, and the number-one thing you'd hear from customers was, “Why would anybody want to get email outside of the office? Why would you want to get it on a, on a device of all things?”

Not only that, when you got to … the C-suite and you got to the CEO, he said, “I've got to pay another $30 a month and buy a separate device,” because back then BlackBerrys were separate.

They hadn't figured out how to put phone and email together. And then this thing called the iPhone came out, and then Android launched. And now nobody can go more than 10 minutes in a day without really looking on your phone or checking your personal or work email. And so, it's hard to answer the productivity question. Again, if the industry or just life in general is going to be more or less wirelessly connected in the next two to three years, what do you want your workforce to have? How do you want to futureproof those investments?

So that would be my answer is my answer, candidly, when I sit in front of partners and customers and talk about this.

You can find out more about T-Mobile’s 5G connected laptops by visiting t-mobile.com/business/partner-recruitment.