Implementing security used to be simple: Build a perimeter and protect the resources inside. But as apps are increasingly moving to the cloud and work is happening anywhere, things have become more complicated, and the traditional architecture of castle and moat no longer works. IT organisations around the world realise this, and according to the results of a Pulse survey conducted by Citrix Systems, are abandoning traditional approaches to securing information and devices in favor of modern ones that enable them to overcome these challenges and deliver the future of work.
“In a world where resources can be accessed anywhere, anytime from any device, traditional security models focused on locking systems down won’t cut it,” said Fermin Serna, Chief Information Security Officer, Citrix. “What is needed is an intelligent, people-focused approach that allows organisations to secure all the tools, apps, content, and devices that employees need and prefer to use in a simple experience that can be customised to fit their personal preferences and evolving work styles.”
The Citrix-Pulse survey supports this notion. Of the IT executives and managers in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific region who responded to the measure,
– 64 per cent indicated that they are aiming to shift from their current VPN strategy
– 71 per cent said they are looking to a zero trust, cloud-based model as a replacement.
And employee experience will figure prominently in their plans.
– 97 per cent of those surveyed cited employee experience as a key influence on their strategy going forward, and
– 75 per cent said they are looking to improve the user experience through their design and execution.
“Employee experience is critical to delivering business innovation and growth, and security must support it,” Serna said. “As the Citrix Pulse survey found, savvy organisations recognise this and are evolving their security postures to provide access to applications and information in a contextual and transparent way that empowers employees rather than frustrating them.”