VARs & Integrators waking up to NAC action

The first time solution provider Chris Labatt-Simon mentioned network access control to a customer three years ago, the executive was so stunned by the cost and complexity of putting a client on every single machine in his corporate network that he actually burst out laughing. But a few weeks later, after the same customer's network was brought to its knees by a worm introduced from a contractor's infected notebook PC, he grew much more receptive.

Labatt-Simon, president and CEO of D&D Consulting, Albany, N.Y., is one of a growing number of solution providers educating more customers about NAC solutions, which address network security not by just protecting network borders, but by looking at applications and clients. Sales are starting to flow from the education process, said Labatt-Simon, who expects D&D's NAC deployments to hit 50,000 seats this year, up from 5,000 last year. "Perimeter security is going away as we know it," said Labatt-Simon. "It's easier to protect your [network] if you protect the client."

While he acknowledges that some customers are taking a wait-and-see attitude, Labatt-Simon feels that eventually it will become a cornerstone of every company's network security strategy. "There is a fear of NAC, but at some point in time the need for NAC is going to outweigh these fears—probably after the next major worm outbreak," he said.

The article this posting links to offers a nice comparative description of the current vendor solutions out there.

CATEGORIES : 1nac, 1 endpoint security