Insuring the data ‘on the road’ is the key to Enterprise Mobility
Every company in every industry around the world is facing the challenge of becoming a digital organization. Companies recognize that in order to play in a strong competitive market, adopting the Cloud and transitioning their organizations to using new technology is their opportunity to keep pace. However, many of these companies wonder if staying secure and private is an attainable reality or if they are compromising their business by transitioning to the Cloud.
Privacy and security concerns seem to be keeping businesses awake at night, since these two reasons are always listed as the first barrier for public Cloud adoption. In fact, according to the survey IT as a service: From build to consume (McKinsey, 2016) security and compliance are the primary considerations when choosing a solutions provider, above any other benefit that the Cloud can bring such as lowering costs or time to market.
To overcome these blocking factors, IT partners must put security as their top priority and effectively communicate that security-first-and-foremost message to potential customers, thus avoiding the perception of risk overriding the many benefits that Cloud solutions can offer them.
Managing security challenges and meeting employees’ expectations
Insuring the data ‘on the road’ is as important as insuring a car, if not more so. Customers need seamless protection across their entire infrastructure network - every one of the devices their employees use and all the application services they work with on a daily basis.
The seamless experience is one of the biggest challenges for IT organizations, and it first requires getting Cloud identity management right by having an integrated identity and security management across the breadth of the company network. The results of a Forrester study show that 36% of IT decision-makers state that their organizations have identity and access management tools for each ecosystem, but they are not integrated across Cloud, data, and user type. Only 18% reported having an identity management system that integrates with other management systems. (Source: ’Overcome security and identity management challenges in Enterprise Mobility with the right IT infrastructure’, Forrester, December 2014)
Employees expect to have a smooth experience with the technology they work with. This means that integrated security management technology should provide on-time password updates across accounts and applications, data that is accessible anytime from multiple applications, and consistent file access that is not limited when switching between devices.
To respond to this demand, partners need to offer an integrated mobility solution that provides security to clients across multiple layers and enables them to manage secure employee use of Cloud applications, all while maintaining user freedom.
A growing delivery model: Identity and Access Management as a Service
Identity is the foundation of enterprise mobility. For customers it is important to have a strong identity-driven security system, one that protects them at the front door against potential user mistakes that could compromise data, enabling detection of any threats before they cause damage.
To power this demand, Identity-as-a-Service in the Cloud is becoming the preferred option for companies worldwide. The recent report ‘Magic Quadrant for Identity and Access Management as a Service, Worldwide’, published by Gartner in June 2016, estimates that 40% of identity and access management (IAM) purchases will use the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) delivery model by 2020 - up from less than 20% in 2016.
The report analyses each and every vendor of the IDaaS landscape to take a picture of the state of the market. The Magic Quadrant rates vendors on their ability to be global, general-purpose IAM service providers for multiple use cases, including different types of workforce, B2C and B2B scenarios. In the latest report, Microsoft was placed in the "Visionary" quadrant as a result of the complete vision and the ability to execute, only slightly below companies with multi-year track records.
Magic Quadrant
Figure 1. Magic Quadrant for Identity and Access Management as a Service, Worldwide
The latest and most advanced Cloud-powered security software
With Enterprise Mobility + Security, companies have access to advanced identity management without compromising the Office experience. Security should not be an interfering factor in employees’ productivity. It is important that they are provided with secure and seamless access to corporate email and documents, as well as familiar email and productivity experiences with Office mobile apps such as Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
In addition to Identity-driven security and Managed Mobile productivity, EMS allows vendors to provide customers with comprehensive solutions that are cost effective, integrate with what companies already have, and maximize limited budgets.
To help address the needs of productivity, collaboration, mobility and business insights through a secure experience, Microsoft has built very advanced Cloud-powered enterprise software called the Secure Productive Enterprise (SPE). It is an entirely new platform that spans Windows 10, Office 365 and Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security. This package was made available on October 1. With SPE, companies have at hand the most advanced technology to empower their employees to achieve more.
Cutting edge Cloud-based security technology is the point of departure for a successful digital transition. When businesses have the certainty that they can get on board the Cloud without endangering their privacy and data, they are in the best position to embrace change and focus on the numerous possibilities that new IT models have to offer.
Additional resources for IDaaS sellers
If you are selling or planning to upsell Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility + Security services, it is important that you understand the landscape and get the facts. Stay up-to-date with the latest market news, join specialized webinars and make sure you leverage Microsoft’s multiple resources.
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