Across the globe, enterprises and people are dramatically changing the way they approach work and productivity. A wide range of sectors now recognize hybrid working as an inherent competitive advantage, allowing their employees to schedule their work hours between home offices or remote locations and their usual corporate premises. According to a recent survey by CBRE, nearly 60% of companies in Asia-Pacific will retain some form of hybrid working, ranging from an equal mix of office and remote working.[1] Business leaders in the Asia-Pacific region also expressed that hybrid working has helped with work life balance, creating a happier, healthier and more engaged workforce while assisting enterprises with lowering costs associated to running high occupancy office spaces.[2] As the world shifts towards normalizing hybrid and remote working, one challenge that has been brought to light is the issue of cybersecurity.
Employees working out of office require extended access to the same corporate applications regardless of their physical location. With more remote users accessing the network, the attack surface of an organization increases significantly when facing inadequate protection between the devices of users and public internet. Enterprises may also operate their user networks based on implicit trust, lacking explicit application-level access control based on specific user devices and identity, leaving network applications exposed to potential external threats. Lastly, security policies both on and off network lack consistency and have not been accurately redefined to suit a new mode of hybrid and remote working.
Equinix and Fortinet reinforces enterprises with security-driven network solutions
To plug in digital security gaps that have arisen from the adoption of hybrid working, enterprises are looking for a security solution that would protect user devices and properly secure remote workers with endpoint protection capabilities. Delivered through Equinix Digital Services, Fortinet Private SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) Solution combines network security and SD-WAN to provide consistent security and networking performance for remote users.
This comprehensive solution is designed for hybrid work environments, offering web filtering control and protection against malware and unwanted intrusions. Private SASE extends the corporate perimeter for remote users, granting them secure and private access to applications and data regardless of their geographical location. Enterprises can migrate to a zero-trust network access (ZTNA) approach to patch application access securely based on specific user identity and subsequent devices without any additional physical IT assets or equipment.
As enterprises move towards hybrid working, Fortinet’s SASE solution delivered through Platform Equinix® forms a protective network mesh, empowering users to work from anywhere while staying secure in both offline and virtual settings. Powered by a single operating system, Equinix and Fortinet’s Private SASE Solution tackle the technical elements brought upon by the shift to remote working, simplifying the process and management of a globally distributed workforce in a rapid and secure manner.
Watch this TechUP webinar to learn more about how Equinix and Fortinet can enable your employees and customers around the world to excel in a hybrid working environment securely and seamlessly.
[1] CBRE 2022 Asia Pacific Office Occupier Survey: https://www.cbre.com.hk/insights/reports/apac-office-occupier-sentiment-survey-2022
[2] The Economist Impact on a Global Hybrid Work Survey: https://workspace.google.com/blog/google-workspace-in-asia-pacific/navigating-the-future-of-hybrid-work-in-apac
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