Modern enterprises are no longer bound by the physical constraints of the office, as network users and applications have become more flexible and distributed. End-users view physical boundaries as an outdated anachronism, and simply expect to be able to connect and work from any location using a mixture of laptops, smartphones and tablets. This has created a challenge for IT security teams who must protect all users even when they are not at their office desk. In these situations, IT teams are often forced to settle for security compromises that fall well short of the standard of security set by the next-generation firewall.
GlobalProtect bridges the divide between remote users and the enterprise security policy. First and foremost, GlobalProtect not only provides VPN access to corporate network but also extends enterprise security policy to all users regardless of their location. GlobalProtect frees enterprises from having to deploy different stacks of non-deterministic and inconsistent security solutions like proxy and VPN for their remote users. GlobalProtect connects users to the next-generation firewall to deliver full visibility, control and threat prevention to all enterprise traffic. Additionally, support for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS and Android devices ensures broad coverage of today's most popular computing platforms. This approach allows IT teams to reverse the steady erosion of enterprise security policy, and easily extend policy everywhere it needs to go.
Second, GlobalProtect enables policy controls based on the configuration of the end-point itself, such as the operating system patch level, validating that the antivirus solution is up to date or that disk encryption is enabled. These controls are fully integrated into the next-generation firewall, enabling policies such as restricting access to sensitive or risky applications if the user's system is not properly configured or up to date. When added to the next-generation controls based on application, user and content, this provides security teams with even more flexibility to design the ideal security policy for the enterprise.
As a complete solution, GlobalProtect provides consistent visibility, enforcement and protection regardless of an end-user's location or mode of connectivity. This approach breaks the reliance on the outdated notion of a physical perimeter, and enables the enterprise to migrate to a logical perimeter. This approach re-establishes the corporate security policy as the rule of law for all network connections and brings a unified and consistent approach to policy enforcement, threat prevention and security reporting.