Improving both Communication and Collaboration Through Direct Access
When I talk to CIOs, CSOs or even IT professionals today,
there is a consistent theme in every conversation: the ever increasing
mobility of today's workforce. What are the implications to IT when it
comes to mobility? It essentially breaks down to remote access from any
device from anywhere or very simply "anywhere access". With anywhere
access, there are two pillars that must achieved: security and
connectivity. Both are equally important and paramount in the mind of
every CSO or IT professional. For many years, we have seen numerous
technologies take center stage to help accelerate connectivity or ease the pain
in getting access to the data and applications we need to be productive when on
the road or even working from a thin device. These include, but are not
limited to Remote Access Servers, Virtual Private Networks, web based portals
and even hosted services. Technologies such as SSL VPNs and single sign
on portals have eased some of the pain, but still the collaboration and ease of
communication is not seamless.
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 change the game with how we
communicate and collaborate when travelling, working remotely or needing to
collaborate from home. It changes the game through a technology known as DirectAccess. More specifically,
DirectAccess is a new feature in the Windows 7 client and the Windows Server
2008 R2 operating systems that enables users to be seamlessly connected to
their resources, data and applications through the Internet. DirectAccess
eliminates the need for cumbersome VPN connections or software to get
connected. Collaboration and communication becomes easier than ever before.
You can learn more about the Windows 7 solution through an upcoming TechNet Webcast next month.
Forefront comes into play to help make this even easier
and more widely deployable through the Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG) product which is built on
the Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) platform for protection and
firewall capabilities. Both products build upon the DirectAccess
technology built into Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 and extend it by
providing enterprise management, flexibility and transitional
capabilities. In short, UAG enables DirectAccess capabilities to all
servers - especially those that are still running or limited to IPv4 addresses.
This effectively provides a DirectAccess experience to legacy applications,
servers and resources. Now, to provide my personal experience in using
the beta internally, it changes the way I do work every day. I have the
freedom to work from anywhere with my laptop and smartcard, I can get access to
data and applications within seconds. I no longer have to spend
time with a VPN connection or worry about unreliable Internet links. I
can feel comfortable going to home or traveling on the road as I know I will
have access to the resources I need wherever I go.
Forefront and Windows have already made my interaction
with colleagues and my team easier than ever before. I predict in the not
too distant future it will change the way businesses communicate and
collaborate in the future. In my mind, this is what Business Ready
Security is all about - productivity without security comprises.
David B. Cross
Product Unit Manager
David Cross is the Product Unit Manager of the Forefront TMG (Threat Management Gateway) organization focusing on security design and engineering in the ISD (Identity and Security Division) of Microsoft. He joined Microsoft in 1998 and has made significant technical and architectural contributions to Microsoft products such as Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008 and Exchange Server 2003. David spent his first two years as a senior consultant in Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) prior to joining the Windows division as a Program Manager in the Windows Security team. David has held roles as Group Program Manager and Director within the Windows Security team since joining in September of 2000. In addition, David has been a contributing author on a number of whitepapers and Microsoft Press books regarding Microsoft security and PKI. Prior to joining Microsoft, he spent two years as a Project Manager and Senior Architect with the Microsoft Solution Provider/Partner community and five years active duty with the aviation electronic warfare community of the United States Navy. David has spoken at over 100 internal and industry conferences around the world including TechEd, RSA, ITForum, PKI Forum and NISSC. David holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems as well as an MBA in Management Information Systems. David enjoys both reading and extensive leisure travel as hobbies with his wife of 9 years.
