There are several benefits to network access control (NAC) solutions. These include security and performance improvements, regulatory compliance, and cost. In addition, you should consider your organization’s needs and priorities when considering this technology.
Security enhancement
Network access control (nac) solutions help organizations manage the risk of cyberattacks and malware by controlling device access to the network. These solutions also enable IT managers to track device use and reduce IT resources. They can also manage access to sensitive resources. By using network access control, IT managers can control the devices employees can use for business purposes.
NAC solutions help organizations limit network access by giving appropriate bandwidth to authorized users. They can also enforce policies that limit bandwidth usage by users or applications. Moreover, they can restrict network access to external parties. For example, a company may need to allow outside parties to connect to its network only after they have authenticated themselves. This way, the network can be secured against intrusion from outsiders without compromising its performance.
Performance enhancement
Investing in NAC solutions for your business can provide numerous benefits. For example, they can protect your network from unauthorized access by outside parties. Moreover, they can control network usage by maintaining appropriate network segmentation. Besides, they can block access to internal resources from non-employees by routing them through a captive portal or enabling throttled internet-only access.
NAC solutions for your business can help you automate certain tasks and improve security. For instance, you can steer printers and VoIP phones into separate VLANs and ensure that they don’t interfere with one another. You can also steer Internet of Things (IoT) devices into their proper VLANs. In addition, the right NAC solution can help prevent shadow IT and rogue access points.
Regulatory compliance
Network access control (NAC) solutions for businesses are critical in preventing insecure devices from gaining access to company data. In addition, NAC solutions help companies better manage the access of employees, visitors, and contractors to company networks. As the number of connected devices increases, network access control strengthens network security.
In addition to improving security, NAC solutions can help businesses maintain regulatory compliance. Many organizations must comply with regulations affecting consumer data privacy. For example, the International Organization for Standardization requires organizations to ensure that data is secure. Network access control solutions help organizations keep their networks compliant by monitoring network traffic and taking appropriate measures.
Regulatory compliance of network access control (NAC) systems is essential for certain industries, such as medical organizations, with increasingly high volumes of at-risk devices. As a result, the best NAC solution should be scalable to support multiple endpoints. However, scalability has limitations, and some NAC products require administrative attention.
Cost
The cost of network access control (NAC) solutions for business varies, depending on the features you need and the number of devices you need to monitor. While the initial cost of an NAC system may seem small, ongoing support and training can be costly. NAC solutions also require dedicated employees to install and maintain them.
Network access control systems are critical in preventing the unauthorized use of network resources. A robust NAC system will assess network traffic and authorize users while at the same time making it more difficult for cybercriminals to get access. The technology works by deploying agents on end stations to enforce policies and report any lapses to a central console. Network access control systems are available in two forms – in-band and out-of-band. The inline solution is a network-based firewall for access layer networks.
