Big Business Slow to Adopt Network Access Control

A new study conducted by TheInfoPro reveals that the majority of Fortune 1000 sized companies don't use network access control (NAC) and only consider implementation of NAC as part of their long term plans.

Of those companies that participated in the study, only 26 percent currently use NAC and 7 percent have existing pilot programs. While 14 percent include NAC in their near-term plans 29 percent consider it a long-term possibility and a whopping 24 percent have no plans to implement the technology.

Network access control technology typically checks for end-point policy compliance and can also provide some form of remediation path. Numerous vendors provide NAC solutions, however the study, conducted by TheInfoPro, revealed that some potential adopters of the technology remain either confused or disappointed.

"Enterprises considering implementation of NAC technologies are struggling to both deal with complexities and the differences between Network Admission Control - as it was originally - conceived and subsequent Network Access Control solutions being made available from numerous suppliers," said Bill Trussell, Managing Director of Information Security Research at TheInfoPro. The study revealed that at least some companies think the technology simply isn't ready for mainstream use yet.

According to TheInfoPro's data Cisco currently dominates that market for NAC technology, with Symantec, Microsoft, and Juniper Networks ranking right behind Cisco and rising in popularity.

Other interesting data points in the study revealed what other types of security are currently being used. Of the companies surveyed, 86 percent report that they use Web content filters, 82 percent use intrusion detection systems, 75 percent use some type of VPN, 63 percent use secure email solutions, 54 percent use network intrusion prevention technologies, and 24 use unified threat management platforms.