Making Layered Security Easier to Manage

While the concept of layered security has been around for years, the ability of most IT organizations to actually implement a layered security defense strategy has been spotty at best.

That's because while most IT organizations have deployed antivirus software and firewall technologies, managing those technologies in concert on an ongoing basis has proven difficult.

As a result, most IT organizations today are looking for more automated approaches to managing security that also can become a part of their overall approach to managing IT. The end goal is to reduce not only the cost of managing security, but also the complexity associated with managing IT and the technologies required to secure it.

The good news, however, is IT security management is starting to improve. Working with Trend Micro and SonicWALL, Dell, for example, has created an instance of a framework for managing IT security that integrates antivirus software and firewall technologies with Dell KACE security management appliances and the managed security services provided by Dell SecureWorks. Both Dell KACE and Dell SecureWorks were acquired by Dell relatively recently, and now Dell is working with Trend Micro and SonicWALL to create a layered approach to IT security that leverages the Dell KACE systems management platform. The idea is to make IT security easier to manage in a way that also can be extended to include a variety of complementary security technologies and related IT platforms. Customers can either opt to manage those technologies together themselves or invoke the Dell SecureWorks managed services platform.

Just about every IT security expert stresses the importance of having a defense in depth approach to IT security to ensure sure the IT organizations are not overly dependent on one type of security technology for protection. While traditionally that has been sound advice, effectively implementing such strategies has required the expertise of dedicated IT security consultants that cost more than most IT organizations can really afford.

By integrating security technologies with Dell KACE appliances, IT organizations now can, for instance, automate not only the management of patch updates to application software but also updates to the security solutions created by Trend Micro and SonicWALL. This provides IT organizations with a practical approach to unifying security and systems management, which has proven to be a more elusive goal than anyone in IT really cares to admit.

The end result of all this tighter integration should be not only better security but also a lower total cost of managing IT that in the eyes of many customers is long overdue.