IT directors looking to increase productivity and
security should avoid locking desktop PCs behind the corporate
firewall, a working group from CSC's business and IT strategy
organisation the Leading Edge Forum has recommended.
The working group, whose members include DuPont, BP, Lloyds TSB,
GlaxoSmithKline, Dow, Eli Lilly and Philips, said companies would
increasingly move users outside the firewall and connect them
directly to the public internet to improve options for innovation.
The use of
deperimeterised security in this environment
would also improve the overall security of company systems.
"Companies should not lock down desktops behind the company
firewall. If your employees live behind the corporate firewall,
they will be cut off from the capabilities on the web. They will
have only expensive, restricted-bandwidth network access," said the
working group's report.
Author of the report, Douglas Neal, said, "Business pressures
will drive firms to 'live on the web', well outside of their
traditional firewalls."
The study recommended that companies avoid treating their
employees or customers as a single, homogenous segment. Instead, it
said organisations should give staff and customers greater
responsibility to create business value.
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