CAMPBELL, Calif., March 31, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ForeScout Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of pervasive network security solutions for Global 2000 enterprises and government organizations, today announced that Nottingham Trent University (NTU), one of the UK's most innovative universities with a strong reputation for launching graduate careers, chose ForeScout CounterACT™ to help monitor and mitigate security risks from devices connecting to its wireless network while maintaining end-user ease of use.
With over 25,000 students and 2,500 staff spread across three campuses, NTU's wireless network accommodates about 6,000 active wireless endpoints -- and 10,000 "seen" endpoints -- figures that grow continually as students bring more of their own devices (BYOD), including laptops, smartphones, tablets and gaming devices, onto the network.
In 2013, in response to student requests for a simpler solution, NTU reduced its multiple, fragmented networks to one integrated wireless network. They needed to ensure the security of this network, and having previously used a first-generation network access control (NAC) solution that was difficult to use and created a negative user experience, the network team knew it was time for change. NTU did, however, still need NAC functionality, so the network team examined ForeScout's CounterACT platform as well as a number of other NAC solutions available at the time.
"For today's UK universities and colleges, the student is king. We, therefore, had to look at our wireless strategy from the perspective of ensuring that connecting to the network is as painless as possible, regardless of the device in use," said Mark Pearson, core networking team leader at NTU. "The main selling point for ForeScout was that it is so much easier to use than our previous NAC solution and doesn't require an agent to be deployed on each endpoint. Once we connected CounterACT to our network, it was up and running within 30 minutes. CounterACT is also non-intrusive to end users, which was critical, helping us to provide an inclusive and accessible network while optimizing security."
After implementing CounterACT, calls to the IT helpdesk were reduced, which has contributed to cost-savings for NTU. The platform's ease of management and automated mitigation capabilities have also saved the university time, money and resources.
The CounterACT dashboard makes it easy to monitor the entire wireless network from one screen, so the network team can see and monitor activity across all three campuses. Additionally, the system allows NTU to offer different levels of network access depending on whether the device is known or unknown.
"NTU is one of a growing number of UK public sector organizations utilizing the CounterACT platform to help monitor and mitigate security risks from a multitude of devices connecting to its network," said Peter Batchelor, ForeScout's regional manager for UK, Ireland and Africa. "CounterACT's ease of management and low administration costs are imperative for customers to keep their IT security costs to a minimum while also ensuring the best possible experience for end users."
Relevant Links
Nottingham Trent University Case Study
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About ForeScout Technologies, Inc.
ForeScout delivers pervasive network security by allowing organizations to continuously monitor and mitigate security exposures and cyberattacks. The company's CounterACT platform dynamically identifies and assesses all network users, endpoints and applications to provide complete visibility, intelligence and policy-based mitigation of security issues. ForeScout's open ControlFabric technology allows a broad range of IT security products and management systems to share information and automate remediation actions. Because ForeScout's solutions are easy to deploy, unobtrusive, flexible and scalable, they have been chosen by more than 1,500 enterprises and government agencies in 54 countries. Headquartered in Campbell, California, ForeScout offers its solutions through its network of authorized partners worldwide. Learn more at www.forescout.com.
ForeScout Technologies, Inc. is a privately held Delaware corporation. ForeScout, the ForeScout logo and CounterACT™ are trademarks of ForeScout. Other names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.