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As businesses become more agile and flexible to compete in the digital age, their workforces are changing to keep pace. In addition to hiring full-time employees, businesses today are also leveraging a diverse mix of contractors, seasonal workers, remote staff, and partners.
But how do you enable this wider range of workers to securely access email, corporate websites, servers, applications, files, cloud and other business resources, on their personal or non-corporate managed Windows 10 and macOS devices?
To serve their remote workers, organizations traditionally have turned to virtual private network (VPN) or virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions. But these systems are becoming complex and costly to manage. What’s more, often these legacy technologies fail to fully safeguard unmanaged computers and other endpoints against the growing threat of malware and a host of other cyber-risks.
‘VPN Killer’
There is now a better way to give everyone that works for your organization – from fulltime employees to temporary contractors – easy and secure access to desktops, apps, files, from unmanaged devices. It’s called BlackBerry® Desktop, and it features a next-generation secure browser, BlackBerry® Access, that lets users reach behind the firewall to run HTML5 apps and access intranets and portals, minus all the complex sign-on and connection procedures that VPNs require.
BlackBerry Access looks and works like a traditional browser, so you can be instantly productive in front of a familiar interface. Bookmarks, history, and downloads are easily managed so that content always stays within reach. Unlike conventional browsers that can easily expose sensitive corporate data, BlackBerry Access uses BlackBerry’s Data Path Controls to securely route traffic through the firewall while keeping data containerized and safe. And by whitelisting URLs, IT can ensure that employees only access domains that are company approved, preventing data leakage.
I think BlackBerry Access will become a “VPN & VDI killer.” You can install its intuitive browser on any Windows 10® and macOS® laptop or tablet, allowing you to quickly onboard and offboard contractors, partners, and other non-employees using their own devices. It’s also an effective way to quickly ramp up new employees, such as those joining from M&A deals. Best of all, the browser solution provides the same level of connectivity and security as legacy VPNs and VDIs at a significantly lower cost. In my view, the days of these legacy networking technologies are numbered.
Work and collaborate securely – online and off
BlackBerry Desktop also comes with a set of powerful collaboration and document editing tools called BlackBerry® Work – all accessible through the secure BlackBerry Access browser. With BlackBerry Work, users can read, send and manage business emails, schedule and open meetings from an online calendar, view contact lists, and more. You can integrate BlackBerry Work easily with your existing Microsoft Office on-prem or Microsoft® 365 applications, including Microsoft Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, helping protect your existing investments in productivity solutions.
With BlackBerry Work, you can create and edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, and share them with colleagues. You can also work on your documents, emails, and calendars offline, so you can keep your projects moving even when you’re not connected to the network.
With BlackBerry Secure Document editor, a purpose built editor for security and productivity, users can perform offline editing as well as this builtin editor provides the convenience of performing quick edits without leaving the Work app.
CylancePROTECT: Continuous threat protection
When it comes to convenient, secure access to behind-the-firewall resources on any device, BlackBerry Desktop is hard to beat. But it gets even better with the addition of CylancePROTECT, a powerful next-generation antivirus and malware protection solution. By integrating CylancePROTECT with BlackBerry Desktop, you can provide continuous malware and virus protection across all endpoints and respond immediately to cyber incidents.
What makes CylancePROTECT uniquely effective is how it uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning – not signatures – to identify and block known and unknown malware from running on endpoints, providing true “zero-day” prevention. What's more, because CylancePROTECT runs on endpoints, not in the cloud, malware is detected and eradicated in real time. That means threats such as malicious email attachments are thwarted before their payloads can be detonated.
There’s even more to CylancePROTECT. The solution automatically finds and blocks “fileless” or zero-footprint attacks – a growing menace that exploits computer memory to wreak havoc. Cylance also gives you full control over your software scripts and enforces policies about which devices are allowed to run in your enterprise, helping to decrease the risk of cyberattacks. Finally, CylancePROTECT offers advanced threat-hunting capabilities, so you can mitigate previously exploited attack vectors and eliminate hidden threats on demand.
Easy integration
You can now get the benefits of both BlackBerry Desktop and CylancePROTECT in a single, integrated installation, enabling secure remote connectivity from any Windows 10 or macOS device. The combined solution maximizes productivity, reduces costs, and provides unparalleled security to companies faced with managing an increasingly complex and mobile workforce in a world of rising cyberthreats.
