Out-of-band management from Uplogix supports remote network management with optimal security

During this global pandemic, network security and reliability is more critical than ever – IT managers need to know that their network is locked down inside and out, and be able to prove it. With the average cost of a security breach increasing annually, all organisations need reliable network security. At the same time, there has been a global rise in cyber security incidents, including in South Africa, simply because more people than ever before have been working from home while practising social distancing.

Risna Steenkamp, General Manager: ESM at value-added distributor Networks Unlimited Africa, explains: “Employees around the globe had to transition from an on-premises work environment to remote working, and organisations had to adapt their networks accordingly – many of them in a relatively unplanned rush. This brought with it the twin challenges of network reliability and cyber security, as cyber criminals also moved quickly to take advantage of the situation by shifting their attacks to less well-protected remote workers.

“As we envisage remote working continuing into the future for many more employees than was previously the norm, it means that IT managers need to re-think many of their operations. In this regard, out-of-band management offers solutions to today’s networking requirements.”

Networks Unlimited Africa distributes Uplogix, which provides integrated remote management solutions, throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Its out-of-band management allows remote IT staff to handle remote networks as if they were onsite, with additional advantages such as reliability, monitoring and alerts, and quick reactions in the event of a network breach. Using out-of-band Uplogix solutions, a remote admin can use the connections to the network infrastructure to continuously monitor the gear over the console port – not the network.

“The security features of the Uplogix platform were initially developed for customers in finance and the military,” explains Steenkamp, “but many enterprises also found that they needed similar functionality. Now, as the world continues adjusting to a COVID-19 reality, security and reliability will remain of paramount importance for everyone. Additionally, for any company, downtime brings tremendous cost implications, whether it is caused by malicious threat actors, simple maintenance, or human error reasons.

“When the network and dependent systems are down, orders can’t be placed, employees are less productive, and costly resources have to be diverted to fix problems. Understanding the business case for remote network support is based on a risk/return calculation that takes into account the cost of downtime compared to the mix of resources spent to avoid downtime. Networks Unlimited Africa has prepared a comprehensive Uplogix business case that sets out comparative costs of network downtime.”

Steenkamp says with its automated remediation, more connectivity options and high security – Uplogix is a closed appliance, meaning the underlying operating system is locked down – Uplogix provides secure access on a closed platform, ensuring reliable network operations with the highest security.

“As a result, businesses can continue operating remotely with minimal disruption even during these challenging times,” she concludes.