Microsoft systems integration partners Avanade, Cap Gemini and PricewaterhouseCoopers have signed up to provide NAP services.
Designed to secure the perimeter around the corporate network, the technology is music to the ears of many Microsoft solution providers in the enterprise and midmarket spaces. Still, many wish NAP would come before the next Windows Server code late next year.
"Customers asked us for this a year ago, but Cisco was the only company that provided a solution," said Ted Dinsmore, president of Conchango, a New York-based solution provider. "But this should be a higher priority than getting it out in the R2 time frame. This should be released as soon as possible."
The software will check applications and firewalls against a set of IT or partner-defined policies before opening the gate to the network. In addition to network policy validation, the technology also restricts noncompliant client machines to another site where patch and virus updates from third-party ISVs can bring the client back to health, Microsoft said.
The NAP architecture resides on Microsoft's implementation of the Radius server protocol in Windows Server, called Internet Authentication Server (IAS). The NAP APIs will be built into the dial-up authentication server and policy authority.
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
