TTI | Network Security Insights

Make Secure Network Access Easy with Aruba ClearPass

Written by Tony Ridzyowski | Jan 19, 2021 12:00:17 PM

Aruba ClearPass makes it easier for authorized users to access your network and establish connections — without compromising security.

Whether we’re talking about a business, a school, or a non-profit, modern organizations revolve around having networks that are powerful and easily accessible to all their staff, students, guests, and contractors. For organizations focused on providing that connectivity, it’s easy to forget one essential element of the puzzle: access should never come at the cost of network security.

 

There’s no denying that managing modern networks can be complicated. In addition to basic connectivity, today’s organizations need to deal with a number of new trends that can complicate security and make it harder to keep track of all the devices accessing their sensitive information. One prominent example is the rise of the bring your own device (BYOD) trend. The organizations that embrace BYOD can often reap benefits like flexibility, convenience, and employee satisfaction — but they also introduce a variety of new risks related to who they let in and what information they let out. 

 

As BYOD and other emerging trends continue to grow in popularity, organizations need to make new efforts to maximize potential benefits without inviting new risks. To manually monitor and grant secure access to an overwhelming number of new devices and users would be near impossible, not to mention tedious and error-prone—Aruba ClearPass can help.

 

Staying Secure with Aruba ClearPass

Aruba ClearPass is a network access control solution built around the idea that access should be simple for every authorized user and device trying to connect to your network. That’s why ClearPass gives you the tools and flexibility you need to secure your organization’s wireless and wired networks — and provide easy access to those who need it. 

 

ClearPass is unlike many other solutions on the market. It includes multiple relevant network access control tools within a single platform, allowing you to rapidly grant network access credentials based on device model and health, users’ roles, MDM status, time, and location. The solution also offers complete visibility into who and what is connected to your network at any given time, meaning your IT teams can always stay in the loop. 

 

ClearPass features several different tools that help with various aspects of the larger secure network access picture, making it a perfect fit for today’s organizations:

  • ClearPass Onboard: Onboard automates the BYOD provisioning process, helping your IT teams easily create and deploy BYOD workflows that let authorized users access your secure network. The tool’s built-in certificate authority offers secure logins on iOS, Windows, macOS X, Ubuntu, Chromebook, and Android devices. That makes it easier to get the benefits of secure BYOD policies without introducing potential risks.
  • ClearPass OnGuard: OnGuard automatically checks device compliance to ensure only compliant devices are able to connect to your network. The tool’s advanced endpoint posture assessments can easily look into the health and posture of devices connecting to your secure networks. If any endpoints violate corporate security and compliance policies (which you can set yourself to make sure they meet your high standards), ClearPass can automatically remediate or quarantine those endpoints before they are able to access your data.
  • ClearPass Guest: ClearPass Guest makes it easy to implement secure guest access and create a customized web portal that utilizes your own branding. You can even leverage unique features like sponsor approval, credential delivery, or usage policies via email or text. These features help your guests access your network while keeping your brand top of mind and minimizing exposure to risks.

 

Aruba ClearPass in Action

As experts in the networking space, the team at Turn-key Technologies, Inc. (TTI) has been able to assist a number of organizations in upgrading their legacy solutions to better meet the demands of today. For example, Teachers College, Columbia University, chose TTI to help them replace their existing Cisco products with solutions from the extensive Aruba product catalog. With ClearPass in particular, the school gained a slew of robust security features for its wired and wireless environments that help support its students, staff, and guests. ClearPass now allows Teachers College to comprehensively manage network policies, onboard and manage devices securely, and admit guest users — all from a single platform.

 

“TTI worked hand in hand with our solutions provider Aruba and our networking team to assess our existing environment and come up with an upgrade plan that aligned with our goals and budget,” says Daniel Aracena, CIO at Teachers College. “We have continued to rely on TTI’s support, and I am extremely happy we selected them as a partner.” And they’re not alone — other TTI customers like Weichert Realtors, Monmouth University, and HollyFrontier have all been able to deploy ClearPass and empower their IT departments to do more with less. 

 

Choosing a ClearPass Implementation Partner

When it comes to securing your network, there should be no cutting corners. You need an implementation partner that will find the right solutions for your specific needs and will ensure they are installed correctly. By partnering with TTI, you can trust our network security experts to create a comprehensive plan for secure access that incorporates ClearPass alongside other critical cybersecurity measures. 

By investing in secure network access, you’ll build a toolkit that works overtime to protect your data — allowing you to focus on other priorities. Contact TTI today to schedule a network consultation and learn how we can apply our 30 years of professional IT experience to transform your network.