Network Access Control Predictions: 2011 And Beyond

In 2010, Forrester saw modest growth in network access control (NAC) adoption. Nothing will change in 2011. While many security organizations report interest in NAC adoption, only 10% plan to implement the technology in the next 12 months. Forrester believes that there is significant value in NAC technology, but many organizations struggle to develop a compelling business case. To do this, Forrester recommends that security professionals focus on the specific use cases related to user access control and purchase NAC technology as part of a client or endpoint security suite or as an extension to existing network infrastructure. We see NAC very quickly moving beyond just network access control to layered access control. Layered access control encompasses networks, applications, and devices. In 2011, security professionals should look to NAC to provide controls around emerging scenarios related to user access control in mobile and social media use cases.