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Gibraltar Solutions Inc., Ontario's pioneer and leading virtualization solution provider, runs a corporate Bring-Your-Own Laptop (BYOL) program that has been a hit not only with both existing and new hires because of the flexibility and freedom it affords user but also for IT administrator who oversee network security.
"The biggest thing that most young workers want today is access to social networks like Facebook and Twitter – even in the workplace," says Trent Dilkie, vice president and CSO of the 12-year-old virtualization solutions firm.
"We have a few Gen Y consultants and employees and we decided we won't get in their way as long as the network is not at risk," said Dilkie.
Dilkie is well aware the unpopularity of social networking among employers and the risks posed by un-controlled online activities. According to a recent report by security firm Sophos, at least 25 per cent of firms suffer from social network phishing attacks and attacks continue to increase. But the Gibraltar Solutions CSO also wanted to boost production and provide employees an encouraging workplace.
"We decided to step back and see what our employees can do," said Dilkie. Gibraltar Solution, however, did take a few precautions.
The company, which partners with other virtualization software makers such as Citix, VMware and Microsoft, employed a Citrix xen-based client hypervisor, to protect Gibraltar's network assets.
"This essentially divides the physical laptop or desktop into two virtual machines," said Dilkie.
One part of the laptop is for personal use. Users can load whatever software or application they want on this area. "A firewall separates a locked down part that contains a virtually managed operating system," said Dilkie.
This second partition is controlled by IT administrators and requires users to go through authentication to access.
Gibraltar's BYOL program is still relatively new, but Dilkie said so far it has reduced the hours spent on help desk tasks and application deployment. The virtualization enables administrators to deploy software or deal with most application-related issues remotely. If the machine breaks down, it's the user's responsibility to get it fixed.
"Saving on administration costs is a big payback," said Dilkie.
**Edited from ITworldcanada.com, click here to read the original article in its entirety***
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