Great Bay Software deploys a comprehensive NAC solution at Wentworth Institute of Technology
Contacts:
Bob Durkee
Great Bay Software
603.866.1134
bdurkee@greatbaysoftware.com
Greenland, NH -- August 30, 2006 -- Great Bay Software today announced that Cisco NAC Appliance, from Cisco’s Network Admission Control portfolio, and Beacon, Great Bay’s Endpoint Profiling product, have been selected to enable the deployment and management of the NAC-enabled network at Wentworth Institute of Technology. The solution was selected to support the Institution’s efforts to provide secure network access for all network endpoints, including those belonging to students, faculty, staff, and guests.
Securing the network while providing collaborative computing
The IT team at Wentworth Institute of Technology, with the technical expertise of system integrator Blue Spruce Technologies, set out to deploy an authenticated network that would provide registration, authentication and remediation options for all devices entering the network. This would help ensure that faculty, staff, students, and guests have met predefined security parameters prior to accessing the network. “At Wentworth Institute of Technology we strive to strengthen our security infrastructure while still offering a collaborative computing environment,” said Chris Reidy, Associate CIO at Wentworth Institute of Technology. “We knew we wanted to construct an authentication and remediation solution that balances these two demands, and the combination of Cisco and Great Bay allowed us to provide NAC for all network endpoints, not just computers running Windows operating systems”.
Efficient Deployment of Network Admission Control
Wentworth Institute of Technology rapidly deployed the combined system from Cisco and Great Bay to student, faculty, and staff areas, and provided for highly secure guest access. Cisco NAC Appliance is designed to authenticate, assess, and enforce security policies on Windows- and Macintosh-based computers. “We’re especially pleased that Wentworth chose the Cisco NAC Appliance, given that the Institute plays a significant role in developing and shaping tomorrow’s IT innovators and leaders,” said Nick Chong, NAC Appliance Product Manager at Cisco Systems.
To complement the Cisco NAC deployment, Great Bay Software’s Beacon product discovers, profiles, and monitors all other network endpoints, and then liaises with Cisco NAC Appliance to provide unified and comprehensive network admission control for all types of devices. Together, the products enable a quick deployment, and establish a framework for accommodating and securing all network-attached endpoints, regardless whether the device is owned by the institution or students.
“The challenge at Wentworth Institute of Technology centered on understanding the needs of two distinct constituencies—the student, and the faculty, staff, and administrative users. As such, the NAC system at WIT needed to provide network access for all users and devices regardless of their location on campus, while providing the appropriate security levels for the different endpoint types,” said Steve Pettit, president of Great Bay Software. “The IT team at Wentworth Institute of Technology had a clear vision of their security initiatives, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to help them achieve their goals.”
About Wentworth Institute of Technology
Founded in 1904, Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational, nationally ranked institution offering career-focused education through 14 bachelor degree programs in areas such as architecture, computer science, design, engineering, engineering technology and management of technology. For over a century, Wentworth Institute of Technology has been a leader in technical education known for its academic excellence, community service and support for the economic growth of the region. For more information please visit www.wit.edu.
About Great Bay Software:
Great Bay Software is a Software development firm focused on facilitating network-based authentication and secure network access. The companies endpoint profiling technology provides enterprise customers with the products, services and solutions required to enable the Network Admission Control and Trusted Endpoint Solutions being introduced by many of the top security manufacturers in the world. For more information on the Beacon System from Great Bay Software, visit www.greatbaysoftware.com or call (603) 866-1134.
