'End-Point Virtualisation Secures Mission Critical Data'

Virtualisation is definitely making its importance felt among Indian enterprises and this is evident from the various ways in which virtualisation is being leveraged by companies across verticals. A new term and technique associated with virtualisation, which has recently come into the picture, is end-point virtualisation. End-point virtualisation helps to manage and secure significant information in a virtual environment. Biztech2.0 caught up with Shantanu Ghosh, vice president – Product Operations, Symantec India, to unravel this emerging trend.

Can you explain end-point virtualisation in detail?

Generally, when we talk about virtualisation, we talk about decoupling of resources. End-point virtualisation is done at the application level. End-point is a generic term and usually refers to end-point devices such as laptops, PDAs and all other devices that enterprises use to access information.

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With end-point virtualisation, applications are made to think that they are isolated and the only ones existing. The advantage with isolation is that applications are stored in a secure shell where they run without any interference. Applications that we use on laptops and other mobility devices are decoupled from the hardware in end-point virtualisation.

How does end-point virtualisation help in data management and consistency?

With end-point virtualisation, the trend is moving towards managing information. Earlier, employees used to come to one location to access information; however, now with enterprise mobility gaining momentum, employees can access information on the move. With this arises the challenge of security and infiltration of information, which can be avoided with end-point virtualisation that detects usage patterns.

With end-point virtualisation, data is streamed from a central location, thus, making data management easy, as applications are isolated and siloed in the virtual environment.

How does end-point virtualisation help in structuring unstructured data?

I would say that end-point virtualisation does not help in structuring unstructured data, rather it helps in managing structured data. This would include applications such as excel sheets, databases and the like. Another advantage of end-point virtualisation is that it works seamlessly in managing the data while providing the same security and management tool for all.

How does end-point virtualisation work in an environment, which is steadily moving towards convergence?

Convergence brings with it the use of various devices for which different management tools have to be used. The challenge arises while trying to secure the new type of productivity that every device offers. Securing the environment and protecting it from proliferation is a huge task to be dealt with, which can make things complex. End-point virtualisation is the end-point simplification of management and security.

How can enterprises go about implementing end-point virtualisation?

With products from our boutique, which are comprehensive and robust, the implementation is actually quite a breeze. With the help of these products, data, which is streamed from a protected central location, follows the knowledge obtained about usage patterns and preferences of users. Also, once the user logs off, the information is stored and can be accessed on the fly as desired by logging in again without any time lag.

Another advantage of end-point virtualisation is that different versions of the same application can co-exist on the same software without any interference or conflict. This interesting feature cuts down on licencing costs and protection management expenditure, as security is in-built. With end-point virtualisation providing such an edge, financial institutions are increasingly looking at it as an option.

Does any change have to be made to the virtual environment and IT infrastructure to house this solution?

There will be a change that the IT team would have to make depending on the size of the organisation. If an organisation has around 5,000 users, then the changes that have to be made will be minimal. However, under all circumstances the IT department would have to configure and set up a new environment.

What does the Indian landscape look like as far as end-point virtualisation is concerned?

There is definitely a high level of interest due to the proliferation of devices in Indian enterprises. Indian IT users are increasingly becoming sophisticated. The gap between the western world and India is reducing and the same solutions and technologies are finding favour with both worlds. If we were to compare the two prominent segments in India, namely large enterprises and SMBs, it would be worth noting that SMBs are definitely showing interest in end-point virtualisation; however, large enterprises are a step ahead of them and are already implementing the solution.

What is Symantec’s India roadmap for this space?

India is one of the most significant locations for Symantec from an R&D perspective. In our Indian facility, we are in the process of creating next-generation products and we also have our end-point virtualisation team, which is working in collaboration with our global team.