Zix Unfurls Secure Cloud Service for Productivity Apps
Zix today launched a suite of applications dubbed Secure Cloud that provides a secure digital workspace using a hosted instance of Microsoft Office 365 that can be easily accessed from remote locations.
Company CEO Dave Wagner said in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic organizations now more than ever require access to a suite of integrated applications. Secure Cloud combines Microsoft Office 365 with file-sharing and encryption services and cybersecurity intelligence services from Zix to provide end users with a secure digital workspace.
Productivity applications have been moving into the cloud at a rapid rate. Zix is now looking to take that concept a step further via a cloud platform that provides the cybersecurity capabilities for Microsoft Office 365 that enterprise IT organizations otherwise would have to add on their own.
With more employees working from home, cybercriminals have ratcheted up their efforts to compromise credentials as part of an effort to exfiltrate data and generally distribute more malware than ever via email systems. Zix is making a case for combating those attacks by relying on a cloud service to access productivity applications and email in a way that all data is encrypted, said Wagner. That approach reduces the inherent risks associated with employees working at home, such as a cybercriminal discovering a user name and password.
At the same time, Wagner said cloud services such as Secure Cloud provide end users with a richer application experience.
The concept of a digital workspace delivered via the cloud has been around for a few years now. The adoption of such services has been uneven; however, with more organizations having a better understanding of their current limited abilities to support remote workers at scale, Zix is betting interest in cloud application services will increase in the days and weeks ahead. No one knows for sure when current restrictions will be lifted—or, for that matter, whether in the future there might be another pandemic crisis disrupting operations. As such, it’s expected many more organizations will accelerate their transition to cloud applications.
Regardless of timelines, Wagner said more organizations are starting to appreciate how cloud services are from an IT perspective “the great equalizer.” Organizations of all sizes have access to the same class of applications as any large enterprise. Those capabilities also serve to make each business as resilient as any other, he noted.
It’s too early to say how many more organizations will be moving productivity applications into the cloud. Many organizations still have to contend with compliance regulations, while smaller businesses may prefer to devote limited resources to other, more pressing initiatives. The one thing that is certain is IT professionals who are involved in those projects will be acutely sensitive to cybersecurity issues at a time when cybercriminals are looking to exploit the weakest links in IT environments that have never been more chaotic or potentially vulnerable.
