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Is a SASE or Zero Trust solution the best way to overcome IT challenges in the construction industry.

by Niamh O'Donovan
July 17, 2023
SASE vs Zero Trust in construction

The construction industry is an incredibly complex and multifaceted industry, and as such, is faced with a unique set of IT challenges that need to be addressed in order to ensure elevated levels of efficiency and security.

In particular, the industry has had to grapple with the issues of providing secure access to site offices, delivering graphic intense applications and BIM data securely, and granting contextual access to data for contractors and staff. In this blog, we will explore how SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), or Zero Trust can help address these challenges.

Connectivity

One of the key IT challenges in the construction industry is providing secure access to site offices. It is a fast-moving sector where connectivity to new site locations may need to be turned around in short order. SASE can help by providing SD-WAN solutions where secure connectivity can be provided back to the company WAN in very short order. Once this is in place, all the multi-factor authentication and access control policies that are enforced for all users are in place and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the site.

By leveraging zero trust solutions, companies can allow workers to take advantages of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model. Not only can this improve the onboarding time, especially for contract workers, but it also enables companies to enhance their sustainability posture, while at the same time providing users with secure access to corporate data, emails, and applications.

Traffic Optimisation

Building Information Modelling (BIM) applications are extensively used in the construction sector. Given the nature of the business, the types of building models and diagrams that are used can be graphically intensive. Ensuring that the application and data traffic flows in the most performative manner is key to the user experience being a positive one. SASE solutions can help by optimizing traffic paths, routing traffic over the optimal network path, and ensuring prioritization and QoS. This can be especially important when working with SaaS applications as the chosen egress point can have a significant impact on performance.

Secure Access

Finally, a SASE or a Zero Trust solution can be used to grant contextual access to data for contractors and staff. By implementing access control policies, contractors and staff can be given access to the data they need while ensuring that sensitive information remains secure. This allows contractors and staff to easily access the data they need while ensuring that the data remains secure.

Simple Solutions

The construction industry faces these unique IT challenges that need to be addressed in order to ensure elevated levels of efficiency and security. A SASE or Zero Trust solution can be a great solution to these challenges, as it can provide secure access to site offices, deliver graphic intense and BIM applications in a secure and user-friendly way, and grant contextual access to data for contractors and staff.

At Enterprise Solutions, we have seen these challenges on a daily basis in the construction sites and site offices, but the right solutions really depend on individual companies. Arrange a call with our experts (asktheexpert@enterprise-solutions.ie) to discuss the best solution for your company.

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