2008 Is Do-or-Die Year for Network Access Control

NEW YORK -- The 451 Group, a New York-based technology-industry analyst company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation, found that the next 12 months will bring tremendous changes to what has been a slow-moving market for network access control (NAC) products. Adoption of NAC technology has been hampered in recent years by an overabundance of competing architectures, products and approaches. Five years after Cisco first introduced the term 'NAC,' the time may finally be right for broad adoption, but that doesn't mean the future is bright for a slew of venture-funded NAC startups. These findings are discussed in a new 451 Security Quarterly report, part of a series of reports designed to provide clients with timely analysis and perspective on key technology trends and marketplace developments in the world of enterprise security.

"The original value proposition behind NAC has changed, and the ground beneath more than one NAC pure play is starting to give way," said Paul Roberts, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Security at The 451 Group. "2008 is do-or-die for NAC pure-play firms, as major vendors fine-tune their NAC offerings and enterprises finally commit substantive budgets to NAC deployments."

The 451 Group