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Analysis: Network Access Control

Posted by Mike Fratto, Editor on October 6, 2006

Tags: Trusted Network Connect,  CNAC,  Cisco,  Microsoft,  Mike Fratto,  NAC frameworks,  NAC standards,  NAP,  Network Access Control,  Network Access Protection,  Network Admission Control,  TCG/TNC,  Trusted Computing Group,  frameworks,  market,  network security,  security news,  Access Control,  Data Networking & Management,  Data Protection,  NAC,  Networking,  Security and Privacy

Channel: Data Protection, Networking & Mgmt

All conspiracy theorists worth their salt have one thing in common: A certainty that far-reaching and insidious forces are conspiring, molding events to suit their nefarious aims.

That about sums up the NAC market.

The number of players in this intrigue has exploded from a handful a few years ago to upwards of 35 today. And it's not just infrastructure gear vendors, though Cisco Systems and its rivals are well represented. From AirMagnet to Vernier, and of course Microsoft, everyone wants a piece of your security budget, and they're not above forming convenient alliances to get it.

And no wonder: Worldwide manufacturer revenue for NAC (network access control) enforcement products will grow to $3.9 billion by 2008 from $323 million last year--that's more than 1,100 percent growth, according to a recent Infonetics Research survey. Our own reader poll shows that more than half of organizations surveyed already deploy some form of NAC. Most start with a targeted scope, such as regulating network access to guest users, mobile laptops and wireless hosts.