Aruba Networks Introduces the All-Wireless Workplace Designed for #GenMobile

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – 19th March, 2014 – Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) launched a survey report last month that showed the emergence of a new breed of employees dubbed #GenMobile, defined by its preference for mobility and need for ‘always on’ connectivity, that is changing the workplace as we know it. Based on this research, Aruba today unveiled Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks™, a new architecture that will enable IT departments in the Middle East to build an ‘all-wireless workplace’ designed to enhance #GenMobile productivity and job satisfaction. Aruba also introduced five new software innovations that deliver IT granular visibility, performance optimizations and security automation to support the networking needs of highly mobile employees.

Ammar Enaya , Regional Director at Aruba Networks Middle East & Turkey says, “As part of our global study, we unveiled some interesting findings in the UAE and Saudi including the fact that a very high percentage of respondents (75% and 65%) prefer Wi-Fi over 4G, 3G or wired connections. This is understandable considering the high cost of data packages in the region.  To be a leader in today’s competitive business environment and to retain and attract #GenMobile employees, enterprises in the Middle East need to create a truly all-wireless workplace where Wi-Fi is pervasive, guest and BYOD security are automated, office appliances are mobile-device friendly, and communications applications on mobile devices simply work better.”

Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks transform enterprise networks into intelligent systems, providing total control over the all-wireless experience. The added intelligence enables an automated, self-adjusting infrastructure where changes in wireless state trigger security actions and performance optimization measures so that the infrastructure adapts to its environment. Unlike traditional static Wi-Fi networks, Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks eliminate the need for IT professionals to make manual changes to accommodate new mobile devices and applications. The results are fewer helpdesk complaints and a better end-user experience.

“Legacy Wi-Fi is merely an extension of static, wired networks and offers little value in a #GenMobile world. It can’t keep up with this hyper-mobile population, creating a poor user experience and excessive helpdesk calls. IT departments do not have the budget or resources to manually reconfigure ports or upgrade fixed networks for every #GenMobile need. Employing a software-centric approach, Mobility-Defined Networks create an all-wireless workplace that accommodates #GenMobile and helps meet the growing demand for mobility,” continues Enaya.

As a part of Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks for the all-wireless workplace, Aruba is delivering five essential industry-firsts:

1.Next-Generation Mobility Firewall

Unlike other Wi-Fi firewalls, Aruba’s new Next-Generation Mobility Firewall uses advanced deep packet inspection (DPI) to set granular role-based policies, quality of service and bandwidth contracts for more than 1,500 mobile applications, even when they are encrypted. This empowers IT professionals with unmatched Wi-Fi control over applications, accelerating the creation of an all-wireless workplace both IT and #GenMobile employees can trust.

2) Interactive Unified Communications Dashboard

Aruba AirWave now offers the industry’s most advanced and intuitive user interface for visualizing and controlling Unified Communications (UC), like Microsoft Lync, over Wi-Fi. The new UC dashboard is the first tool of its kind for IT professionals to bring UC and network performance metrics together in one, simple, consolidated view. IT administrators can easily point-and-click to retrieve historical metrics and visualize real-time call quality by location, thereby eliminating manual investigations for UC failures. Combined with the Wi-Fi controls for applications, IT admins now have the tools to cut the cord on the desk phone and wirelessly deliver communications application to #GenMobile users.

3) ClearPass Exchange and Technology Partners

The new ClearPass Exchange makes it easy for IT professionals to automate security workflows for the all-wireless workplace. IT administrators can leverage a set of common language application programming interfaces (APIs) and data feeds that allow ClearPass to automate workflows with almost any third-party IT and business system from Aruba partners like IBM, AirWatch and MobileIron. For example, a network policy violation will prompt ClearPass to trigger a push notification to the device in question through the Mobile Device Management (MDM) system. ClearPass integrates with the helpdesk systems to then automatically generate a ticket notifying security teams. Now IT departments can accelerate manual processes to satisfy #GenMobile data security concerns.

4) Auto Sign-On

New Aruba Auto Sign-On enabled by ClearPass and ArubaOS, uses a workplace’s Wi-Fi login to automatically authenticate an employee into Single Sign-On (SSO) enabled applications, like SalesForce.com. Aruba Auto Sign-On can be easily integrated with existing SSO identity providers, like Okta or Ping, or used independently. Aruba Auto Sign-On eliminates frustrating and repetitive username-password authentication processes, making it painless for #GenMobile employees in the all-wireless workplace to sign in to enterprise applications.

5) AirGroup, now for DLNA and UPnP™

AirGroup, enabled by ClearPass and ArubaOS, allows #GenMobile to wirelessly share screens and stream media with Apple and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices. Only Aruba AirGroup optimizes for Wi-Fi performance and limits the view of available devices based on the employee’s role, location and time of day. Since AirGroup is completely self-service, #GenMobile employees can easily set devices for sharing in their all-wireless workplace, eliminating the need for IT support.