ForeScout integrates its NAC with MobileIron

In a bid to give IT departments better control over devices that employees bring to work, ForeScout Technologies has added MobileIron to the list of mobile management vendors its network access control platform can be integrated with.

As the BYOD (bring-your-own-device) trend grows, IT departments are seeking ways to remain in control while letting employees use their own smartphones or tablets for work. Integrating ForeScout’s own network access control product CounterACT with a number of different mobile device management vendors helps with that, the company said.

Last week the company announced integration with AirWatch.

Part of ForeScout’s strategy has been to offer users freedom of choice and interoperability with their infrastructure and endpoint protection, or in this case, mobile device management, according to CEO Gord Boyce.

ForeScout’s Mobile add-on module is used to accomplish the integration. It allows CounterACT to query for device attributes that can then be used to decide whether a smartphone or tablet should be allowed to access the network, get limited access or be shut out.

One drawback with mobile device management systems is that they can only see and manage tablets and smartphones that have already been enrolled in the system, according to ForeScout. But when integrated with CounterACT, MobileIron’s agent can be installed on unmanaged devices through a self-enrollment process, it said.

The Mobile add-on module costs from about US$28 per device and the integration with MobileIron will be available in March, according to ForeScout.

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