Say goodbye to your insecure VPN with Citrix

We’re all now well aware that the future of work relies on a workforce operating safely and securely from wherever they are. Businesses can no longer be constrained by employees having to work from one location, with many having to move their entire workforce from office-based to remote working.Remote access working is one thing – enabling it securely and with the same end user experience as in the office is another. The recent need to establish remote capability quickly heightened these issues. In most cases, it’s been possible to establish the capability – but the clunky and insecure nature of the Virtual Private Network (VPN) has presented some significant challenges for many teams.

Performance and security limitations

Many organisations requiring access to very high-performance machines have struggled – architects, designers, media and entertainment companies for example. They work with large design files, however it’s not usually possible or practical for employees to take their high-powered workstations home with them.
It’s also essential that users have a consistent and seamless experience wherever they work - without cumbersome logons, restarts, or different visual experiences across devices. Without this, productivity will be severely impacted.

Further, common flaws in VPNs allow remote attackers to connect without a valid username or password; they can view logs and files, turn-off multifactor authentication, download arbitrary files, and execute malicious code on networks.

Untrusted personal devices can also contain malware, spyware, and other dangerous content. And users can copy content to untrusted endpoints, compromising a company’s Intellectual Property (IP).

To assist with these challenges one of our Partners,

Linktech Australia helps organisations establish remote access to physical PCs located in an office – without the need for any additional infrastructure purchase. This means organisations can essentially decouple their reliance on high end workstations so staff can work from anywhere from any device, even if it’s a low performance or shared PC – so long as they have a web browser. It also provides data access from any device without the security risks of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and VPNs.

There is nothing to install on the end user device at home – users simply click a link to access their desktop in the office. The workstation can even be automatically powered on if it’s switched off.

Sharing how Linktech Australia have assisted Hassell to boost their security and User Experience:

Hassell is an international design practice with studios in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the USA, and UK. In late January 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak sweeping through China and Hong Kong prevented staff from attending their studios to work. Most design staff use high-end workstations and were not equipped with laptops.

Hassell needed to ensure affected designers could work from home effectively. They had an existing virtual app environment; however, the underlying hardware could not cater to the entire Asia based workforce. Even if it could, the latency from China to Melbourne would impact user experience.

Hassell’s technology staff teamed up with Linktech Australia to expand the existing virtual app environment based in Melbourne. Linktech Australia configured a solution that tied authorised users to their specific workstations. Remote PC access enabled authorised team members to securely log on to their physical Windows PCs in their office from an untrusted personal PC at home. The user experience was exactly the same as in the office and Hassell did not need to procure any additional hardware.

To set it up, users were directed to install a client app and connect to the Hassell platform, where they authenticated using their existing Windows/Active Directory details. Upon successful authentication, the team member was presented with an icon representing their office PC. Once the icon was clicked, they were automatically signed into their desktop remotely. Because the user connects directly to their existing PC, very little training was required.

A per user monthly pricing model means Hassell only pays for licences when utilised with no lock-in contracts or commitments.

“With the success of the platform in China, we worked with Linktech Australia to quickly scale the platform to incorporate all our studios across the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia. This just wouldn’t have been possible without Linktech Australia’s expertise. Our teams are now working effectively from home, reducing risk and continuing to meet project deadlines,” said Hassell Design Systems Manager Johnny Chloride.

Self-service Linktech Australia’s model

The self-service Linktech Australia model allows companies to completely dispense with insecure VPNs. Users access physical office PCs themselves, without administrator intervention, without jitter or lag (common for most VPNs). Benefits include:

• Secure access to office-bound PC’s from anywhere - users work at home as if they are sitting at their workstation powered by Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop service combined with Citrix Application Delivery Controllers.
• Perfect for high performance PC’s in resource-hungry industries like architecture, design, engineering, manufacturing, media and entertainment.
• No new physical hardware required other than the existing high-end workstation fleet.
• Compatible with even the lowest end web device.
• Reduced bandwidth requirements by utilising Citrix HDX protocol
• Protection of IP by denying users the ability to copy content, blocking access to the endpoint’s drives, printer’s clipboard and even watermarking sessions.
• Little staff training required with current workstations utilised with apps and personal files and settings in place.
• Affordable, pay as you go ‘per user’ billing with no lock-in contracts and the ability to scale up/down as users shift between office and remote locations.

Once businesses have provided remote access to physical devices they can more easily move towards a virtual world where the PC is in the cloud.

Dicker Data and Linktech Australia

Linktech Australia is a digital transformation consultancy, Citrix Service Provider (CSP), and respected partner of Dicker Data. It helps businesses become more efficient and effective through better use of technology and specialises in designing and implementing solutions that strategically prepare customers for tomorrow’s challenges.

Customers can empower their employees to access office-bound desktops remotely without investing in any new equipment. Click here to register for your 14-day obligation free trial. 

Dicker Data is Australia and New Zealand’s leading distributor and works closely with Citrix and Linktech Australia to ensure businesses operate smoothly with the right IT solution.