Secure Remote Access to Transactional Middleware Environments in The New Work-From-Home Paradigm

Some of you who are reading this right now, have probably not stepped into an office in a very long time. Or even if you are in the office, maybe the cubicles don’t seem as full as they used to be. Either way, it’s become apparent that remote work and hybrid work are going to be the way many organizations operate in the future. As this reality solidifies, secure remote access, especially for those who work with sensitive transactional messaging and middleware, becomes a looming concern.

Surely the work-from-home trend has provided many benefits, not just for employees but for organizations as well. A study by The Quarterly Journal of Economics of 16,000 workers found that working from home increased productivity by 13%. A study by Prodoscore reports an increase in productivity by 47% since March of 2020 (compared to March and April 2019) due to remote working. As shown in this article from Squaretalk, various studies attribute the increased productivity to no commute, improved work-life balance, less watercooler talk, and increased exercise leading to improved mental and physical health. And as the trend continues, studies show that remote work is expected to Decrease Office Density and Demand, reducing the cost of corporate real estate.

But it’s not all roses

Secure remote access refers to any security policy, solution, strategy or process that exists to prevent unauthorized access to your network, its resources, or any confidential or sensitive data. Essentially, secure remote access is a mix of security strategies and not necessarily one specific technology like a VPN.

As organizations rush to move everything from on-prem, into the cloud, to accommodate this remote workforce, secure remote access to sensitive corporate systems is now a huge concern. According to a recent Tenable study conducted with Forrester, 74% of organizations attribute recent business-impacting cyberattacks to remote work tech that lacks secure remote access.

And it’s fair to be concerned. There’s only so much one can do to survey all your employees at all hours of the day. Just go to a coffee shop and look at how many people are using personal devices fo