Page 31 - FCW, July 2017

It uses both software and hardware mechanisms to isolate critical processes and data in a virtualized environment, along with their own virtualized storage and version of the operating system, making it much harder for any attacker to tamper with them.
Virtualization is a key difference between Windows 7 and Windows 10, one that leverages the hardware of new PC systems. Intel has had virtualization extensions built into its hardware for quite some time, says Steve Taylor, technology specialist with Intel Federal. But it wasn’t until Windows
10 that there was an operating system that could take those
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Microsoft has included many tools to help its customers test and validate application compatibility.
“And there’s just the general fear of change,” he says. “Many customers have been on Windows 7 for a while, and are very familiar with it.” The old and slow way of building a complete image of a system, injecting it with new applications, and thoroughly testing things before they port it out to working systems is still the way many prefer to go with upgrades.
An added bonus of Windows 10 is that it is compatible with some older hardware. Microsoft will help customers migrate to the new operating system regardless, says Boateng. However,
“Agencies now realize that
PCs are not just a device on
a desk that you use for some administration purposes, they’re business critical assets.”
—Greg Clifton, Director of DOD and Intelligence, Intel
customers won’t be able to take advantage of some of the newer Windows 10 security features until they migrate to newer hardware platforms.
To accomplish this, Microsoft and Intel work with long-time partners in the government space, such as Connection Public Sector Solutions. Formerly PC Connection, the company has developed a broad range of services aimed areas such as cloud, security, converged data center, networking and more. Tim McGrath, president and chief executive officer, say this represents
a shift for the rebranded company from simply selling technology “to connecting people with the
extensions and apply them for everybody running Windows. “Intel and Microsoft have put a lot of energy into the
Windows 10 release to make sure the hardware features, even some of the ones that appeared on previous platforms, were able to be taken advantage of in Windows 10,” says Taylor.
Upgrading anything IT in government, of course, is not an easy thing. Even if money is not an issue— which is rare—the simple mix of systems in organizations often makes a fast upgrade impossible. After the DOD memo, the plan was to upgrade as many as 4 million seats to Windows 10 by January of 2017. The timeline has proven to be ambitious as the DOD continues to transition mission critical workloads to the newer operating system.
There’s definitely been pushback in some organizations
for a variety of reasons, says Boateng. Different agencies go through different procurement cycles. While one may be ready to go ahead, others may not be far enough along in their refresh cycles to consider hardware buys yet. Others are concerned about application compatibility.
Microsoft has been working to reassure and support customers. Boateng says the company has hard numbers that show if an application works for Windows 7, there’s a 99.9 percent chance it will work on Windows 10. In addition,
resources they need to build stronger, more efficient enterprises.” The simple fact is the security landscape has changed
over the past few years, says Greg Clifton, Intel’s director of DOD and Intelligence. Government agencies are realizing their attitudes toward security need to change as well.
Goals such as shifting from smart card authentication to three-factor biometric authentication will need the kinds of capabilities provided by Intel’s new PC platforms, coupled with Windows 10.
“Agencies now realize that PCs are not just a device on a desk that you use for some administration purposes, they’re business critical assets,” he says. “They need to make sure the cybersecurity protections are there and, though they certainly don’t like the upfront capital costs involved, they absolutely realize they need to go that upgrade route, and sooner rather than later.”
For more information, please visit: www.connection.com/admc2