There was a time when a workgroup could be defined simply as a collection of people working in common facilities on various tasks, linked together on a local area network so they could exchange emails and share files. Security policies could be centrally designed and enforced.

But the concept of the workgroup has changed dramatically - the edge points have blurred. Decentralized businesses, mobile computing, offshoring, outsourcing, virtual offices - the who, where, and when of a workgroup is in flux. Members of workgroups are challenged to manage a multitude of projects underway simultaneously. And the minimal protections afforded sensitive information in the past fail totally to meet today's challenges. Add to this the many ways that information can find its way outside its intended users. It is clear that a new type of solution is needed. One that matches where business is heading, not where it has been.

Workgroup Fortress Approach

Workgroup Fortress was designed specifically to address the security concerns of morphing workgroups. Workgroup Fortress is built on the understanding that information should be confidential from the beginning; from the very time it is created or modified. A workgroup's members generally know what pre-existing content should be protected. And it shouldn't matter where in the world they are located in order to access it securely.

Through Workgroup Fortress, users can participate in any number of secure projects concurrently, each with separate memberships and ground rules. The secure conduct of each project is guided by a common security policy, specified by a project manager and enforced at each user's desktop. Workgroup Fortress includes the following primary components: