WatchGuard's has released a new Fireware OS targeting "cyberloafing" , which makes it easy to control the amount of data employees have access to, including when and for how long.
Data from the US suggests almost 80 per cent of employee web time has nothing to do with work, while 77 per cent check their social media profile from work computers.
Fireware’s new quota capabilities extend to WatchGuard’s guest access features. This allows hospitality and retail organisations to set parameters for guest access – ensuring no one guest can negatively affect the performance of the network for others.
WatchGuard director of product management, Brendan Patterson, said most companies realised that employees performed better with a breather and limited non-work-related activity, but the key was to find a balance between the two.
“Our newest version of Fireware OS, 11.10, makes it easy for IT pros to find the right mix by setting time and data quotas to ensure employees are happy without compromising productivity.”
Patterson said that Fireware’s names not numbers functionality also takes considerably less processing power than competing solutions because WatchGuard does not do a reverse look up during each transaction to update IP addresses.
“While our solution has the processing horsepower, it’s not necessary to waste it on this function," he said. "WatchGuard’s approach is a much more efficient use of resources."
