Chiba University Enhances Convenience with Netskope While Maintaining Security

As the five-year usage period of the VDI system approached its end, the university began considering alternatives that did not rely on Internet separation. Yoshiaki Nishikawa, Manager of the Office Information Section, Information Planning Division, General Affairs Department, recalls, “While the Internet separation environment was strong in terms of security, it was not very convenient for users.”

The shift away from Internet separation was also driven by changes in the business environment, where the Internet became increasingly essential for business purposes. Nishikawa explains, “In addition to email, we frequently exchanged large files and downloaded documents from websites. The increased use of the Internet led to growing dissatisfaction with the previous system.”

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in remote work at Chiba University, which became a burden for Nishikawa and the administrative information staff. They frequently had to address issues such as “the VPN does not connect from my home computer.”

Netskope was chosen to solve these issues, and in January 2022, the migration to Netskope was completed.

With the conventional VDI, it was necessary to set up firewalls and other rules manually. “University staff members are transferred to new positions every three years or so, making it challenging to explain the setup each time. In this respect, Netskope’s easy-to-understand configuration made operation much easier,” recalls Nishikawa.

Chiba University remains attuned to current trends and applies them to its business operations. The efforts of all involved continue to strive for a better balance between security and convenience.