Today Microsoft announced a new partnership with Dell to deliver the Surface Pro and Windows 10 to enterprise customers around the world. This new initiative addressees the specific needs of large enterprises, whose increasingly mobile workforce places unique demands on IT to provide high levels of security and consistent platform management. This partnership will ensure that Dell’s enterprise customers have access to the Microsoft Surface Pro along with Dell’s enterprise-class service and support offerings.

Of course DirectAccess on Windows Server 2012 R2 complements this initiative quite nicely. Using DirectAccess with it’s always on functionality ensures that remote Windows devices like the Surface Pro are always managed and consistently updated, providing IT administrators greater control and visibility for their field-based assets than traditional VPN is capable of providing. In addition, DirectAccess connectivity is bi-directional, allowing administrators to “manage out” to their connected DirectAccess devices. This opens up compelling use cases such as initiating remote desktop sessions for the purposes of troubleshooting or conducting vulnerability scans to determine the client’s security posture.

In addition, Windows 10 now supports the full enterprise feature set of DirectAccess on Windows Server 2012 R2, including geographic redundancy and transparent site failover, along with significant performance improvements over Windows 7 for perimeter/DMZ deployments. DirectAccess with Windows 10 is also easier to manage and support.

For more information about the Microsoft/Dell partnership, watch Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s message here. For assistance with the planning, design, and implementation of a DirectAccess solution, click here.