Yesterday, Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched their new fully managed service, WorkLink. This new service enables you to provide your employees with secure, easy access to your internal corporate websites and web apps through mobile devices without connecting to VPNs or using custom browsers. Per the AWS press release, "End users simply download the Amazon WorkLink app to enable access to internal content through existing browsers on their mobile devices. IT administrators determine which internal content to make available, and Amazon WorkLink securely renders it behind the scenes using the compute and networking infrastructure of AWS, delivering a non-cached, fully functional, graphical representation of the web content to the user requesting it. "
The benefits of Amazon WorkLink include ease of use for IT departments, seamless mobile experience for employees, and enhanced security.
For IT, Amazon WorkLink doesn't require migration of content to AWS, it works with your existing infrastructure. Existing on-premises VPN hardware can be used to create a point-to-point connection with your AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). Amazon WorkLink also works with SAML 2.0 identity providers, making it easier to manage user access and enforce existing security policies.
Employees just need to type the URL in the browser on their mobile device or click on a link in their email. At that point, Amazon WorkLink handles the authentication and delivers this internal web content as vector graphics. The employee will have the fast navigation and fluid responses to common actions such as scrolling, zooming, or typing they have come to expect.
The application does not have visibility into personal browsing activity, and only requests for internal web traffic are routed through AWS. Internal content is not stored or cached by the browser on the mobile device, and it is never directly connected to the corporate network. Amazon WorkLink does this by rendering the content in a browser running in a secure container in AWS prior to sending the contents of that page to employee mobile devices as vector graphics. It is far more difficult for device-born malware to reach your internal resources since phones connect to the WorkLink service in AWS instead of your corporate network.
“We are thrilled to work with AWS to enable our customers with cost-effective, secure connectivity to their mobile workforce for critical line of business services,” said John Clendennen, Eplexity CEO. “Amazon WorkLink provides organizations who are not in a position to redevelop legacy applications the ability to deliver full mobile access to end users.” To learn more about how Eplexity can help with Amazon WorkLink or other AWS services, drop us a line.
