Will full-disk encryption be hard to implement? Maybe not. It’s often not as bad as you think. "If you have a distribution tool in place, encryption software is just another package you send out," said John Girard, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. He recommended giving users a certain time frame to perform the installation and suggesting that they run it overnight so it won’t disrupt their work. "These encryption products will all tell you that you can continue to work while they’re installing, but it’s not a good idea. I don’t think it’s a good idea to interrupt something that’s encrypting your hard drive."
If all your hardware meets the necessary specifications, Girard sees smooth installations, though he still recommends trying it on a test group first.
"Test on your platform, make sure they all have enough RAM and memory, and you can roll this stuff out very fast. I’ve seen thousands of installations in a week," he said. But a little training might also be necessary before the first sign-on to keep users from being locked out of their own systems. "There’s a certain amount of interaction that’s required for the user to identify themselves to their machine," said Girard, "and I’ve seen users mess this up." GCN QuickFind No 861
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