Updated: Nov 18, 2025
Two years ago, Priya Menon, IT manager at an e-commerce retail company in Bengaluru, watched her business switch overnight to remote work. Orders surged online, warehouses adopted cloud systems, and employees logged in from homes across India. The company moved fast to support remote operations, but new risks followed. VPNs strained under heavy traffic, devices went unmanaged, and identity verification became the weakest link. Within weeks, Priya’s team saw repeated login alerts from unauthorised locations. The firewall stayed quiet because technically, the attackers were already inside.
Across India’s tech and retail sectors, hybrid work has become standard operating reality. Yet, their security frameworks still operate as if everyone sits behind a corporate network. When your workforce is spread across cities, your applications are cloud-hosted, and your data lives everywhere, your perimeter is no longer a firewall. It is every identity accessing your system.
Modern breaches rarely begin with malware. They begin with a valid username and password used in the wrong hands. Cisco’s 2025 Security Outcomes Report found that nearly three out of four breaches start with stolen credentials. In hybrid environments, this number is even higher because endpoints and networks change constantly. You cannot rely on static passwords or IP-based trust anymore.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has reduced the success rate of credential attacks, but it now needs to evolve. Threat actors have found ways around it through phishing-resistant token theft and MFA fatigue attacks. The solution lies in adaptive access, authentication that analyses behaviour, device posture, and location risk before granting entry.
Cisco Duo delivers this model. It checks not just who is logging in but also the health of the device and the trust level of the session. For operations managers balancing uptime and security, this means users authenticate without friction while systems remain protected. Each login becomes an intelligent checkpoint.
After Priya’s company deployed Cisco Duo with Proactive Data Systems, the day-to-day security operations changed measurably. Authentication is now seamless. Employees across Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi log in to internal systems through Duo’s push-based verification, with no dependency on outdated VPN routes. Devices that miss security patches or antivirus updates are flagged automatically. Duo’s central console provides visibility across endpoints, showing who accessed what, from where, and with what level of risk.
From Priya’s perspective, the biggest win is predictability. The time her team once spent handling password resets and access tickets is now redirected to preventive monitoring. Security incidents related to credential misuse have fallen sharply. Productivity has improved because access management no longer slows the business.
India’s hybrid workforce is expanding across industries. IT and retail companies now depend on distributed teams: engineering in Pune, analytics in Bengaluru, logistics in Chennai, and remote warehouses connected via SaaS platforms. Each connection point introduces new exposure. A 2025 Gartner report shows that 82 per cent of Indian enterprises plan to expand hybrid operations, but less than half have centralised visibility across user identities and devices.
For such environments, managed deployment matters. Implementing Cisco Duo is not just about licensing a product; it’s about sustaining enforcement and oversight. Proactive delivers that through managed identity services that configure, monitor, and fine-tune Duo policies. The service maps access control to user roles, device types, and compliance requirements like ISO 27001, RBI, and CERT-In. For IT teams with limited bandwidth, this partnership ensures that Zero Trust access runs continuously and consistently.
An IT services company in Gurugram reported a 90 per cent drop in login-related incidents within three months of deployment. A nationwide ecommerce brand reduced employee onboarding time by 40 per cent due to automated provisioning and device-based trust. These are measurable gains—better security, faster workflows, and lower helpdesk load.
For operations and IT leaders, the pattern is clear. Identity-first security is not a trend; it’s the practical framework for a hybrid workforce. When users, devices, and data operate across multiple networks, verification must adapt dynamically. Cisco Duo enables that intelligence, and Proactive ensures it stays reliable at scale.
With Cisco Duo and Proactive, hybrid security becomes measurable and AI-ready. You gain real-time visibility, standardised control, and continuous authentication tuned to risk. Security shifts from reactive defence to proactive governance, keeping your workforce connected and your business uninterrupted.
