14 minute read
» NEWS
Digital payments platform looks to post-COVID future, where always-on availability and slick onboarding will be vital
Advertisement
Microsoft announced that Dubai-based e-commerce business noon payments has successfully migrated its core operations to Azure, to achieve performance and availability, accelerate DevOps, and enhance cost-efficiency.
Noon payments is entering its seventh year of operations, providing a comprehensive solution that enables quick onboarding, a richly featured checkout, and speedy integrations with major e-commerce platforms and shopping carts. The company’s decision-makers knew that in the post-COVID reality of always-on demands from consumers, performance would be a critical factor to remain differentiated in its operating market.
Before its migration to Azure, noon payments had to deploy new apps and services through the PowerShell script, which was an error-prone process that required a lot of support from experts. Now, the company’s quality assurance team can deploy at will, day or night, to the cloud environment with a single click and zero consultation with DevOps. And with Microsoft’s API management solution noon payments can not only scale without limits, but also protect its infrastructure.
“Being a holistic payments platform, organizations like noon payments play a crucial role in enabling digital transformation for enterprises across the world,” said Naim Yazbeck, Regional Director, Enterprise and Partner Group (EPG), Microsoft UAE. “It’s exciting to see how the Microsoft cloud is delivering millisecond response times and single-click deployment to noon payments, making online transactions more secure and responsive for online shoppers in the region.”
The Microsoft Azure cloud deployment was also able to meet noon payments’ requirement for zero downtime by leveraging Traffic Manager to divert transactions to other regions during times of mainNaim Yazbeck
Regional Director, Enterprise and Partner Group (EPG), Microsoft UAE
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access enforces least privilege, granular control and visibility, and layered credential security over remote access for employees and third parties
mote Access 22.1, which empowers IT/OT teams to control, manage, and audit remote privileged access by authorized employees, contractors, and vendors — without compromising security. Organizations can enforce least privilege, exert granular control and visibility, and layer on advanced credential security over remote access for employees and third parties.
Allowing third-party remote access comes with many potential security risks. Vendors authorized to access the network and applications might not adhere to the organization’s same level of security protocols. They might use weak or default passwords, or share a single set of credentials among multiple individuals. VPN is another risky practice for extending ac-
Daniel DeRosa
Chief Product Officer at BeyondTrust
BeyondTrust, the worldwide leader in Privileged Access Management, has announced the release of BeyondTrust Privileged Retenance. Azure also enables noon payments to scale its performance bandwidth through peak times such as noon’s Yellow Friday Sale in November when the company projected demand spikes of up to 10 times the normal load.
cess to third parties, as they are a target for hackers to compromise the supply chain. To reduce these attack surfaces, BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access provides greater control over remote vendor access by eliminating “all or nothing” access. All connections are brokered through a single access pathway, with granular, role-based access to specific systems and defined session parameters.
“Third-party vendor remote access is often the weakest link in network and information security,” said Daniel DeRosa, Chief Product Officer at BeyondTrust. “We enable organizations to better monitor and manage third-party access for privileged users, without inhibiting business agility.”
VMWARE SIGNS MOU WITH ARAMCO TO DRIVE INNOVATION IN ENERGY SECTOR
The collaboration is expected to strengthen and increase local procurement
VMware has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aramco to support collaboration across cloud and end-user computing, cybersecurity, and digital transformation in the areas of energy and green technologies.
The MoU was signed at the LEAP technology event in Riyadh.
Aramco, which has been innovating with VMware since 2016, has already utilized VMware cloud solutions which have been instrumental in enhancing end-user computing solutions for the energy sector.
The two companies plan to collaborate in the exchange of ideas and expertise, exploring the potential to innovate in areas including software enhancements to be used by organizations in the region and around the world. The collaboration is expected to strengthen and increase local procurement. It also aims to be a role model for digital best practice in Saudi Arabia, and to help encourage digital transformation efforts across the energy sector.
“Aramco is showing how energy companies use digital solutions to optimize
TENABLE EXPANDS TENABLE.CS TO DELIVER CLOUD-NATIVE APPLICATION SECURITY
Tenable.cs is available as a standalone solution, as part of Tenable.io and as part of Tenable.ep
Tenable, the Cyber Exposure company, announced new capabilities for Tenable. cs, its cloud-native application security platform. Tenable.cs delivers full lifecycle cloud-native security to address cyber risks from build to runtime. With the new features, organizations can secure cloud resources, container images and cloud assets to provide end-to-end security from code to cloud to workload.
Tenable.cs enables organizations to programmatically detect and fix cloud infrastructure misconfigurations in the design, build and runtime phases of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) to prevent unresolved insecure configuration or exploitable vulnerabilities from reaching production. Tenable.cs secures infrastructure as code (IaC) before deployment, maintains a secure posture in runtime, and controls drift by synchronizing configuraNico Popp
Chief Product Oficer, Tenable
tion between runtime and IaC. The solution also includes Frictionless Assessment and Nessus Vulnerability Assessment for operations, boost innovation, and improve employee experiences,” said Saif Mashat, country director, Saudi Arabia, VMware.
He added: “We’re delighted to help accelerate the pace of innovation and meet the sector’s specific cloud, end-user computing, and security demands of the future.”
cloud workloads as well as Container Security to assess cloud hosts and container images for vulnerabilities without the need to manage scan schedules, credentials or agents.
“Shift-left is the future of cloud security,” said Nico Popp, chief product officer, Tenable. “It is about finding and remediating security risk across configuration, access and software vulnerabilities before the exposure finds its way into production. Tenable.cs embraces the GitOps philosophy by tightly integrating with developer tools and workflows.”
Tenable.cs is fully integrated into Tenable. ep, the company’s comprehensive Cyber Exposure platform. With this addition, Tenable delivers an integrated, end-to-end security solution and a complete picture of cyber risks across the modern attack surface.
QUALYS LAUNCHES CONTEXT XDR
New XDR solution built on the highly scalable Qualys Cloud Platform combines native asset and vulnerability risk context with endpoint telemetry and third-party logs
Qualys, a pioneer and leading provider of disruptive cloud-based IT, security and compliance solutions, today unveiled Qualys Context XDR, the industry’s first context-aware XDR. Powered by the highly scalable Qualys Cloud Platform, the solution combines rich asset inventory and vulnerability context, network and endpoint telemetry from Qualys sensors, along with high-quality threat intelligence and third-party log data to identify threats quickly and reduce alert fatigue.
Protecting environments against an overwhelming and constantly evolving threat landscape is frustrating when detecting and responding to cybersecurity threats using siloed products that provide a narrow view of the attack. Current SIEM and XDR solutions passively and reactively collect disparate, unrelated logs creating an avalanche of notifications that place the burden of correlation and prioritization on the analyst. Incident response and threat hunting teams need an accurate, comprehensive picture of their attack surface to maintain an effective security, risk, and compliance program.
Qualys Context XDR provides the security context that operations teams need to eliminate false positives and noise by triangulating risk posture, asset criticality, and threat intelligence. Together, this provides visibility, contextual priority, and meaningful insights about the assets that allow teams to quickly make the most impactful decisions for enhanced protection.
"Cybersecurity is getting increasingly complex - with software supply chain attacks such as Kayesa, ransomware attacks like Colonial Pipeline and widespread severe vulnerabilities like Apache Log4j - providing threat actors with multiple pathways into organizations IT infrastructure," Sumedh Thakar
president and CEO of Qualys
said Sumedh Thakar, president and CEO of Qualys. "Qualys Context XDR is built to simplify this complexity by detecting threats, prioritizing alerts with comprehensive context and responding swiftly with multiple response actions."
PURE STORAGE IN STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT WITH AWS
Portworx by Pure Storage provides Amazon EKS customers with enterprise storage capabilities that make it easier to run data-rich Kubernetes applications at scale
Murli Thirumale
VP and General Manager, Cloud Native Business Unit, Pure Storage
Pure Storage has announced a strategic engagement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) for solution development and enablement programs for Pure’s Portworx solutions to help enterprises move Kubernetes workloads into production.
Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) is a managed service to run and scale Kubernetes on AWS without needing to install, operate and maintain a Kubernetes control plane or nodes. Portworx by Pure Storage can bring a fully integrated solution to customers for persistent storage, data protection, disaster recovery, data security, cross-region and hybrid data migrations, and automated capacity management for Kubernetes applications built by developers.
As part of its work with AWS, Portworx has also announced an Early Access Program for Portworx Backup as-a-Service (BaaS) on AWS. Portworx BaaS introduces a modern data protection control plane to accelerate implementation of data and application recovery objectives, delivering speed and simplicity to application owners for safeguarding Kubernetes applications. This three year strategic investment is the latest step in expanding the relationship between Pure Storage and AWS, and will deliver a comprehensive Kubernetes platform for mutual customers moving applications into production.
“Portworx and Amazon EKS deliver a truly better together solution that tackles some of the biggest challenges organizations face when bringing Kubernetes applications to enterprise scale,” said Murli Thirumale, VP and General Manager, Cloud Native Business Unit, Pure Storage. “We are excited by the results we’ve seen from our many joint customers who are using our solutions together today, and look forward to being able to accelerate Kubernetes applications for many more as a result of our expanded relationship with AWS, including our new Portworx Backup as-a-Service offering on AWS.”
Seeyourbusiness inanewway
Whetheryouoperateasonecompany,10 divisions,or100entities,Sage300cloudhelps connectyourbusinessandspeedupgrowthwithoutthecostorcomplexityoftraditional enterpriseresourceplanning.
WithSage300cloudyoucan:
Breakdownsilosandconnectthemost importantaspectsofyourbusiness.Gain completevisibilityinto,andcontrolover differentoperations.
Better visibility
Sage300cloudconnectsall yourbusinessoperationsin asingle,integratedcloud solution. Sage300cloudsupports powerfulfunctionalityto meetyourspecificbusiness needs,asandwhenyou needit. Unlocknewavenuesfor growthwithgreaterinsight intoyourbusiness’ performance.
Customized forYou
Formoreinformation,pleaserwriteto: Website: www.redingtonvalue.com Email: sales.value@redingtonmea.com Location: RedingtonValueOffice,HHotel,SZR,7thFloor,Dubai,UAE
Makesmarter decisions
PRINCE SULTAN UNIVERSITY AND VMWARE SIGN MOU TO LAUNCH INNOVATION CENTER
Prince Sultan University (PSU) and VMware have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch an Innovation Center equipped with VMware software and resources to give students, researchers, and businesses hands-on experience with transformative digital solutions for app modernization, cloud, networking, security, and digital workspace.
The MoU was signed under the patronage of H.E. Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Saudi Arabia.
The Innovation Center, which is expected to start operating in the first half of the year, will help foster a culture of learning and build real-world information and communications technology (ICT) skills, while providing a valuable resource to research projects underway at PSU by expanding access to VMware’s solutions.
The Innovation Center will also be used to demonstrate the benefits of VMware’s solutions to local customers and partners, with the aim of helping accelerate digital transformation amongst the local business community.
Dr. Ahmed Yamani, president of PSU, said: “The Innovation Center is intended to spur innovation, research, and learning at the university, and amongst local businesses and partners that are interested in embracing a cloud-first approach. By helping a diverse range of people and organizations gain experience with VMware’s solutions, the Innovation Center will play an important role in furthering Saudi Arabia’s digitization agenda in line with Vision 2030.”
BARRACUDA LAUNCHES UAE DATA CENTRE SERVICES
The vendor’s Cloud-to-Cloud Backup solution to be now delivered to customers in the United Arab Emirates from Microsoft’s local cloud data centres
As it looks to meet the growing demand for data protection in the Emirates and better serve its Middle East customers, Barracuda Networks, Inc., a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-first security solutions, today announced that its Cloud-to-Cloud Backup solution will now be delivered to customers in the United Arab Emirates from Microsoft’s local cloud data centres. This makes a total of 10 regions for the solution, and customers’ Office 365 backup data will be stored locally within the country, a key requirement for customers operating in regulated industries, and in complying with local regulations.
With the UAE’s landmark personal data legislation that places new regulations around the processing of personal data for individuals in the UAE coming into effect this year, such concerns around geo-residency will no doubt be amplified for businesses in the country.
“At Barracuda, we continue to invest in our global infrastructure in order to help local organisations get access to protection against emerging threats,” said Chris Ross, SVP International, Barracuda. “As more organisations move to the cloud, they are looking to protect their data, while being able to handle and store data locally. Microsoft advises customers to use a third-party backup and recovery provider, and with these new regions, we will be able to serve our customers while helping them comply with data regulations and policies.”
Barracuda’s latest version of Cloud-toCloud Backup delivers a fast search and restore experience for Office 365 data, including Teams, Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Compared to traditional backup and recovery solutions, it is Chris Ross
SVP International, Barracuda
a cloud-first solution that provides scale and resiliency, fast performance, and wide global coverage to protect Office 365 data born in the cloud.
COLORTOKENS EXPANDS ITS PRESENCE TO THE MIDDLE EAST
Nader Baghdadi to head the regional operations
Nader Baghdadi
Senior Regional Director, MEA
Safe Security announced a strategic collaboration with Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Safe Security’s SaaS platform SAFE, combined with Infosys’s capabilities in quantitative cyber risk management will enable organizations to get an enterprise-wide view of overall cyber risks, predict breaches using SAFE’s proprietary algorithm and know the potential financial impact of each cyberattack before it occurs.
SAFE provides organizations with real-time visibility into their biggest cyber risks across people, processes, technologies, cybersecurity products and third-party. This is done by aggregating signals via APIs into a single dashboard, with actionable insights and potential financial impacts. The insights gained from SAFE also provide a common language for discussing cybersecurity risks with board members, auditors, and other internal and external stakeholders. By combining these insights with Infosys’ ongoing strategic guidance, joint customers will benefit from a more proactive cybersecurity approach. “Combined with SAFE’s unique capabilities of measuring, mitigating and managing cyber risks and Infosys’s expertise in delivering seamless customer service through automation, innovation, and efficiency, we are bringing a powerful, and 360 degree cyber risk management solution to the market. This global strategic collaboration will help accelerate the adoption of predictive risk quantification solutions, and extend our leadership in this market,” said Saket Modi, Co-founder & CEO, Safe Security.
Currently, organizations tend to invest in cybersecurity products and services based on their cyber risk maturity and not by having a complete understanding of their overall threats. The Safe Security and Infosys collaboration will give security and risk management leaders new insights into the overall performance of their cybersecurity investments.
BULWARK TO SHOWCASE PORTFOLIO AT GISEC
The company has recently opened their office ‘Bulwark Saudi’ in Riyadh
With an intense focus on boosting the IT security, communications & technology industries in the Middle East region, UAEbased Bulwark Technologies, one of the IT cybersecurity specialized Value-Added Distributor has an array of internationally acclaimed products lined up to be showcased at the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) 2022.
Gearing up for the mega-event, the company has reiterated the importance of building a strong, integrated security infrastructure in the region responding to predicted market demand & has introduced next generation security technologies at the right time. Located in Hall 6, stand C-49, Bulwark will highlight its end-toend security solutions and customer-centric distribution strategies during the show. The company will be offering latest technologies and new product launch spanning Digital Risk Protection, Hardware Security Modules, Encryption, Smart ID/PKI Solutions, Web Application Vulnerability Scanner, Data Classification, Data Loss Prevention, Secure Managed File Transfer, Encrypted Flash Drives & Disc Drives, Email Security & Archival, PIM/PAM, Secure Remote Access/Workspace Virtualization, Insider Threat Prevention, Employee Monitoring, Enterprise Mobile Management solutions, Cyber Skills Development / Training platform, SIEM in addition to their other security technologies at the event. “GISEC is a great platform for demonstrating our product portfolio to targeted partners & customers in the region. With the region’s huge demand for cyber security, we look forward to receiving excellent & evoking responses from our vendors, partners & customers during the event,’’ said Jose Thomas Menacherry, Managing Director, Bulwark.
Value Addition has been at the very core of Bulwark’s operations since its inception in 1999, making the company grow from strength to strength.
