2020 Saw Innovations in Both

"2020 Saw Innovations in Both Security and Networking"

Alain Penel, the Regional Vice President for the Middle East at Fortinet, speaks about what worked in 2020 and his plans for tackling 2021

How was 2020 for the industry and your company?

The coronavirus pandemic has presented us with a unique, double-pronged view of change. It is both reshaping and redefining how business gets done, enabled by the trajectory of digital transformation that began long before COVID-19 forced organizations to rethink their strategies for the purpose of business continuity. This has been most notably demonstrated by the sudden and rapid shift to telecommuting, a concept that has become quintessential in 2020.

This challenge was exacerbated by the unprecedented cyber threat activity that has resulted from an increased reliance on personal device usage and the influx of workers outside the corporate network. Throughout the pandemic, cyber threat actors have not let a single opportunity slip by. They have preyed on fear and concern around COVID-19 with phishing attacks while also capitalizing on security flaws within the remote workforce.

What sort of opportunities did 2020 bring along?

In the 2020 Remote Workforce Cybersecurity Report, we have explored the challenges organizations faced as a result of the shift in remote work and how organizations are planning to secure their remote workforce moving forward.

Only 40% of organizations had a business continuity plan in place prior to the pandemic. But as a result of the pandemic and the rapid shift to remote work, 32% invested further in this area. Almost all organizations expect to invest more to secure telework long-term, with nearly 60% of enterprises spending more than $250,000 in secure telework investments in the next 24 months. Moving forward, the majority of enterprises surveyed intend to make unplanned upgrades to their existing systems to secure telework. Many also plan to add new technologies not previously in place. There is an opportunity to maximize their investments with cybersecurity platforms designed to provide comprehensive visibility and protection across the entire digital infrastructure, including networked, application, multi-cloud, and mobile environments.

What were your key achievements in 2020?

Innovations in both security and networking, focused vision on flexible secure access from and to anywhere, and continuous industry recognition from a range of third-party organizations, has fueled our expansion across all business verticals, and we believe this has led to our placement as a Leader in Gartner’s 2020 Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure.

Moreover, Fortinet has been recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls. We are very proud of this latest recognition from Gartner. And proud of our commitment to serve more than 480,000 customers across the world by tackling some of the biggest and most diverse challenges in networking and security. The threat landscape continues to evolve and more than ever organizations need a security solution to meet the demands of today’s digital businesses and dynamic network environments. This year marks our 20th anniversary, two-decades of security-driven networking and we are just getting started !

What promises does 2021 bring along?

In an era of constant innovation, it is important to be constantly aware of the impact that new technology has on the threat landscape. The latest round of FortiGuard Labs’ threat predictions for 2021 highlights the fact that cybercriminals will only grow more advanced in their attack methods. Cyber adversaries leveraging intelligent edges, 5G-enabled devices, and advances in computing power will create a wave of new and advanced threats at unprecedented speed and scale. shift significant resources to target and exploit emerging edge environments, such as remote workers, or even new OT edge environments, rather than just targeting the core network. For defenders, it is critical to plan ahead now by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to speed threat prevention, detection, and response. Actionable and integrated threat intelligence will also be important to improve an organization’s ability to defend in real-time as the speed of attacks continues to increase.

Do you see opportunities in the regional markets with new markets opening up?

Investing in cybersecurity hasn’t been more important than it is today, and we are seeing businesses being strategic in their investments. Considering business continuity and a hybrid remote workforce is the future, we see great opportunity for secure SD-Wan deployments, especially with telecoms and large enterprises. We also see increased opportunities to secure public and multi-cloud environments as businesses increasingly deploying a variety of workloads across multiple clouds. Our solutions provide broad protection across the entire digital attack surface, both on-premises and in public clouds.

According to you, which technologies will be in demand in 2021?

This year, organizations have witnessed unprecedented shifts in both work paradigms and threat activity. Because of this rapidly evolving threat landscape, it will take a careful combination of technology, people, training, and partnerships to secure against the types of attacks coming from cyber adversaries in the future.

Reflections and Predictions from Authlogics

Written by Stephen Hope, CEO, Authlogics

No-one could have predicted how 2020 was going to pan out when we welcomed the new year in all those months ago before lockdowns and remote working were part of our daily setup for this year. Many industries have struggled throughout but the technology sector and in particular cybersecurity have never been so busy (well at least since Y2K!) with the demand for the improvement of IT security policies to encompass staff working from home.

Authlogics have embraced this change of direction and provided Password Security Management and Multi-Factor Authentication solutions across all industry sectors globally.

When lockdowns were initiated as the pandemic surged, Authlogics focused on assisting the healthcare, financial, and government sectors as these became key targets for the cybercriminals. With the rise of cyberattacks and increased corporation data breaches, our solutions were to hand.

Authlogics end-to-end solution deals with the immediate problem of insecure passwords and bad policies, all the way through to MFA which does not require a password at all. Our Password Security Management (PSM) product gives you everything you need to secure and manage passwords, including user self-service. Whereas our Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) product delivers various MFA technologies together with passwordless logins.

As a company, we have adapted to the new ways of remote working and with the versatility of our products, having demonstrated to companies the effectiveness of our simple and secure solutions. In 2020 we were recognized as Best Password Compliance Specialists for the second year running, we reached out to prospective customers through multiple webinars, sat on panels at virtual conferences, provided online partner workshops, deployed our solutions at a rapid pace including the setup of 80,000 users within a few days and we even took the time to network at a virtual cruise! All being though, the launch of Version 4.0 took precedence, as we enhanced both the PSM and MFA products offering unique features and functionality.

PSM Benefits included:

Detection and prevention of shared passwords Retroactive scanning, alerting, and remediation of AD accounts Social media /public account breach matching Public breach data web portal with analytics And many more dynamic features. MFA technologies have gone from strength to strength with a strong competitive edge that offers deviceless authentication, NIST compliance and a user self-service portal with AD password reset.

2021 will certainly bring unforeseen challenges once 2020 is behind us. During 2020 we have shown that we can quickly adapt to the strange new world, and that will be crucial for 2021 too. We will continue to evolve our products to meet new customer demands, as well as adding new standards such as FIDO.

A key focus for customers has been to further improve the user experience of MFA given the big increase in the number of people working remotely. We are continually looking for better ways to streamline our solution and are heavily focusing on even better user experiences.

We have broadened our customer database, partner selection, and raised our profile across the globe. Being at the technical forefront of the industry, our solutions are very easy and quick to deploy which offers fast results. Security is at its best when it is not complicated which makes for a better end-user experience. We stand apart from the rest with fresh thinking.

Authlogics CEO, Steven Hope, explains “We have designed our Authlogics solutions to comply with best practices with a key focus on adhering to NIST compliance for password security and user authentication. Authlogics has numerous tools and solutions to assist our customers to achieve the necessary ongoing compliance with legislative frameworks. This is achieved with our password security management and multi-factor authentication solutions, both of which are prescribed requirements for secure and compliant environments.”

Our company ethos is to provide simple, memorable, and secure logins. We intend to continue our mission into 2021 to remove the password problem and encourage companies to migrate towards a passwordless environment, reduce their helpdesk costs, save time, increase employee productivity by simplifying the end-user login process, and securing critical company apps,

If 2021 is as unpredictable as 2020, we look forward to the challenges ahead!

Edge Computing Will Be Big This Year

Dalia El Hendy, the Vice President for the Gulf for the Secure Power Division at Schneider Electric, speaks about the challenges faced in 2020 and the opportunities to look forward to, in 2021

How was 2020 for the industry and your company?

It’s not been an easy year, that goes without saying. However, there’s been an increased focus on digital investments, and we’ve seen many projects being sped up. We’ve also worked closely with our channel partners to help them adapt as well, be it through increased emphasis on health and safety, or pivoting to focus on growth areas.

What sort of opportunities did 2020 bring along?

Digital transformation is impacting all industries as organizations are leveraging technology to drive new innovation, improve business agility, and streamline operations. New business opportunities and capabilities are being unlocked as organizations digitize their operational models. Enterprises are striving to undertake the critical initiatives required to modernize their facilities and infrastructure: specifically, improving productivity, reducing waste, improving energy resiliency, achieving sustainability goals, and, most importantly, protecting people, physical assets, and data.

What were your key achievements in 2020?

We’ve invested in our RMA facilities, to improve our customer service. We’ve worked with customers and partners on new data center models, that allow them to deploy faster, use less energy, and operate more sustainably. And we’ve worked for hand in hand with our partners on the issues that we’ve faced, which is the achievement that I’m proudest of. This year has been a reminder of why the channel is so important to us; our partners truly are an extension of the company.

What promises does 2021 bring along?

As estimated by the International Data Corporation (IDC), investment in technologies enabling smart cities in the Middle East and Africa region is expected to hit the $2.30 billion mark by 2021. The ever-increasing urban population has resulted in growing energy demands, coupled with the advent of new technology and the need for smart cities that improve systems and create sustainable and reliable infrastructure.

The integration of smart solutions that promote the efficient use of resources and data plays a crucial role in this drive towards smart cities while improving safety, mobility, and overall well-being. Building cities integrated with next-generation technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires a huge investment, starting with creating a suitable infrastructure that supports current advancements.

Do you see opportunities in the regional markets with new markets opening up?

In the digital transformation journey, enterprises are faced with the dual challenges of innovating their operations and maintaining their existing infrastructure IT and data center infrastructure are key to supporting the shift to digital business. All companies need to be able to transform their operations with technology and frequently find that focusing on IT challenges detracts from their core business.

Along the digital transformation journey, the most frequently cited barrier is the challenge of integrating and supporting old and new infrastructure. Experienced services firms like Schneider Electric are able to assist customers through a comprehensive and scalable service portfolio—one that addresses resources, people, and processes through all stages of the life cycle.

According to you, which technologies will be in demand in 2021?

Understanding equipment performance is increasingly important, especially to mission-critical facilities. To accelerate progress in improving facility resiliency, digital services such as remote monitoring and analysis that leverage IoT, edge, and other technologies are emerging as a path to understanding equipment performance and shifting to condition-based maintenance

What will be your key focus areas for 2021?

Our major focus is Edge Computing – this is where enterprises will increase their spend the most over the coming decade.

By 2025 there will be 80 billion connected devices, that will generate 180 trillion data Gigabytes and companies will spend 232 billion dollars on artificial intelligence to cater to and manage all this data.

We’re already seeing budgets being diverted to spending on emerging technologies that will help them make the best of these increasing data streams.

We also expect more enterprises will be utilizing technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation over the coming five years, thanks to the roll-out of enabler technologies such as 5G.

These technologies are highly dependent on low latency and high bandwidth. At SE we have designed our best-in-class edge solutions starting from a very simple form for a Micro DC that can fit at any given operational working space.

The leading system integrators will focus on developing Edge solutions that are addressing customer-centric needs.

And that’ll be an important part of our channel strategy in 2021, to help equip our partners with the tools and the outlook they need to sell more Edge solutions through the channel.

Digital Business Service That Go Beyond Support and Maintenance is on the Rise

Renjan George, the Managing Director of DVCOM Technologies, speaks about the learnings he has had from 2020 and his predictions for 2021

How was 2020 for the industry and your company?

The overall impact of the pandemic was not only limited to health, but it has impacted every industry economically and the ICT industry is no exception. The first 2 quarters saw considerable losses owing to lock down measures, project delays and cancellations, negative sentiments and disruption of supply chains. Since our products and solutions cater mostly to the SMB segment, we cannot say that we were not affected by the lockdown, especially since many of our retail partners got hit by the same.

Moreover, since most of our vendors are based out of China, we started facing pressure right from the first quarter of 2020 due to the disruption in supply. However, the 3rd quarter has helped us regain lost ground as we are now more open to the new opportunities that have been thrown wide open in the age of remote working and remote collaboration solutions.

What sort of opportunities did 2020 bring along?

COVID-19 has changed the way companies operate. Businesses have found themselves forced to focus on remote working. Organizations have realized that they can operate remotely often at the same or higher levels of productivity and cost efficiency and they now expect their remote interactions to operate smoothly.

This has rocketed the usage of digital tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom by around 700%. Being a Yealink distributor, we were rightly placed to take advantage of this boom by providing Microsoft and Zoom certified hardware to meet the increasing demand to interact, connect, and collaborate with internal and external users seamlessly and intelligently, covering every scenario from small to extra-large spaces.

Did you face any challenges in 2020?

We had to incur significant losses during the first 2 quarters of 2020 due to the lockdown measures that were put in place for the safety of the people. This resulted in considerable project delays and cancellations, and also gave rise to negative sentiments around business, all of which led to a painful disruption in the supply chain.

What were your key achievements in 2020? • Channel: New stream of VC Business in

MS channel • Sales: 20% sales growth in pandemic and retaining all employees • Vendors: Added s/w (cloud) focused vendors in our portfolio

What promises does 2021 bring along?

Our recent partnerships with Zoom Communications and Teridion make 2021 look quite promising with a whole new segment of opportunities around remote working and collaboration that we’ve unlocked with them. Everyone has come to use or know of Zoom during this pandemic and we are looking forward to the growth of our Zoom certified solutions in the year to come. Moreover, with Teridion, customers can expect lightning-fast file transfers, pristine voice and video sessions, and overall performance comparable to MPLS. Enterprises no longer need to deploy costly carrier circuits or MPLS networks to gain high performance.

Another partnership we’re excited about is with Cyberfish, whom we have signed up with recently to tackle phishing. It combines Computer Vision and AI to stop phishing emails and websites in real-time – before they have been reported or added to the blacklists. Our collaboration with them will help us access more business opportunities as phishing concerns grow.

We have also partnered with OneScreen, which was the first and remains the only interactive smart board manufacturer that provides the Screen Skills Guru service – unlimited, free, live help and training on any of their solutions. Functionalities like real-time polling, easy dial out, screen sharing, interoperability, and translation have never been easier and we’re looking forward to expanding our offerings with this collaboration.

According to you, which technologies will be in demand in 2021?

The next wave of emerging technologies that are built onto the cloud is the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence (AI). Cloud Computing is maturing and becoming a reliable technology that is an enabler of digital transformation and business innovation. It provides organizations the agility to scale and adapt their business models to the rapidly changing market conditions and growth opportunities. The next frontier for cloud computing will be the creation of a new level of customer experience. Companies would apply intelligent technologies in conjunction with the cloud to upgrade their customer experience.

We at DVCOM, are already seeing the rise of digital business service that go beyond support and maintenance. We are already helping companies accelerate their business transformation with products and solutions that include cloud-centric unified communication and collaboration tools, cost-effective voice solutions, remote management tools, security solutions, and various innovative products that companies need in order to prepare for the future and transform themselves into an intelligent enterprise.

What would you like to do differently in 2021, when compared with 2020?

To be pro-active to face unprecedented situations. This year, companies and consumers faced unrelenting pressures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We learned how to rapidly respond to consumers changing needs, establish trust, and build goodwill as the crisis unfolded.