TRENDING
Mohamed Abdallah , Regional Director , META , SonicWall
are now a reality , with do-it-yourself , cloud-based tools creating an army of cybercriminals armed with the same devastating force and impact of a nation-state or larger criminal enterprise . Organisations must remain vigilant and proactive in hardening their cybersecurity posture .
Last year , SonicWall was pushing its boundless cybersecurity strategy . What can your customers and channel partners expect from the company in regards to this strategy and how is it changing to suit the evolving cybersecurity market ?
In the last few months we have introduced several product updates , including closed-network threat protection , next-generation analytics , multi-gig desktop firewalls , enhanced cloud-native security management and a rebranded Wireless Network Manager . Our new and enhanced solutions offer organisations an elastic and scalable cloud model to enable leaders to close critical security gaps with robust , enterprise-grade threat protection using next-generation technology . As the cyber arms race continues to escalate , SonicWall looks to equip organisations with proven security at a low total cost of ownership and high security efficacy .
How have you positioned the boundless cybersecurity strategy to channel partners and what response have you received from the enterprise and SMB markets in MEA ?
As economies transform into digital environments , establishing the appropriate security model for the reality of modern working and securing these platforms becomes the number one concern for businesses . This is driving a review of operational requirements in this new world and a re-architecture of resources . Businesses are looking for integrated solutions with a layered approach over point products . They need solutions that can scale with their business needs , pivot from corporate to remote working and continue to provide them with the security protection for the evolving threats they face every day . SonicWall includes its partners in these discussions . We look at the threat landscape , access partner needs , their expected outcomes and focus on a strategy that provides innovation to the market and value to our customers .
What would you cite as the biggest challenge that organisations of all sizes and types in MEA face in 2021 and how is SonicWall going to help its customers overcome these challenges ?
We ’ ve seen a remarkable increase of what we call ‘ sandbox evaded technology ’ that ’ s going around and one of those is side channel ; it ’ s not been weaponised yet but probably will be in the next year or two . That will go right around encryption in everything and steal either intellectual property or financial transaction . Therefore , the ability to detect such threats in real-time should be a big priority for organisations . SonicWall ’ s Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection ( RTDMI ) is a result of more than a decade of Machine Learning experience . RTDMI plays an essential role in quickly identifying destructive malware strands not detected by traditional sandboxing technology in this context . This enables its Capture ATP product to detect and block malware that does not exhibit any malicious behaviour or that hides its weaponry via encryption .
What is SonicWall ’ s product and technology roadmap for 2021 and beyond , and what new tech solutions can customers expect from the company this year ?
As emerging technologies mature , it ’ s imperative that companies make the necessary investments to ensure they are prepared for what is to come while making it seamless to the operation of their organisations . The future of SonicWall Boundless Cybersecurity is focused on simplifying the security experience . We are delivering that in four key ways :
• Provide an innovative user experience , streamline network security controls and deliver wholenetwork visibility with modern , intuitive and easy-tounderstand interface
• Simplify the security experience for distributed enterprises and government agencies with a more approachable , flexible and easy-toimplement platform
• Deliver more ways for organisations to increase visibility and maintain data control while identifying and stopping the known and unknown cyberattacks persistent in today ’ s new business normal
• Re-define security administration so it ’ s easier and more accessible with new zero touch-enabled , multigigabit firewalls , secure SD-Branch capabilities and a redesigned , cloud-native management console
Why should organisations continue to invest in SonicWall technology and solutions this year and what competitive edge do your products bring to businesses in MEA ?
SonicWall ’ s commitment has always been to help protect SMBs , enterprises and government agencies worldwide . And now , it ’ s never been easier to realise true cybersecurity by breaking free from the constraints of the past with SonicWall . p
20 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com