Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 57 | Page 35

FEATURE : BUSINESS CONTINUITY place before a disruptive event does require some predictive planning . This means that even existing policies that would have been considered sufficient pre-pandemic need to be reviewed and , where applicable , enhanced .”
Sahem Azzam , VP Middle East and Africa ( MEA ), Orange Business Services , said not surprisingly , the demand for Business Continuity support and solutions closely mirrors the evolution of the threat landscape . Azzam said the threat landscape is certainly evolving and new threats emerging – are not replacing the existing threats , but adding to them and so multiplying the overall threats .
“ In the ‘ Orange Cyberdefence vision for 2021 ’, three trends were highlighted . First , a constant volume of attacks even during the COVID-19 lockdown with an explosion of ransomware attacks linked to new business models . Second , an acceleration of IT transformation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic , introducing new risks and security challenges : cybersecurity is now at the core of most businesses , requiring a new approach . Third , a cybercriminal ecosystem that has become more structured and professional as a result of huge potential rewards ,” he said . “ The Orange Cyberdefence analysis also highlighted the new opportunities opening up to companies and the Business Continuity challenges they will have to meet , as ‘ multi-cloud ’ environments emerge .”
Business Continuity guidelines
With CIOs on the continent looking to improve their Business Continuity policies given the rapid change in IT , many are grappling with how to develop robust guideline .
Abboud Ghanem , Vice President , Middle East and Africa , Alteryx , said with disruptive events occurring more frequently , making operationally critical decisions using legacy tools like spreadsheets or leaning on
Sahem Azzam , VP Middle East and Africa , Orange Business Services
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