Securing a new approach to networking

-???????According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the cost of cybercrime is predicted to hit $8 trillion in 2023.?

-???????It takes an average of 277 days for security teams to identify and contain a data breach, according IBM and Ponemon Institute’s "Cost of a Data Breach 2022" report.

-???????Phishing attacks increased by 61% last year, according to the "2022 State of Phishing" report from SlashNext.?

With numbers like these it is unsurprising that security is more front of mind for global organizations in 2023 than ever before.

It certainly is for Aruba – thanks to HPE last month announcing its intention to acquire Axis Security, a cloud security provider based in Israel (more on this to follow...).

But beyond capturing mindshare, the escalating threat landscape is also driving a significant shift in our customers’ approach to networking. It is something Antonio Neri has already noted in recent interviews – pointing out that where once customers approached edge connectivity by layering security onto networking solutions, they have now flipped this to start with the security layer first.

And this matches what I’ve been hearing from customers – that security is the leading concern. And any of our discussions about network discovery or network purchasing rapidly turn into security ones.

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It is a trend that we don’t see going away any time soon. And companies like ours need to be able to respond accordingly.

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Of course the good news – as I’m sure you’d expect me to say – is that this latest acquisition puts Aruba in a better position than ever to match customers’ evolving security needs.

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The combination of Aruba and Axis Security will transform our offering – providing a complete edge-to-cloud SASE solution (managed within a single-pane-of-glass), that will give enterprises the highest levels of security for both IoT devices and users, wherever and however they choose to connect.

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As companies’ cloud environments continue to grow more complex – with many becoming increasingly selective about what they actually move into the cloud these days in order to reduce costs – having a flexible but end-to-end solution is hugely attractive. No company wants to layer patchwork security (that they themselves have to put together) onto a mixed on-prem/multi-cloud environment. But they do need a solution that will function across all of them and that can differentiate its security controls according to the corresponding access requirements. ??

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This last piece is also particularly key for user experience – something organizations cannot afford to ignore in today’s era of hybrid work expectations and talent shortages. With the same Zero Trust security controls able to be applied to people and devices, no matter where they connect – employees are ensured a consistent, seamless connectivity experience whether they’re on campus, branch, home, or on the road.

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I’m really looking forward to diving into more security conversations over the next few months – and getting to know the Axis Security business at the same time. ?