NC Feb-Mar 2023

FEATURE: 2023 PREDICTIONS
bolt-on perimeter firewalls around the
network to protect against threats and
vulnerabilities. Security must be built-in to
every aspect of the network infrastructure
from Wi-Fi Access Points to LAN, campus
and data centre switches, WAN gateways,
and extending into the cloud. Zero trust and
SASE frameworks will become more
intertwined, not only to protect from threats
but to apply micro-segmentation across the
complete IT stack including users,
connected devices, applications, network
services, compute, and storage platforms."
ALLIED TELESIS
Allied Telesis see networks and security
delivering an ever-stronger combination this
year. "The network is the route attackers use
to reach their target. Protecting the network
means protecting the first line of attack, and
this will become more and more important.
Firewall and AI-based systems, able to
detect attacks together with autonomous
security systems able to take immediate
action and create a self-defending network,
will become the obvious way to protect
company assets."
COHESITY
Updating legacy data protection technology
must be a priority for IT and business
decision makers this year, according to
Cohesity. "Cybercriminals are actively
preying on outdated infrastructure as they
know it cannot protect or recover data in
today's dispersed, multicloud environments.
Cohesity research found that half of UK
respondents depend on outdated, legacy
backup and recovery infrastructure to
manage and protect their data. In some
cases, this technology is more than 20 years
old and was designed long before today's
multicloud era or the type of sophisticated
cyberattacks that now plague enterprises.
"In 2023, possibly as an outcome of
budgetary pressures, we expect to see IT
and SecOps teams align to co-own cyber
resilience outcomes, including infrastructure
used for data identification, protection,
detection, response, and recovery."
CLOUDSTRIKE
Cloudstrike caution that security budgets will
also feel the squeeze with a seemingly
unavoidable recession on the horizon.
"Many countries across the globe expect
their economies to approach recession
during the coming year. Cost-cutting will be
discussed at many companies, and
cybersecurity budgets, having risen - on
average - for many successive years, will
certainly be under scrutiny. Reducing and
consolidating the number of licensed
products in the area may well make sense,
although maintaining the best levels of
security is not negotiable at any company.
"Notwithstanding, many companies have far
more tools than they need. Our own
discussions with CISOs suggest it's not
uncommon for companies to have multiple
licensed cybersecurity products at their
disposal. This isn't rendering them immune to
attack and, in fact, security levels and team
performance are suffering at many
organisations due to redundant or excessive
notifications and checks. Working towards a
consolidated single point of truth through a
united platform will not only yield cost
savings, but also productivity and
performance gains for cybersecurity analysts."
THE CLOUD
LANCOM SYSTEMS
The future of network management lies in
the cloud. This is according to LANCOM
Systems, who cite a recent survey which
found that 85 percent of those who
currently rely on hybrid and on-premises
solutions are planning to move to cloudnative
network management in the next four
years. "Networks have changed significantly
in recent years with increasing numbers of
devices and new data-intensive applications
that need to be used from anywhere. This
all increases the demands on the
infrastructure. Reliable protection,
transparency, and automation are key to
keeping this complexity manageable.
Cloud-based network management can
make a significant contribution here."
NERDIO
Cloud computing will be near the top of the
priority list for IT teams in 2023, say Nerdio.
"Whilst it is an investment, it's a flexible one
that can change with the business. In the
current economic climate, companies are
moving towards more service-based costs,
and public cloud providers can facilitate cost
efficiencies as they often offer a 'pay for what
you need' monthly model. We expect the
move from private cloud to public cloud to
continue at pace - with the large providers
on the public side having a greater ability to
weather energy price pressures and deal
with evolving security threats.
"With a younger workforce, cloud is here
to stay. Employees are now demanding the
latest tools and technology and legacy, slow
on-premise solutions are no longer fit for
purpose. In response, cloud providers will
need to provide higher levels of reliability
and performance at a lower cost - and we
expect to see more solutions partners
supporting organisations to fill in the gaps
of their knowledge of how to manage and
generate the best efficiencies from their
public cloud usage."
SHARP EUROPE
Sharpe Europe also see cloud looming
large in our hybrid working future. "One
trend we have seen develop in recent years
that shows no signs of slowing is SMEs
moving more of their work, services, and
processes into the public cloud. Already
over 40% of EU organisations use public
cloud services in some form, mostly for
hosting their email systems and storing files
in electronic form. This is a trend we shall
continue to see steadily rise. especially the
move to Microsoft 365 public cloud,
which for the SMEs is by far the dominant
player in the market." NC
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