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A snapshot of all things lifestyle by Island girls Shereen Shabnam and Natasha Dury.

KODAK S2085f Scanner

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Small-but-mighty, the S2085f quickly transforms information on paper into meaningful productivity

The KODAK S2085f Scanner features an integrated A4 flatbed scanner for exception document handling that is ideal for any document-heavy process that needs to digitize business-critical data trapped on paper at the edge of a process. It features built-in image processing that can enhance OCR accuracy at the same time reducing file sizes that helps you capture the best image quality without putting strains on your PCs. Simple to learn bundled free software empowers you to send your data to where it is needed from the push of a button.  A compact yet rugged design offers reliable paper handling and a straight-through paper path option can minimize document damage that improves the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of your processes and gives you a scanner that improves your bottom line.

Key features

  • Colour user interface with one touch destinations using Smart Touch 
  • Up to 85 ppm and 20,000 pages per day
  • Output stacking with controlled exit stacking and exit deflectors
  • Straight through paper path available
  • USB 3.2 Gen 1×1 compatible and Wired Network Available
  • Integrated flatbed 7 300-sheet feeder/elevator

Cohesity Announces Strategic Collaboration with AWS to Deliver Comprehensive Data Management as a Service

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Cohesity today announced that it has formed a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to address the growing customer need for data management that is flexible, available, scalable, and reliable. Together, both companies are bringing to market a modern Data Management as a Service (DMaaS) offering unlike any other on the market today.

The DMaaS solution is designed to provide enterprise and mid-size customers with a radically simple way to back up, secure, govern, and analyze their data, all managed directly by Cohesity and hosted on AWS.

As data continues to grow exponentially, many organizations are looking to manage data in ways that allow their IT teams to focus on policy versus infrastructure, provide consumption-based pricing, accelerate the move to the cloud, make it easy to derive value from data, remove data infrastructure silos, and support multiple use cases — including data backup and archiving, disaster recovery, file and object services, copy data management, and analytics.

“AWS is delighted to establish a strategic collaboration with Cohesity as we share common goals — helping customers lower costs, become more agile, innovate faster, and do more with data,” said Doug Yeum, Head of Worldwide Channels and Alliances, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “Working with Cohesity, we are charting a new course in how data is managed in an as a service model, leveraging disruptive, modern data management capabilities from Cohesity, and industry-leading cloud services from AWS.”

As part of the strategic collaboration, Cohesity and the AWS Partner Network (APN) are investing in resources to design the DMaaS solution on AWS and to engage in joint go-to-market activities. Additionally, Amazon has made an equity investment in Cohesity.

“This collaboration between Cohesity and AWS shows a continued commitment to bringing data management solutions to enterprise and mid-size customers that provide unmatched simplicity, flexibility, and reduced total cost of ownership,” said Mohit Aron, CEO and Founder, Cohesity. “Cohesity and AWS are also focused on helping customers derive value from data. Through AWS, customers can access a wealth of AWS services, including Amazon Macie, to help customers meet compliance needs, and Amazon Redshift for analytics. We are thrilled to collaborate with AWS and look forward to ushering in a new era in data management for customers globally.”

“The DMaaS solution from Cohesity and AWS is a significant improvement over what’s available on the market today,” said Michael Graff, Senior Manager, IT Architecture, Dolby Laboratories. “I’ve been using Cohesity and AWS for years and both have brought amazing value to our organization. Now, I’m even more excited about a comprehensive DMaaS solution that can provide even greater simplicity, choice, and flexibility from best-of-breed cloud and data management providers.”

Cohesity Helios: The Foundation for Data Management as a Service

The foundation for this new DMaaS solution is Cohesity Helios, a proven SaaS-based data platform that currently serves more than 1,500 customers. Today, Helios empowers customers to see, manage, and act on their data globally across environments which they manage. Moving forward, customers will also have the option to use Helios to do the same for data that resides in a Cohesity-managed environment. Through this offering, customers will be able to benefit from:

●       A unique, comprehensive set of data management services: Within the DMaaS solution,customers will be able to subscribe to discrete data management offerings addressing a widerange of use cases — all from one provider. Accessing each of these capabilities through Cohesity — versus selecting one provider for backup, another for disaster recovery, and yet others for file and object services, copy data management, data security and governance — reduces infrastructure silos and addresses mass data fragmentation.

●       Advanced security and ransomware detection: Helios currently analyzes over 400,000 events daily and uses machine learning (ML) to detect anomalies that could signal a ransomware attack in progress. DMaaS customers can use these capabilities to detect, respond, and rapidly recover from such an attack.

●       Data management made simple: Customers will have the ability to easily and seamlessly manage their existing on-premises and cloud environments, as well as the policies for their data in the new Cohesity-managed environment all through Cohesity Helios. 

●       A shift to predictability and simplicity: Consumption-based pricing provides cost predictability and eliminates over-provisioning. The DMaaS solution also removes equipment procurement headaches and reduces operating expenses and administrative overhead.

●       Sophisticated cloud-based services that derive additional value from data: Once on AWS, customers can also easily take advantage of cloud-based services provided by AWS. Customers can use these services to help ensure compliance, enhance security, and extract additional insights and business intelligence through ML and analytics.

Providing Greater Choice for Today’s Modern Businesses

The DMaaS solution builds on Cohesity’s existing data management offerings that, according to a recent Forrester Consulting study entitled “The Total Economic Impact™ Of Cohesity,” enabled customers to realize a 66 percent reduction of backup and data management costs, save thousands of hours on planned downtime work, and realize a three-year return on investment of 150 percent.*

With DMaaS, Cohesity is now providing customers with an even broader set of options to choose from when managing their data. Customers can manage data infrastructure themselves — in the data center, at the edge, or in the cloud. They can also utilize this DMaaS solution where associated infrastructure is managed for them, or they can use a hybrid combination of both.

“Most customers prefer choice in how their data is managed,” said Graff from Dolby. “With some vendors you are forced to choose either-or, but with Cohesity, you have the flexibility to manage data your way.”

The first offer that will be made available to organizations as part of this DMaaS solution is Cohesity DataProtect delivered as a service. This Backup as a Service (BaaS) offering is currently in early access preview with general availability planned by the end of the year. Customers interested in getting early access can join the interest list here. Other DMaaS offers addressing additional data management needs will follow in the coming quarters.

For more information

  • Join the wait list for early access to our Backup as a Service offering
  • Watch the webcast “Modern Data Management for the Cloud Era” for more details from Cohesity and AWS on the DMaaS Solution
  • Read the Forrester Consulting study entitled “The Total Economic Impact™ Of Cohesity”

*Source: Data points delivered in the commissioned study, The Total Economic Impact™ Of Cohesity, conducted by Forrester Consulting, August, 2020.

Building a Human Firewall to Address Insider Threats

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By Renée Tarun – Deputy CISO and Vice President Information Security at Fortinet

During the first half of 2020, the FortiGuard Labs team found that evolving work environments and a greater reliance on personal devices presented new opportunities for cyber criminals to exploit enterprise networks. One method that threat actors have heavily relied on as of late is the creation of legitimate-looking phishing emails that can be used to tailor and launch attacks with ease. While this is not a new tactic by any means, these types of social engineering attacks have only grown more sophisticated and damaging as employees continue to work remotely and remain isolated from their teams. 

The Need to Mitigate Insider Threat Risk

Whether they know it or not, employees can pose a significant risk to the security of enterprise networks and the data they hold. Considering that 68% of organizations feel moderate to extremely vulnerable to insider attacks, as noted in a recent study, it’s clear just how significant this issue is. In addition to those that are considered malicious insiders, these threats can also be attributed to the group known as the “accidental insiders.” According to this same study, security teams view falling victim to phishing attacks (38%) as the top cause for accidental insider threats, followed by spear phishing (21%), poor passwords (16%), and browsing of suspicious websites (7%). In other words, opening the door for cyber criminals can be as simple as clicking on a link or downloading a file without taking the time to determine whether or not it is legitimate.   

Careless and negligent behaviors can have a lasting effect on organizations, especially in the case of a data breach. And with more employees working from home, unable to walk over to a coworker’s desk to get their thoughts on a suspicious-looking email, these individuals are more likely to be susceptible to social engineering attacks. With this in mind, it is more important than ever that CISOs prioritize their employees’ cybersecurity awareness to help them understand the role they play in keeping networks secure, and reducing the insider threat risk.  

Creating a Human Firewall Through a Culture of Security

Considering employees can be the best line of defense, it is crucial that CISOs protect their organizations by including employee education and awareness in their cybersecurity strategy. By embracing this technique, leaders can ensure the workforce is prepared to face the various threats. 

Regardless of job titles or roles, all employees should understand the repercussions of a security event and how it could affect the organization and them personally. The importance of this enterprise-wide strategic approach was highlighted in a 2019 Forbes Insights survey of over 200 CISOs. When asked which security initiatives they plan to prioritize in terms of funding over the next five years, 16% of respondents noted the creation of a culture of security. 

While this is a step in the right direction, establishing a baseline for good cyber hygiene must begin with CISOs helping their employees take cybersecurity seriously. This can be achieved in the following ways:

Prioritize Cyber Awareness Training 

Social engineering attacks are extremely prevalent across organizations simply because they work. In fact, Verizon’s 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) found that approximately one-third of all data breaches involved phishing in one way or another. To combat this risk, CISOs must educate their employees about common attacks that could appear in the form of phishing, spear phishing, smishing, or other tech support scams. Whether these lessons are provided through online meeting spaces, video chat, or email, they should be prioritized. Understanding these threats and their associated red flags will be critical in helping employees avoid falling victim to fake emails or malicious websites.

In addition to teaching about common indicators of cyber scams (i.e., the promotion of “free” deals), these training offerings should also feature simulated phishing exercises designed to test knowledge and determine which employees might need more assistance. Through tactics such as these, employees will be better equipped to know when they are the target of a social engineering attack and can, therefore, act accordingly. Fortinet’s NSE Training Institute offers a free Information Security Awareness training service to educate employees about the increasing risks of cyberattacks and how to identify threats. 

Create a Partnership Between the Security Team and Other Departments

Cybersecurity cannot fall on the shoulders of the security and IT teams alone, especially as cyber threats continue to grow more sophisticated and challenging to detect. In addition to ensuring that employees can identify phishing attacks, leaders should also encourage collaboration between the security team and other departments. This means helping both sides understand expectations. While the security team will be the expert in terms of determining the risk and threats, other departments will be critical in helping to develop user-friendly policies that are easy to follow both in the office and in remote work environments, even for those who are not entirely cyber aware. 

Through collaborative efforts, CISOs can ensure that all individuals across the organization are not only aware of security policies but also understand the impact their actions can have on the organization as a whole. Helping employees understand safe cybersecurity practices and the ramifications their actions can have should lead to improvements in how these individuals respond when confronted with a suspicious email or website, even while working from home.  

When employees know what is expected and feel like they are a part of the team, they are more encouraged to follow best practices and help chip away at the behaviors that cause accidental insider issues, such as forgetting to change default passwords or neglecting to use strong passwords. And as more employees follow suit, the human firewall acting as the first line of defense to the organization will only grow stronger. 

Establish Straightforward Best Practices

Even once employees are made aware of what to look for in the case of a social engineering attack, they may still need some guidance when it comes to next steps. While it is easy to ignore or delete a suspicious-looking email, what about those that appear normal that the receiver is still unsure about? In this scenario, CISOs should encourage employees to ask themselves certain questions to help make the right judgment call: Do I know the sender? Was I expecting this email? Is this email invoking a strong emotion like excitement or fear? Am I being told to act with urgency?

While these questions should help clear up any confusion in regards to whether the email is malicious, the receiver should still take extra steps to protect themselves and their organization. This includes hovering over links to see if they are legitimate before clicking, not opening unexpected attachments, calling the sender to verify they actually sent the email, and reporting all suspicious emails to the IT or security team. By explaining these steps to their employees from the beginning, CISOs can avoid negative repercussions down the line.

Final Thoughts on Insider Threats

The ability to be cyber aware is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to keeping organizations secure. Whether employees realize it or not, their actions could open the door for cyber criminals to access sensitive information, meaning passivity towards security is no longer acceptable. 

By prioritizing training and collaboration between departments and the security team, CISOs can lay the groundwork for a strong culture of security. Identifying suspicious behaviors, keeping devices up to date, and practicing safe cyber behavior should be built into the fabric of all job roles to ensure that the human firewall continues to stand firm.

The Edge Opportunity is Real, Yet Organizations in UAE Cite Hurdles to Unlocking Its Full Potential

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The ability of organizations to realize business value from data increasingly depends on their capacity to collect, process, store and analyze it at the Edge, new research from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, suggests.

As networks become increasingly congested with huge volumes of data generated from user and IoT devices, IT leaders are recognizing that analyzing real-time data nearer to the Edge yields greater efficiencies and insights, which results in improved business outcomes. According to the UAE results of a global study of 2,400 IT decision-makers (ITDMs), 61% of UAE enterprises are already actively using Edge technologies to deliver new outcomes, with another 14% planning to do so in the next year. There is also a growing recognition (86%) of the urgency around the need to implement integrated systems to handle data at the Edge.  

“This research suggests that the vast majority of IT leaders are already embracing the Edge or are preparing to,” said Jacob Chacko, Regional Business Head – Middle East, Saudi & South Africa (MESA) at HPE Aruba. “Developing an Edge strategy against the backdrop of existing cloud implementations is becoming a necessity as the number of connected devices increases and it becomes impractical to transfer vast volumes of data to a cloud or data center environment, especially as organizations undergo digital transformation to advance their business objectives and address customer needs.”

The survey findings form part of a report entitled, “At the Edge of Change: Navigating the New Data Era,” that assesses the implications of the shift in data processing from cloud to Edge, how ITDMs are responding to this trend, the opportunities the Edge presents for a number of major industries and the critical role networking plays in this transformation. Key findings reveal:

Organizations are Drowning in Data, Yet See the Edge as a Solution

The benefits of Edge technologies are becoming increasingly important as ITDMs grapple with the growing amounts of data generated within their networks and look towards the cost and latency advantages of storing and processing it at the Edge.

  • 47% of ITDMs in UAE said that “there is too much data for our systems to handle” and 43% stated that “we cannot process the data quickly enough to take action.”
  • Over a third also highlighted problems with complying with data regulation (37%) and an inability to integrate so many different data formats (33%). Other challenges included lack of budget to analyze the data/build and deploy analytical models (28%) and poor quality of data (26%)
  • Over half (52%) of ITDMs in UAE recognize “improved collaboration and workflow activities between IT and other business units” as a result of optimizing machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on their networks.

Boosting Efficiency and Creating New Experiences Ranked at the Top

ITDMs cite a variety of benefits from capturing and analyzing data at the Edge, from operational efficiencies to the opportunity to create new products, services and revenue streams.  

  • 58% of ITDMs in UAE highlighted “improving operational efficiency and costs” as one of the biggest benefits of capturing and acting upon data from user devices and 50% cited “increase in security”.
  • In parallel, 46% of respondents in the country believe the data increases workforce productivity, 44% cited the opportunity to create “new differentiated products, services, revenue streams and business models” and 43% said it optimized maintenance costs and scheduling.
  • Across EMEA, ITDMs are focused on utilizing the Edge to improve safety, visibility and the customer experience. By sector, the most popular Edge use cases were tracking and monitoring individual items through the supply chain in retail (51%), the use of facial recognition in the hotels/hospitality industry (49%) and improving healthcare providers’ experience with always on tools and applications (49%).

Concerns Over Cost, Skills and Security Abound

While ITDMs show a growing interest in processing and analyzing data at the Edge, they are also concerned about various barriers to adoption.

  • 42% of ITDMs in UAE pointed business acceptance of autonomous decision making by Edge devices as the top concern. Notably, the overwhelming majority (96%) think they are missing at least some skills needed to help their organization unlock the value of data.
  • AI and Machine Learning skills (46%), risk management/information security skills (42%) and analytical skills (40%) ranked highest in terms of areas of expertise that companies are lacking.
  • Overall, there were mixed feelings about the security implications of the Edge. While 66% of ITDMs in UAE said that connecting IoT or user devices at the Edge had made or would make their businesses more vulnerable, 68% identified improvement of operational efficiency and costs as one of the biggest benefits of capturing data from user devices.

Bridging Edge to Cloud

As businesses continue to increase their dependence upon data, it is critical that it is analyzed and processed at the source of collection reliably and securely. Traditional network architectures and operational processes built to support the cloud and mobility era need to adapt to these new requirements.

As organizations move ahead to build an Edge infrastructure, there are a few key concepts to keep in mind for a successful implementation:

  • Unify – The Edge incorporates all network domains including wired, wireless and SD-WAN; and all locations including Campus, Branch, Data Center and Remote Worker environments. Network operations teams should only consider solutions that can manage all domains and locations from a cloud-native, single pane of glass that can centralize and correlate all cross-domain events and operations.
  • Automate – Network uptime and performance are critical at the Edge. Network operations teams should only consider solutions that provide reliable, highly accurate and specific AI-powered insights, and automation that can resolve issues more quickly, before they impact the business or users.
  • Protect – The proliferation of IoT devices generating the data that fuels new business outcomes also presents new security challenges. Network operations teams should consider solutions that use AI to detect, classify and continuously monitor these devices and work seamlessly with access control solutions to automatically place devices in centralized policies that ensure they remain secure and only communicate with predetermined resources.

“Harnessing insights at the Edge is an opportunity for enterprises to revolutionize their approach to data and unlock its value as a business asset,” concludes Chacko. “Organizations that can process, store and analyze data at the Edge will be able to use that data first to optimize their existing business model, and over time, will develop innovative products, services and experiences that will not only augment, but transform their offerings for customers and employees.”

To find more about Aruba’s flexible IT solutions go to: https://www.arubanetworks.com/solutions/technology-solutions/

Veeam Acquires Kasten to Accelerate Protection of Kubernetes-Native Workloads On-Premises and Across Multi-Cloud Environments

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Veeam and Kasten’s Modern Data Management Platform Will Speed the Production Deployment of Container-based Applications

Veeam® Software, the leader in Backup solutions that deliver Cloud Data Management™, today announced it has acquired Kasten, the market leader for Kubernetes Backup and Disaster Recovery, in a cash and stock transaction valued at $150M. According to 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, nearly three-quarters of organizations are currently using or planning to use Kubernetes within the next two years.[i] Veeam believes this shift creates a massive opportunity for the future of data protection and the acquisition reinforces its commitment to support customers’ business transformation to future-ready architectures. With this new acquisition, Veeam will integrate Kasten into its market-leading Cloud Data Management platform for modern data protection and radically simplify data management for enterprises.

As applications using microservice-based architectures have quickly gained traction in the enterprise, this shift has established a new segment of application development methodology known as DevOps. Containers are a critical component of this DevOps-led infrastructure and application modernization, and Kubernetes has emerged as the dominant container orchestration platform – creating a significant opportunity for a single data protection platform that includes virtual, physical, cloud and Kubernetes environments. Veeam recognizes the strategic importance of this environment, the increasing importance of providing modern data management that is deeply integrated into Kubernetes, and the growth of DevOps to improve quality, increase scalability, and accelerate application delivery while reducing daily management. With the Kasten K10 Data Management Platform, Veeam will now be able to offer enterprise operations teams an easy-to-use, scalable, and secure system for Kubernetes Backup and application mobility with unparalleled operational simplicity.

“Veeam was built on offering the best data protection for virtual and modern data infrastructures, and we have continued to expand our offerings to include industry-leading protection for physical and cloud environments,” said Danny Allan, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Product Strategy at Veeam. “With the acquisition of our partner Kasten, we are taking a very important next step to accommodate our customers’ shift to container adoption in order to protect Kubernetes-native workloads on-premises and across multi-cloud environments. This significant milestone strengthens Veeam’s commitment to continue to deliver the industry’s leading Cloud Data Management platform that will support data protection for container-based applications built in Kubernetes environments.”

While the Kasten K10 platform will continue to be available independently, it will also be integrated into Veeam Backup & Replication™ to offer a comprehensive data management solution. With Kasten’s protection of container workloads and Veeam support for virtual machines, physical servers, SaaS applications and cloud workloads, this best of breed technology will provide all organizations a single platform for modern data protection.

“The enterprise landscape is shifting as applications rapidly transition from monoliths to containers and microservices,” said Niraj Tolia, Chief Executive Officer at Kasten. “With Kubernetes at the core of this infrastructural shift, Kasten’s innovation in Kubernetes-native data management combined with Veeam’s expertise in Backup, both on-premises and in multi-cloud environments, will significantly advance the state of modern data management. Veeam’s success has been a beacon of inspiration for the Kasten team and we are very excited to join forces with a company where there is so much philosophical alignment.”

Kasten will operate as a separate Kubernetes Business Unit (BU) within Veeam. Kasten’s founders, Niraj Tolia and Vaibhav Kamra, will lead the business unit – Tolia as its President and General Manager, and Kamra as Chief Technology Officer, Kubernetes BU. All teams including sales, marketing, R&D, and customer service will stay intact to continue growing the business with increased investment in people and resources.

Veeam’s commitment to the Kubernetes community will also continue through the contribution to Open Source and other community projects that Kasten has supported, including the Kubernetes Storage Special Interest Group and the Data Protection Working Group in Kubernetes, which aim to improve storage operations and promote data protection support for the Kubernetes user base. Additionally, Veeam will continue to support Kanister, Kasten’s open source project that extends support for and execution of data management tasks in Kubernetes, and the development of kopia, a fast and secure open-source tool to manage Backups.

For more information, visit https://www.veeam.com.

“Containers in microservice architectures are foundational to many emerging cloud-native applications. Protecting and recovering containerized environments has very different requirements from virtual infrastructure alone. The Veeam-Kasten combination could allow enterprises to protect and recover Kubernetes-based cloud-native container applications along with virtual and physical workloads from a single cloud data management framework. With both vendors being part of the Insight Partner’s portfolio, and Veeam already partnering with Kasten to enable application centric container data protection capabilities, this acquisition seems like a natural next step. Having Kasten now be a part of Veeam positions the combination very well to meet the majority of data protection and recovery needs for multi-cloud environments.” – Phil Goodwin, research director, IDC

“We are excited to see Veeam and Kasten coming together to deliver the leading Kubernetes-native Backup solution. Given our use of Veeam to protect our critical business data and infrastructure and the increasing footprint of Kubernetes in our environment, this combined solution will provide us with the flexibility to protect our applications and data, no matter what environment they are deployed in, and the ease-of-use to help scale our teams. Knowing that we have the right Backup and disaster recovery infrastructure in place for both virtualized and cloud-native environments will allow our teams to move faster and with confidence.” – Markus Kretzer, Head of IT, Buhl Data Service

[i] 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence – Voice of the Enterprise: DevOps Workloads and Key Projects 2020

Fortinet Expands Network Security Expert Training Institute Offerings to Further Advance Security Skillsets

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Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, today introduced its new free Information Security Awareness and Training service for organizations looking to educate employees about the increasing risks of cyber attacks. The Information Security Awareness and Training service – the latest initiative as part of the Network Security Expert (NSE) Training Institute – is for any organization looking to implement or replace their information security awareness program and was designed to align to NIST guidelines for NIST 800-50  and NIST 800-16. Additionally, NSE Certifications – which are comprised of 8 levels – have qualified for (ISC)2 credit for individuals looking to maintain their CISSP credentials. This credit furthers the value NSE Certifications provide current and future security professionals.  

Rob Rashotte, VP of Global Training and Technical Field Enablement at Fortinet

“Organizations need to ensure their employees know how to identify and protect against all types of cybersecurity threats. From 2018 to 2020 the number of insider threats increased 47% according to a Ponemon Institute Report, making these threats a top concern. At the same time, IT professionals are constantly on the quest for continued learning opportunities to refresh their security skillsets. To address both these needs, Fortinet is rolling out a free Information Security Awareness and Training service for organizations, as well as additional continued learning incentives for IT and security professionals. These latest efforts build on Fortinet’s ongoing commitment to closing the cybersecurity skills gap and our Corporate Social Responsibility work.”

Advancing Cyber Awareness and Skills Through the NSE Training Institute

Today, Fortinet is expanding its NSE Training Institute’s free training offerings with the introduction of the Information Security Awareness and Training service. More about this new service and other recent initiatives to address the industry’s skills gap below:

  • Free Information Security Awareness and Training service for organizations: With social engineering attacks continuing to plague organizations, CISOs realize the importance of prioritizing employee training as part of their cybersecurity strategies to help address insider threats. A recent study found that 68% of organizations feel moderately to extremely vulnerable to insider attacks. In addition to designing a security architecture that protects against these insider attackers, CISOs and executives also need to increase their employees’ cyber awareness to ensure employees can identify threats and not fall victim to attackers. To help organizations address this, Fortinet offers a free Information Security Awareness and Training service that has been developed by some of the best cybersecurity training experts in the world. The training component of the service consists of five self-paced mandatory modules that are focused on key attack vectors and best practices. Each of the modules end with a quiz to test mastery of content. A library of awareness resources including posters, email templates, checklists and others, helps to ensure that cybersecurity best practices are always top of mind. The administrator dashboard allows the organization to keep track of employee completion progress, ensuring compliance with company policies. This turnkey service ensures employees are equipped with the knowledge necessary to avoid phishing, baiting, tech support scams and other social engineering attacks that commonly jeopardize organizations’ security posture.
  • NSE training courses qualify for (ISC)2 credits for continued learning: Courses in Fortinet’s eight-level certification program, as well as additional training courses, will now count toward credits for individuals looking to maintain their Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or other accreditations with (ISC)2. This collaboration will further propel security professionals seeking continued learning opportunities to keep their skills relevant and up-to-date in the face of a rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape. Fortinet has an agreement with (ISC)2 to offer CPE credits for NSE training courses, Fast Tracks which are available to customers and partners, webinars and other online or in-person educational sessions for the next three years. (ISC)2 will consider submissions based on one hour of Fortinet’s training and education initiatives equaling 1 CPE credit, with a maximum of 8 per day.
  • Closing the skills gap with NSE Certifications: The NSE Training Institute’s flagship NSE Certification Program recently reached a significant milestone, issuing more than half a million certifications worldwide. With its eight levels of certifications, the NSE Certification Program bridges the cybersecurity skills gap, from cybersecurity fundamental education courses (NSE 1-3), technical product training (NSE 4-6), advanced solution-based training (NSE 7) and the elite cybersecurity expert recognition (NSE 8). NSE level 8 is the highest certification designation with 381 individuals having earned NSE 8 to date, demonstrating mastery in extremely complex network security concepts by leveraging multiple solutions from Fortinet’s Security Fabric portfolio.

Fortinet’s Free NSE Training Creates Additional Cybersecurity Career Pathways

In the wake of the health pandemic, Fortinet made all its self-paced advanced NSE security courses available for free enabling anyone to learn new skills or augment existing skills – from IT professionals to students to veterans and job seekers. As organizations rapidly transitioned to a remote workforce, which requires specialized skills to properly secure remote access and new environments being spun up, Fortinet saw a significant uptick in demand for its NSE training and certifications.

By extending access to its NSE training with free courses, Fortinet sought to create more career pathways for those wanting to further advance their security knowledge or start a career in cybersecurity. These free training courses also prepare learners toward a path to receive Fortinet’s award-winning NSE Certifications to further help them stand out to employers and spur career growth. A recent Fortinet skills gap survey found that 82% of organizations prefer to hire candidates with certifications and 94% of respondents believe their certifications have better prepared them for their current security role.

“Having achieved Fortinet’s NSE level 8 certification has provided me comprehensive and expert knowledge of network security design, configuration, and troubleshooting for complex networks. As a result, when I’m talking about certain architectures or implementing certain specific features, customers and prospects have increased confidence in my capabilities and knowledge that has been assessed by Fortinet, further demonstrating my competency. Ultimately, Fortinet’s training and certification program is successfully helping develop more security professionals as the demand for security has outpaced the number of people entering the market.”

– Matthew Watkinson, chief security architect at Secure Sense

Explore the World of Fashion 2020 On-Screen and In-Scene at Mall of the Emirates

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  • The five-day event will bring together A-list celebrities, world renowned designers, exclusive luxury brands, and industry experts.

From 13 to 17 October, fashion, beauty, and art will all come to life through a series of glittering World of Fashion celebrations as Mall of the Emirates welcomes its latest Autumn Winter 2020 fashion arrivals in the Central Atrium.

Dubai’s most exciting fashion event, World of Fashion is a glamorous celebration of style, design and all things haute couture. The five-day gathering brings the fashion sphere’s marquee names, biggest brands, and most popular influencers together to spotlight the latest trends and industry developments. Mall of the Emirates will also host the Arab Woman Awards 2020 in celebration of female achievement. With social distancing guidelines in place, the event offers a variety of experiences including artsy music, fashion videos and streamed Q&A sessions with renowned fashion experts. These events are enlivened by the activities and fashion installations developed by the expert fashion editorial team at Harper’s Bazaar.

Mall of the Emirates’ World of Fashion video showcases the mall being transformed into a grand stage for a one-of-a-kind after-hours fashion show. Titled A Night at the Mall, the unique production will come together as a hallmark fashion-meets-music video featuring top fashion personalities, models, and notable Arab women wearing a selection of Autumn Winter 2020 looks as they take over the flagship mall.

These include exclusive and inspiring video sessions featuring VIP attendees and high-profile personalities from across the worlds of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Sandra Choi, Creative Director of the Malaysian luxury-shoe brand Jimmy Choo, will share the inspiration behind the brand’s latest designs.

Nada Abu Saab, Marketing Director at Majid Al Futtaim – Shopping Malls, said: “World of Fashion is back for an eleventh year. We’ve curated a modern, multi-platform celebration to showcase the new shopping and customer experiences we have been developing, while offering shoppers, fashion lovers and industry insiders an immersive platform to connect, network and entertain themselves.

We’re proud of the role Majid Al Futtaim is playing in pioneering such unique experiences, as we continue to be a leader for retail innovation. We’ve worked hard to ensure that our multifaceted World of Fashion programme offers both live and virtual experiences — a testament of our ability to adapt and evolve in current times without compromising on the experiences we offer. Our priority is to keep our customers safe while still giving them access to forward-thinking and distinctive fashion and beauty showcases. With masterclasses, exclusive product reveals, and expert Q&A sessions to be held over the next few days, World of Fashion is the perfect introduction to the upcoming Autumn Winter 2020 collections.”

The event will be comprised of four segments representing the themes of Evolution, Elevation, and Empowerment. Guests can also take part in and attend a full programme of interactive in-person experiences hosted by celebrated luxury brands such as Gucci, Swarovski, and Christian Louboutin. At the Gucci Fragrance Masterclass, attendees will witness the process of selecting smells alongside a mixology demonstration. The Kids Party invites mothers and daughters to make fashionable choices together as they flip through a selection of children’s looks while creating stunning arts and crafts figures. Meanwhile, a live interview with Zeinab Al Hashemi, the creator of Swarovski’s refractive art installation and the Christian Louboutin latest AW selection, allows guests to admire the style and craft of the new season’s collections.

Nutanix Delivers Advanced Data Management Platform for Hybrid and Multicloud Environments

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 Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in hybrid and multicloud computing, today announced the release of the first cloud agnostic multi-database management solution. Era 2.0 extends the Nutanix database management solution across clouds and clusters to simplify operations, with increased scale and reduced costs for IT and database teams. Additionally, Nutanix announced expanded support for Postgres and SAP HANA as well as a joint solution, powered by Era 2.0, with HCL, a leading global technology company.

Era enables IT teams to deliver Database as a Service by bringing one-click simplicity and invisible operations to database provisioning and lifecycle management. It’s a multi-database solution with support for Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and MariaDB, in addition to Postgres and SAP HANA.

“Companies are increasingly looking for technology solutions to support their hybrid and multicloud strategies but, while some vendors deliver application mobility, we haven’t seen a lot of innovation when it comes to multicloud database management,” said Bala Kuchibhotla, SVP & General Manager, Nutanix Era, Databases and Business Critical Apps at Nutanix. “Nutanix Era now delivers on our vision to provide a cloud agnostic multi-database management solution to truly unlock the promise of hybrid and multicloud.”

“At HCL, we help our customers to accelerate their data and infrastructure modernization journey with a secure, scalable, and cloud-ready database as a service. Our industry acclaimed services powered by the Nutanix Era & HCI platform will provide enterprises with a world-class automated database platform,” says Kalyan Kumar, Corporate Vice President and CTO, IT Services, HCL Technologies. “We have a long standing relationship with Nutanix, and, with SKALE DB, we will move forward to help our customers optimize their data resources and support their digital initiatives.”

Era delivers simplified database management by combining the scalability and performance of Nutanix’s HCI software with the flexibility of cloud-ready database services. With this announcement, the company delivers:

Simplified Database Management Across Distributed Clusters and Clouds

Nutanix Era 2.0 enables customers to provision and manage databases across multiple clouds with consistent tooling, standards, and security policies, giving them the flexibility to choose the right cloud for each database to increase agility and minimize cost. Era 2.0 also delivers operational simplicity across multiple distributed clusters and datacenters delivering significant scale and with 1-click provisioning, cloning, and patching. In addition to simplifying operation and minimizing costs with seamless data mobility across clouds, Era 2.0 enables new use cases including: leveraging public cloud for capacity bursting, dev/test, capacity remediation, and optimizing databases performance remotely.

Support for SAP HANA at Scale

Nutanix announced Era’s capabilities are extended to one of the leading relational database engines, SAP HANA. With this, customers can enjoy 1-click management experience for their SAP HANA deployments. Nutanix was one of the first HCI platforms to be certified for SAP HANA scale-up and most recently scale-out, simplifying deployments for SAP business applications and SAP data warehousing solutions on SAP HANA.

24×7 Support of PostgreSQL on Nutanix

In addition, Nutanix announced extended 24/7 support for Postgres to enable customers’ mission critical deployments. Unlike competitors, this includes an end-to-end support experience for the Postgres database engine in addition to the infrastructure platform and Era management services – all through the Nutanix team – resulting in more rapid time to resolution.

Fully Managed Database as a Service Solution with HCL Technologies

For customers seeking a fully managed solution, Nutanix partnered with leading global technology company HCL, to create a joint offering powered by Era 2.0. SKALE DB, a joint offering by HCL and Nutanix, enables enterprises to accelerate the data modernization with a secure and scalable Database as a Service (DBaaS) offering.

“With data sprawl where it is today, database management has gotten more complex than ever before. Organizations of all sizes are looking for solutions to simplify database operations, from initial deployment to ongoing management and maintenance,” said Mike Leone, Senior Analyst, ESG. “Era 2.0 delivers a cloud agnostic solution that can simplify database operations and help customers unlock the much needed value of data mobility.”

Era 2.0 and SKALE DB are currently available to customers. For more information on Era 2.0 or to take a Test Drive visit here.

ServiceNow Unveils “The Work Survey,” A Comprehensive Global View of COVID-19’s Impact on Work and the Opportunities Ahead for Business and Workforce Innovation

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ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), the leading digital workflow company that makes work, work better for people, today released The Work Survey, one of the most comprehensive global surveys to date on COVID-19’s impact on work and the opportunities ahead for a wave of digital innovation in how people work and businesses operate. 

Executives and employees across the globe agree technology enabled them to pivot to new ways working faster than thought possible, and digital transformation will accelerate innovation.

“The world’s dramatic pivot to working digitally is showing everyone what the future of work looks like,” said ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. “Digital workflows are the way business gets done in the 21st century. There’s no going back. Digital transformation will accelerate. New ways of working will become the norm. We are on the cusp of an unprecedented wave of workflow and workplace innovation.”

Fielded in September by Wakefield Research on behalf of ServiceNow, The Work Survey engaged 9,000 executives and employees across industries including financial services, health care, telecommunications, manufacturing, and the public sector.

Key global findings include:

  • 92% of executives say the pandemic made their company rethink how they work and 87% of employees say their company has created better ways of working since the crisis began.
  • 91% of executives and 87% of employees say their company transitioned to new ways of working faster than they thought possible.
  • COVID-19 has reduced operating expenses for 88% of global businesses surveyed, creating opportunities for investments in digital transformation, research and development, marketing and growth.

Businesses have innovated rapidly but will need to step up to continue the pace

Half of executives (50%) and a little over half of employees (53%) think transitioning to the new normal will be even more challenging than the initial shock of COVID-19. This challenge is exacerbated because most businesses are at a digital disadvantage, with 91% of global executives admitting they still have offline workflows, including document approvals, security incident reports, and technology support requests. Progress has been made, but months into working from home, 60% of executives and 59% of employees say their companies still do not have a fully integrated system to manage digital workflows.

Despite adapting to COVID-19, confidence is low that companies could rapidly transform again

New systems that were developed, and put in place on the fly, as a result of COVID-19, were seen to have created new and better ways of working by 87% of employees across the globe. However, such systems are felt to still be vulnerable to the next major disruption, with mostexecutives and employees stating that key business functions (such as Customer Service, HR and Finance) would not be able to adapt within 30 days in the event of another disruption. This showcases the need, and opportunity, for robust digital transformation across the enterprise.

You’re only as good as your people; winning today means embracing distributed work better and faster than the competition

While executives (99%) and employees (94%) overwhelmingly tout the benefits of remote working, the challenges are becoming more apparent. Both executives (93%) and employees (83%) express real concerns about how remote work will impact the business moving forward. The biggest concerns and benefits with continued remote work depends on where you sit.

  • Across the globe, executives are most worried about outputs—delays in product or service delivery (54%), while their employees are most concerned about the inputs—reduced collaboration between business units (48%).
  • Employees across the globe say that time saved from not commuting or travelling to a workplace (54%) has benefited them most, while executives believe that better use of technology to improve efficiency (50%) is the greatest benefit to their teams.

Personal safety is paramount: Resuming in-person work hinges on whether employees feel safe

60% of employees believe their company will prioritize business continuity over workplace safety. More surprising is the fact that 44% of executives actually believe this as well. Even if a company makes an effort to put safety first, many employees don’t think they can pull it off, with 46% of surveyed employees saying they do not believe their company will take the necessary steps to ensure their safety. Surprisingly, executives agree. Nearly a third of global executives (32%) admit they don’t think their company will take the appropriate steps for safety.

“COVID-19 caused businesses across the region to change at a pace, the like of which we have never seen before and, if honest, many didn’t think was even possible” says Mark Ackerman, regional director – Middle East & Africa, ServiceNow. “There is much talk of adapting to a new normal, but the reality for most businesses is there is just the now, and the constant change that comes with it. The critical challenge for organizations will be balancing the immediate need for business continuity, with the personal needs of their employees, and ensuring they have the digital skills and resources to face the waves of change yet to come. Focussing on digitizing the work that needs to get done, wherever that needs to happen, is a key first step in creating this balance.“

Commenting on the findings, applied futurist and author, Tom Cheesewright, said: “This research comes at an opportune moment as companies begin the transition from the early chaos of the COVID-19 response to the creation of new sustainable approaches. Some incredible things were achieved under extreme pressure and core hybrid working technologies have been proven. But much work remains. Layers of culture, process and behaviour need to be designed and overlaid on the technological foundations together with a new social contract agreed between employer and employee that embraces distributed working.”

More information about The Work Survey can be found here.

Fortinet Named a Leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure

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Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, today announced it has been positioned in the Leaders quadrant of the Gartner September 2020 Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure, placing higher in ability to execute and further in completeness of vision than its position the previous year.

John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet

“A few years back while the entire industry was thinking about SD-WAN as a siloed product, at Fortinet we took a Security-driven Networking approach, combining networking and security to be the first vendor to deliver Secure SD-WAN. We’re pleased to be placed in the Leaders quadrant of the 2020 Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure, something we feel is another strong indicator of Fortinet’s ability to deliver better user experience with consistent security for our customers. We believe Fortinet will continue to disrupt the industry with solutions rooted in Security-driven Networking principles, next by delivering the most flexible security via SASE.”

Fortinet Delivers the Industry’s Most Flexible SD-WAN Solution

Fortinet continues to drive innovation of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN to deliver an organically developed solution that consolidates advanced routing, self-healing SD-WAN capabilities, and intuitive orchestration with the industry’s most flexible security options via integrated next-generation firewall or SASE-based cloud-delivered security. Fortinet’s dedication to SD-WAN innovation has also resulted in the industry’s most extensive and secure SD-WAN solution, able to be deployed across the home, branch, campus and multi-cloud. Fortinet Secure SD-WAN helps customers realize significant benefits, including:

  • Better user experience: Fortinet customers can dynamically learn and overcome WAN impairments at all edges through comprehensive self-healing SD-WAN capabilities, which are powered by purpose-built ASICs for higher performance. AI and ML-powered application learning provides visibility and control to deliver the best application performance possible.
  • Reduced costs and complexity: Fortinet’s Security-driven Networking approach converges networking and security into a unified Secure SD-WAN solution with centralized orchestration, enabling customers to reduce point products and operational complexity and achieve the best possible total cost of ownership (TCO).

Earlier this year, Fortinet was named a 2020 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for WAN Edge Infrastructure. This distinction is based on feedback and ratings from end-user professionals who have experience purchasing, implementing or using Fortinet Secure SD-WAN.

Fortinet was also named the fastest growing SD-WAN vendor by Omdia, which noted 247% year-over-year growth in Fortinet’s SD-WAN revenue from 1Q19 to 1Q20. Fortinet believes this additional accolade showcases Fortinet’s ability to deliver one of the top SD-WAN solutions on the market.

Fortinet Showcases a Clear Vision of the Future of SD-WAN

Customers who choose Fortinet Secure SD-WAN are able to futureproof their investments by extending SD-WAN to address emerging use cases with new cloud-delivered security innovations providing flexible SASE solutions for today’s diverse workforce anytime and anywhere. With the broadest availability for multi-cloud, continued innovations in unified cloud orchestration will enableend-to-end visibility and control anywhere. Fortinet was one of the first vendors to showcase the SD-WAN to SD-Branch expansion and continues to innovate to provide tighter integration, security and analytics between the LAN Edge and WAN Edge.

“Fortinet Secure SD-WAN helped us accelerate cloud services with automated cloud on-ramps. We were also able to consolidate branch services by extending to Fortinet Secure SD-Branch using both their wireless and switching solutions. The entire operation successfully enabled secure direct communication for our 1,600 employees.”

-Ricardo Girardelli, Network Architect, Creditas

“Fortinet Secure SD-WAN is flexible in the deployment models that it supports and reduces cost and complexity for customers. The combination of SD-WAN, security, SD-Branch, reporting, and automation make Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN a compelling full-stack solution for branches and campuses.”

-Robert Short, Vice President-Strategic Services at Liquid Networx