Article By: Mena Migally, Senior Director, MENA at Riverbed

While 2020 marks the start of a new decade, many of the technology trends that have dominated conversations through 2019 —big data, cyber hunting, IoT, 5G, and user experience — will continue to shape IT roadmaps as companies begin to take action and look for the impact of their strategic investments. 

At Riverbed Technology, we believe the dawn of the new year presents the ideal opportunity to take stock of the advancements made in the year gone by and explore how these will continue to evolve in 2020. 

Digital Transformation Will Radically Shape Business Strategies and Outcomes

While talk of digital transformation has been ongoing for several years now, organizations’ transformation efforts have seen mixed results. Even enterprises that started down the road in 2018 and 2019 have realized that an organization and its infrastructure cannot be completely transformed overnight and that it will instead be an ongoing exercise. The reality is that many organizations were not equipped for a true digital transformation or to embrace SD-WAN. This is set to change as we head into 2020. The digital transformation march will continue to move forward, along with the adoption of SD-WAN.

There’s an inherent risk for those businesses that buck the trend. The Amazonification of consumer expectations has reshaped enterprise go-to-market strategies in a huge way by going beyond just situating a solution in the cloud. The winners here will be those who can deliver the desired experiences and outcomes at the speed customers demand. Today, enterprise customers expect the incredible speed and convenience that’s traditionally been demanded by consumers. They have been shaped, as we all have, by getting what we’ve asked for at a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it level of service. Not everyone will be able to keep up so expect to see some players merge with others – or simply fall by the wayside.

IoT and 5G Will Push Applications to the Edge

There no doubt that 2019 was the year of cloud in the Middle East. The market’s momentum is only set to increase and we can expect distributed cloud to become the new data center that truly empowers the edge. As more organizations start incorporating IoT technologies, their applications will need to run at the edge to ensure high performance and faster response. With IoT heading to the forefront – and soon to be enabled by the proliferation of 5G networks – organizations in 2020 are starting to think about how to address the new visibility challenges that will stem from the need of edge applications to communicate back to a centralized point. 

Also, the security of that network traffic is going to be paramount. There is no getting away from security being at the top of the agenda for organizations’ investments in 2020. It’s going to be imperative for organizations to be able to track which devices are communicating with other devices and determine whether they’re part of a distributed cloud or still being sent back to a consolidated location. 

Threat Hunting Will Become a Mandatory Security Exercise

Sticking with the theme of cybersecurity, we will see an increase in the number of “advanced persistent threats,” sophisticated, systematic cyber-attack programs that continue for an extended period of time, often orchestrated by a group of skilled hackers. These are the hacks that do the most damage to organizations and if a company doesn’t have proactive threat detection measures in place, it could be unaware of the attack until after the damage is done.  

As networks for organizations have grown, they have become like the Roman empire – big, sprawling and hard to defend. Throwing up a “wall,” or firewall, to defend against attacks is less likely to be effective when the advanced persistent threats have multiple ways to attack the cracks in those walls. 

The best way to combat advanced persistent threats is to engage in “cyber hunting,” the process of proactively and iteratively searching networks to detect and isolate advanced threats that evade existing security solutions. As hackers become smarter and find new evasive ways to infiltrate a network, organizations in 2020 will begin adopting the proactive cyber hunting approach to complement traditional reactive threat management approaches of installing firewalls, intrusion detection systems and SIEM systems. 

The Days of Data Hoarding are Over 

The proliferation of the cloud and its immense data storage capabilities are double-edged swords for organizations that have been “data hoarding.” As we move into 2020, many organizations will realize that while big data has tremendous value, some of that data may be a liability.  The potential risk of a breach involving sensitive client data is too substantial to a company’s bottom line, especially with the emergence of more consumer data protection laws, such as CCPA, coming down the line in 2020. To combat this, organizations will start reviewing collected data to determine what clearly enhances the business’s performance and delete the rest, as the risk is too high to continue to store customer data without a foreseeable purpose. 

Why These Matter2020 will see many game changing technologies reach maturity and no doubt, emerging technologies such as AI will take root as they begin to deliver tangible value for businesses. As the technologies we know and love continue to evolve, they will open up the possibility of new 

Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, today announced continued momentum and global customer adoption of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN by over 21,000 organizations across different industries and verticals. Fortinet’s security-driven networking approach to SD-WAN seamlessly integrates enterprise-grade SD-WAN, advanced security, and advanced routing in a unified offering to modernize customers’ WAN edge and help achieve their digital innovation goals with FortiManager Orchestration that can scale to support up to 100,000 SD-WAN sites.

Cybersecurity has become a top-of-mind strategic business issue for enterprise organizations deploying SD-WAN solutions. As a result, organizations worldwide are turning toward solutions that tightly integrate next-generation firewall security and SD-WAN functionality. The latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls states, “By 2024, 50% of new firewall purchases in distributed enterprises will utilize SD-WAN features with the growing adoption of cloud-based services, up from less than 20% today.”1

“Our rapidly growing market share and customer base around the world and across different verticals highlights the need for Fortinet’s security-driven networking approach to SD-WAN” said John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet. “Customers continue to recognize the importance of integrated security and SD-WAN as they select Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN solution to reduce complexity and enhance their organization’s security posture. As a leading SD-WAN vendor, Fortinet empowers organizations to achieve optimal user experience, visibility, and security at their WAN edge to enable digital innovation.”

Fortinet delivers full-featured SD-WAN via the FortiGate next-generation firewall, and today Fortinet Secure SD-WAN has emerged as one of the top solutions on the market to support enterprises in their pursuit of reducing WAN complexity and cost while enhancing application experience and security. To support large enterprises, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN is able to scale to up to 100,000 SD-WAN sites thanks to Fortinet’s 20-year investment in building single-pane-of-glass management, which can now support the most demanding use cases for both security and SD-WAN.

Fortinet received the highest score for the “Security-Sensitive WAN” use case and scored in the top third for all remaining WAN Edge use cases in the November 2019 Gartner analyst research report, “Critical Capabilities for WAN Edge Infrastructure.” “Gartner recommends that users consider the set of critical capabilities as some of the most important criteria for WAN Edge solution acquisition decisions.” Fortinet believes these results further highlight its focus on Secure SD-WAN innovation.

Customer Validation of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN

Today, over 21,000 companies of all sizes and verticals worldwide, including some of the largest service providers, have chosen Fortinet Secure SD-WAN to achieve the following business benefits:

• Enable a Cloud-ready Branch: On-ramping branch offices and other remote locations to the cloud through Fortinet Secure SD-WAN enhances customers’ application experience and extends the cloud’s power, flexibility, and productivity gains to all users.

• Simplify Operations: By delivering advanced routing, SD-WAN and advance security in a single offering, Fortinet simplifies operations and allows for unified management. Zero-touch provisioning further reduces complexity and allows customers to deploy a new branch in minutes instead of weeks.

• Reduce Costs: Customers are able to consolidate point products into one enterprise-grade solution to significantly reduce capital costs. Augmenting MPLS with broadband reduces operational costs while a full stack of integrated security functions—including NGFW, IPS, anti-virus and anti-malware, web filtering, SSL inspection (including TLS 1.3), and sandboxing—ensures security without compromise and limits the potential costs related to a security breach.

Here’s what a number of Fortinet’s over 21,000 customers from around the world and within various industries have to say about Fortinet Secure SD-WAN:

“The ability to on-ramp our branch offices to the cloud through Fortinet Secure SD-WAN enables us to extend last mile optimization to all users. Fortinet Secure SD-WAN helped us improve user experience and effectively connect to our multi-cloud environment.”

-Dirk van Gelderen, Group Information Security Officer at De Heus Animal Nutrition

“SENATI is the largest technological higher education college in Peru and it’s important that our students are able to access the applications and resources needed to support their educational goals from any location. We chose Fortinet Secure SD-WAN because it not only enables our students to quickly access the resources they need, but also keeps them safe online. Fortinet Secure SD-WAN allows us to optimize and improve visibility of bandwidth usage with integrated software and hardware, helping us reduce costs. Working with Fortinet’s team made integration and migration easy and simple, and they have provided us with a solution that will safely grow with our institution throughout time with their security-first approach.”

-Willy Zamudio Núñez, Information Technology Manager at SENATI

“Fortinet Secure SD-WAN has provided The Paper Store with a secure, high-performing, scalable solution that allowed us to significantly improve our security posture and user experience for cloud and SaaS applications. The Paper Store currently has over 80 stores and 3,000 employees throughout the Northeast, and as we continue to expand, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN will help save time and money by enabling us to deploy new branch locations in minutes instead of months. Fortinet’s solution gives us the flexibility to integrate new services into our network without compromising performance or security.”

-Alex Fuchs, Director of IT at The Paper Store

180 Gbps Thunder Convergent Firewall (CFW) Container Helps Service Providers Transition to Cloud-native Environments and Meet 5G Network Demands

A10 Networks(NYSE: ATEN) today announced it is extending the capabilities of the Thunder® Convergent Firewall (CFW), part of the A10 Orion 5G Security Suite, to support the coming cloud-native 5G requirements. The new container-based carrier-class firewall delivers up to 180 Gbps throughput, one of the fastest in the industry. A10 is also releasing a new version of its Advanced Core Operating System® (ACOS) 5.1, which includes multiple 5G-ready updates. Thunder CFW running ACOS 5.1 brings all of the functionality, performance and scale of the existing physical and virtual appliances to the container firewall, helping to prepare service provider customers in their transition to cloud-native 5G infrastructures.

The Thunder containerized firewall was recently demonstratedas part of the Linux Foundation’s end-to-end cloud-native 5G network proof of concept at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon. This first of its kind proof-of-concept (PoC) was a fully containerized, end-to-end 5G non-stand-alone (NSA) distributed cloud network, which paves the way for commercial deployments in mobile operator networks globally. 

The Thunder CFW includes functionality that helps ensure the security, reliability and availability of 5G networks as they transition from physical network functions to be completely cloud native. It can be broadly deployed in mobile networks at the SGi, roaming and radio access network (RAN) interfaces. The A10 Thunder software has been integrated and validated with leading NFV-MANO solutions, including Ericsson Cloud Manager, NEC Netcracker HOM, Red Hat OpenStack, and tested in recent ETSI NFV Plugtests for end-to-end VNF lifecycle operation capabilities. New and enhanced capabilities include: 

• Security gateway (IPsec) to secure the RAN-core backhaul and authenticated RAN nodes
• GTP firewall enhancements that comply with recent GSMA guidelines for roaming security
• DNS over HTTPS
• DNS application firewall
• GTP Director, providing intelligent traffic steering for efficient balancing of the traffic load within core network 
• Carrier-class firewall enhancements, including URL/SNI/domain-name filtering
• One-DDoS distributed detection to protect against large-scale DDoS threats
• MEC ready to deploy in a mobile edge compute environment that requires high-density, low-footprint network function virtualization and ties into orchestration systems
• Unique scale-out architecture to provide a 3 Tbps in a virtual chassis or 1.5 Tbps in the cloud-native solution
• A10 Harmony® Controller for centralized management and visibility for consistent operations and security across environments

“The Thunder CFW release is an integral foundational element to our comprehensive A10 Orion 5G Security Suite. With the ACOS 5.1 release, A10 has integrated comprehensive feedback from multiple proven deployments in tier-one mobile operators over the last year. These production networks have required hyperscale, lower latency, automation, and advanced security. As 5G adoption increasingly requires multi-terabit performance on the Gi-LAN, we continue to provide industry-leading scale in virtual network functions (VNFs), cloud-native network functions (CNFs) and physical network functions (PNFs), including scale-out agile deployments with containerized solutions for virtual mobile edge compute requirements,” said Yasir Liaqatullah, vice president, product management at A10 Networks. 

In addition to the release of the high-performance containerized firewall CNF, A10 Networks also released new PNFs with its 7600 series models, delivering up to 385 Gbps throughput in a compact RU physical appliance. 

Customer centricity and partnerships to form the cornerstone of the EMEA global accounts team following appointment of senior director in the region

Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in enterprise cloud computing, today announced the appointment of Thomas Rollin as Director Global Accounts for its EMEA region. He will focus on heightening customer service delivery for the company’s global accounts, accelerating sales growth and providing trusted advisor services. 

“I am very excited to join Nutanix and look forward to working with such an experienced team to propose a new generation of solutions for the hybrid world,” says Rollin. “After 16 years at NetApp, I am looking forward to building a best in class EMEA organisation, focused on customer experience. One that delivers a white glove experience to customers as we help them on their journey to the cloud.”

In his time at NetApp, Rollin was tasked with driving sales, delivering exemplary customer experiences and growing the company’s C-Level engagements and relationships by establishing himself as a trusted advisor to their businesses. 

At Nutanix, Rollin will work with its global customers to identify the right fit solutions for these accounts. This will include delivering solutions and services that can scale across geographies, meet different compliance needs, and unlock hybrid and multi-cloud opportunities. 

“Nutanix best serves the needs of its large international customers through partnerships and relationships. Through regular feedback and insights, our global account teams continually orchestrate customer development and growth,” says Sammy Zoghlami, Senior Vice President of Sales EMEA at Nutanix. “With his focus on customer centricity and his hands-on approach, Thomas will help to provide customers with a better understanding of how the Nutanix offerings can facilitate innovation in technology, skills, processes, and support to the business.”

From 2020 onwards, AESG’s newly launched design tool will be applied free of cost to all of the company’s design projects 

As signatories to the World Green Building Council’s ‘Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment’ and to further the net zero agenda under this commitment, AESG, a world leading Specialist Consulting, Engineering and Advisory firm, today unveiled its new ‘Pathway to Net Zero’ tool. Designed to determine and evaluate the options available for reducing both the embodied and operational Carbon footprint of buildings, this tool conveniently provides AESG’s clients with an optional pathway to achieving net zero carbon buildings.

With buildings contributing upwards of 40% of global CO₂emissions, the widescale adoption of net zero principles by the sector has the potential to reduce worldwide emission by up to 43% within the next decade^[1]. However, perceived costs, extreme climatic conditions and a general lack of expertise in design and implementation are currently key factors incumbering net zero projects in the Middle East. By applying its new Pathway to Net Zero tool free of charge to all its design projects from 2020 onwards, AESG hopes to address most misconceptions around the concept and thereby incentivize its clients. 

“Much of the resistance to change can be eliminated by providing developers with a clear picture of their journey to net zero, the short-term investments it will entail, and the many long-term operational and commercial benefits they’re likely to enjoy. As industry leaders within sustainable development, and a signatory to the WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, AESG acknowledges its responsibility to facilitating a more sustainable future. We hope that by providing a convenient and well-defined pathway to net zero on all our projects, we will be able to stimulate the transition to decarbonising the construction sector,” said Phillipa Grant – Head of Energy & Sustainable Development at AESG.

AESG has meticulously followed key industry standards in the development of its tool. These include EN standards for the embodied carbon assessment, as well as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) standards for the operational carbon assessment. The tool assesses buildings based on a myriad of factors such as the typology and planned usage, and location and size, along with any additional project requirements specified during the briefing stage. 

AESG has successfully provided construction support for the Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020, which will be a net zero building, and enabled Multiplex, a premier global construction company, to achieve nearly zero energy consumption at its construction site offices. Based on this proven track record, AESG is confident of its Pathway to Net Zero tool’s applicability to all design projects that it provides services for.

^[1]https://www.worldgbc.org/advancing-net-zero

SnapRoute’s cloud-native network OS together with Infoblox’s cloud-native network services platform promise to deliver a next level network experience

Infoblox Inc., the leader in Secure Cloud-Managed Network Services, announced the acquisition of SnapRoute, the creator of the industry’s first Cloud-Native Network Operating System (CN-NOS). SnapRoute’s talent and technology add significant depth to Infoblox’s suite of offerings and will help the company to radically simplify networking and deliver groundbreaking services more quickly and efficiently.

As business environments continue to evolve as part of digitalization efforts, they become more decentralized, and operate across multiple platforms and devices in a hybrid cloud architecture, technology and service providers will need a new platform/architecture to deliver and manage network and security services at scale. Infoblox’s BloxOne^TM platform is built around cloud-native architectural principles, enabling the delivery of cloud-managed secure network services at scale. With SnapRoute’s cloud-native OS, Infoblox will now be able to accelerate the development and delivery of additional network services on its platform.

This July, Gartner released a report predicting that the WAN edge and network security markets will converge into a new market, built on the secure access service edge (SASE) model. The report also asserts that the ideal platform for SASE will be built around a cloud-native architecture and will support the delivery of edge services via a SaaS based deployment model.

With its BloxOne^TM Threat Defense solution and recently released BloxOne^TM DDI solution, Infoblox has already delivered DDI and security centric services built on the SASE architecture. SnapRoute’s technology, IP and exceptional talent will accelerate Infoblox’s ability to expand the suite of SASE services offered on this cloud-native architecture.

“We recognize that the future is in the cloud, and to meet customer demands for flexibility, scalability, adaptability, enhanced security and speed, it will become increasingly important for network and security services to be cloud-native,” said Jesper Andersen, President and CEO of Infoblox. “We are thrilled to welcome the SnapRoute team as we work together to leverage their innovative technology and IP to rapidly expand the services we offer on our BloxOne platform.”

“Building from a cloud-native foundation is essential to providing the scalable and flexible services that businesses demand today,” said Dom Wilde, CEO of SnapRoute. “Infoblox is the only company that has invested in building a truly cloud-native platform for networking and security services complementary to what we built at SnapRoute, and we couldn’t be more pleased to join the Infoblox team to help expand their services and capabilities.”