Network management and visualization vendor Splunk, which is set to be acquired by Cisco in a $28 billion deal, will cut about 560 jobs in a global restructuring, the company announced Wednesday in an SEC filing.Splunk president and CEO Gary Steele said in the filing that employees in the Americas set to lose their jobs will be notified throughout today, and that the company plans to offer severance packages to laid-off employees, as well as healthcare coverage and job placement assistance for an undisclosed length of time.To read this article in full, please click here
Increased network complexity, constant security challenges, and talent shortages are driving enterprises to depend more on channel business partners, including managed service providers, system integrators, resellers and other tech providers.Greater use of partners by enterprises is expected to continue over the next few years, experts say. IDC in its research on the future of industry ecosystems found that by the end of 2023, almost 60% of organizations surveyed will have expanded the number of partners they work with outside of their core industry.To read this article in full, please click here
Public cloud migration long ago wrested control over digital infrastructure from network and security teams, but now is the time for those groups to retake the initiative. Cloud operations and DevOps groups will never cede ground, but they will welcome self-service networking and security solutions that provide guardrails that protect them from disaster. Cooperation between traditional infrastructure teams and cloud teams is even more important as enterprises embrace multi-cloud architecture, where complexity and risk are increasing. In fact, my research has found that security risk, collaboration problems, and complexity are the top pain points associated with multi-cloud networking today.To read this article in full, please click here
Versa Networks has bumped up its secure access service edge (SASE) software with a variety of features, including AI to help customers better manage LAN resources at the edge of their networks.The company announced Versa SD-LAN, a software package that the company says will let customers integrate security, switching, routing, network and AI management services on approved white box Ethernet switches and access points.“Versa Secure SD-LAN is built as an extension of Versa’s Unified SASE platform, so it shares the same management console, policy repository, and data lake as our Versa Secure SD-WAN, cloud, and data center products,” according to Kevin Sheu, vice president of product marketing with Versa. To read this article in full, please click here
Driven primarily by cloud and cybersecurity investments, worldwide IT spending is projected to total $5.1 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8% from 2023, according to the latest forecast from Gartner.The software and IT services segments will see double-digit growth in 2024, largely driven by cloud spending, according to Gartner.Global spending on public cloud services is forecast to increase 20.4% in 2024. The source of growth will be a combination of cloud vendors' price increases and increased utilization, just as it was in 2023, wrote John-David Lovelock, a distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner.Cybersecurity spending is also driving growth in the software segment. Roughly 80% of CIOs reported that they plan to increase spending on cyber/information security in 2024, according to Gartner's 2024 CIO and Technology Executive Survey.To read this article in full, please click here
Palo Alto Networks has bolstered its cloud security software with features that help customers quickly spot suspicious behaviors and trace security issues to their source to better protect enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications.The vendor has added a variety of new components, under the moniker Darwin, to its core cloud-security package, Prisma Cloud. The core platform already includes application-security features such as access control, advanced threat protection, user-behavior monitoring, and the ability to code security directly into SaaS applications. Managed through a single console, Prisma Cloud also includes firewall as a service, zero-trust network access (ZTNA), a cloud-access security broker (CASB), and a secure web gateway.To read this article in full, please click here
Juniper Networks has expanded its security portfolio with an architecture design that includes AI-based predictive threat support and a new family of firewalls, all designed to protect distributed data center resources.The central piece of the expanded portfolio is the new Juniper Connected Security Distributed Services Architecture. It’s implemented in a new version of the vendor’s core Junos operating system (version 23.4) and enables a variety of security features from zero trust policy enforcement to intrusion detection and prevention across distributed data center networks.Since Junos runs across Juniper’s entire product family, including QFX Series Switches, MX Series Universal Routers, SRX Series firewalls and more, all of those systems can be included in the Distributed Services Architecture. This enables customers to set up universal protection and policies for networks, data, and applications, and it’s all controlled by the vendor’s Security Director Cloud for setting and managing security policies.To read this article in full, please click here
BackBox this week announced its Network Vulnerability Manager (NVM), a software add-on to its existing Network Automation Platform, that will enable network managers to automate operating system upgrades, network configuration updates, and various remediations across firewalls and other network and security devices.“Common vulnerability management tools focus on endpoints and are designed for security teams rather than network teams,” says Josh Stephens, CTO of BackBox. “BackBox’s vulnerability management capabilities have been specifically engineered for network operations teams in the way that they operate and to accelerate their path toward network automation.”To read this article in full, please click here
AI will play a significant role in enterprise IT in the coming year, and the influence of generative AI will permeate other tech trends on the horizon. Smart robots, a rise in employee unionization, and growing power-availability concerns are among the top predictions for 2024 and beyond from research firm Gartner, which is hosting its annual IT Symposium/Xpo this week.“This is the first full year with generative AI (GenAI) at the heart of every strategic decision, and every other technology-driven innovation has been pushed out of the spotlight,” said Leigh McMullen, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “GenAI has broken the mold and has kept building more excitement.”To read this article in full, please click here
AI will play a significant role in enterprise IT in the coming year, and the influence of generative AI will permeate other tech trends on the horizon. Smart robots, a rise in employee unionization, and growing power-availability concerns are among the top predictions for 2024 and beyond from research firm Gartner, which is hosting its annual IT Symposium/Xpo this week.“This is the first full year with generative AI (GenAI) at the heart of every strategic decision, and every other technology-driven innovation has been pushed out of the spotlight,” said Leigh McMullen, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “GenAI has broken the mold and has kept building more excitement.”To read this article in full, please click here
AI technologies including generative AI and large language models are rapidly developing into business partners rather than just tools for rewriting content or pumping out cool recipes, Gartner analysts told the more than 8,000 IT executives at its IT Symposium/Xpo in Orlando, Florida, this week.“GenAI is not just a technology or just a business trend. Machines are evolving from being our tools to becoming our teammates,” said Mary Mesaglio, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “We are moving from what machines can do for us to what machines can be for us.” To read this article in full, please click here
Cloud computing, hybrid work, and remote connectivity are amplifying the need for networking and security teams to be in lockstep. Increasingly, enterprises are considering consolidating the two groups – or at least boosting collaboration between teams, according to research from Cato Networks.In a recent survey of 1,694 IT leaders worldwide, 44% of respondents said networking and security teams “must work together,” and another 30% said they “must have shared processes.” Another 8% said they’re working to create one networking and security group.The goal of shared processes could be a hefty challenge for some organizations. In the Cato Networks survey, 12% of respondents reported that their networking and security teams either have “turf wars or struggle working together,” and another 34% said they “occasionally have problems working together.” The remaining 54% reported that the two teams work well together now.To read this article in full, please click here
AI and intelligent application-development trends will impact the enterprise the most in 2024, says research firm Gartner, which unveiled its annual look at the top strategic technology trends that organizations need to prepare for in the coming year.“A lot of the trends are around AI development, but also in protecting the investment that organizations have already made. For example, they’ve invested in machine learning, natural language. And there's a ramp up in software engineering right now where people are building more things because they have access to that data and the development tools are getting better,” said Chris Howard, distinguished vice president analyst and chief of research, during his presentation of this year's trends list at Gartner’s flagship IT Symposium/Xpo conference in Orlando, Florida.To read this article in full, please click here
In the rush to deploy generative AI, many organizations are sacrificing security in favor of innovation, IBM warns.Among 200 executives surveyed by IBM, 94% said it’s important to secure generative AI applications and services before deployment. Yet only 24% of respondents’ generative AI projects will include a cybersecurity component within the next six months. In addition, 69% said innovation takes precedence over security for generative AI, according to the IBM Institute for Business Value’s report, The CEO's guide to generative AI: Cybersecurity.To read this article in full, please click here
Fortinet has expanded its campus network portfolio with two new switches that feature integration with Fortinet’s security services and AIops management tool.The FortiSwitch 600 is a multi-gigabit secure campus access switch that supports up to 5GE access and 25GE uplinks. The FortiSwitch 2000 is a campus core switch designed to support larger, more complex campus environments by aggregating high-performance access switches, including the FortiSwitch 600.The new switches are integrated with Fortinet’s FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services and FortiAIOps management tool, which lets customers utilize security and operations features such as malware protection, device profiling and role-based access control.To read this article in full, please click here
IBM is rolling out AI-based managed services that promise to help network and security operations teams more quickly and effectively respond to enterprise cyber threats.Managed by the IBM Consulting group, the Threat Detection and Response (TDR) Services offering promises 24x7 monitoring, investigation, and automated remediation of security alerts from existing security tools as well as cloud, on-premises, and operational technology systems utilizing the enterprise network. The services can integrate information from more than 15 security event and incident management (SIEM) tools and multiple third-party endpoint and network detection and response packages, for example.To read this article in full, please click here
There are baseline security and connectivity requirements for any SD-WAN service, and then there are optional, emerging product capabilities that indicate how the market is maturing and customer requirements are expanding. AI networking support – such as for proactive remediation and incident management – is one of those optional capabilities, according to Gartner, which just released its latest analysis of the SD-WAN vendor landscape.There’s a trend toward AI capabilities that enable networking decisions to be made with little or no human intervention. These capabilities can help enterprises to streamline network design, configuration and ongoing management as well as increase agility and improve performance, according to Gartner. The research firm predicts that by 2026, generative AI technology embedded in SD-WAN offerings will be used for 20% of initial network configuration, up from near zero in 2023.To read this article in full, please click here
As National Cybersecurity Awareness Month kicks off, it's a good time to reflect on how secure the systems you manage are – whether they’re running Linux, Windows or some other OS. While Linux is considered by many to be more secure due to its open-source nature and because privileges are clearly defined, it still warrants security reviews, and this month's focus on cybersecurity awareness suggests that an annual review is more than just a good idea.The designation became official in 2004, when President George W. Bush and Congress declared October to be National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Keep in mind that in 2004, security practice often involved little more than updating antivirus software. Today, cybersecurity practices are much more intense as the threats have grown to be far more significant and far more challenging.To read this article in full, please click here
Kyndryl continues to fill out its stable of network security partners, most recently inking an alliance with Palo Alto Networks for cybersecurity, SD-WAN and secure access service edge (SASE) services.As part of the deal, Kyndryl will integrate Palo Alto's security products and services into its own managed security services, which include security monitoring, incident response, and threat intelligence. Palo Alto brings a wide range of security offerings, including a family of next-generation firewalls, the Prisma Cloud security platform for cloud-based applications and workloads, endpoint security, and operational automation support.To read this article in full, please click here
Security networking startup Tailscale has partnered with Mullvad to make Mullvad’s global network of VPN services available to Tailscale customers looking to maintain user privacy while browsing the internet.Tailscale provides software that creates a peer-to-peer mesh VPN, which allows for customers to create direct connections between devices. Tailscale enables encrypted point-to-point connections using the opensource WireGuard protocol, which means only devices on a private network can communicate with each other. WireGuard is an open-source project that is designed for quick reconnections, which improves reliability. WireGuard is also supported by consumer-grade VPN provider Mullvad.To read this article in full, please click here
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