Fortinet, a name recognised in the integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions was recently named a Leader in the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls. This was the thirteenth time that the company has been recognized in this Magic Quadrant. Fortinet placed highest in Ability to Execute and is recognized for its Completeness of Vision in the Magic Quadrant. Below are the excerpts of a quick chit chat of Shane Grennan, Regional Director – Channel Sales, GSI & Alliances, Sales Specialists, Middle East – Fortinet with Channel360MEA about the past and plans for 2023.
Pandemic and Business
The last couple of years have witnessed a seemingly endless series of major events which challenged the world, from the pandemic to war, to inflation and financial crises compounded by energy shortages, all on top of continuous climate-change disasters with cybercriminals becoming more sophisticated and developing more destructive attack techniques to exploit these events. It’s no secret that hackers will continue to rely on certain tried-and-true attack tactics, particularly those that are easy to execute and help them achieve a quick payday. It is an understatement to say that all organizations will need to be extremely resilient, nimble, and flexible.
Industry & Challenges in 2023
Due to the increase in cyber-attacks and the evolving threat landscape across industries, the demand for cybersecurity solutions has also escalated. In fact, the Middle East Cybersecurity market is projected to grow from USD 20.3 billion in 2022 to USD 44.7 billion by 2027.
The most important step organization should take to improve their security posture is to adopt a broad, integrated, automated cybersecurity mesh platform. Cybersecurity defenses have traditionally been deployed one solution at a time, usually in response to an emerging challenge. But a collection of point solutions simply doesn’t work in today’s growing threat landscape. Consolidation and integration into a single cybersecurity platform is essential, especially considering the increasing pervasiveness of all types of threats today, regardless of an organization’s industry or size.
Govt. Policies in UAE
The Middle Eastern governments have launched several programmes, such as Dubai Internet City (DIC) and the KSA Vision 2030, both with the aim of creating completely digitally linked societies, from smart cities to smart buildings. The government of the UAE gives technical innovation top priority. Since it is a significant hub for Middle Eastern trade and business, the UAE is a competitive market for the technology industry.
The UAE has established itself as a major global hub for the use of technologies like Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, 5G, and IoT solutions to improve public infrastructure, particularly in Dubai, which intends to become a leading smart city. The Middle East’s IT industry is expanding significantly and many nations are consistently raising their spending on technology.
