A FortiGuard Labs Threat Landscape Report demonstrated an increase in the volume and sophistication of attacks targeting individuals, organizations, and increasingly critical infrastructure. Organizations are looking for solutions to protect against these evolving threats and zero trust is top of mind, but for multiple reasons.  Additionally, the shift to work-from-anywhere has put a spotlight on zero-trust network access (ZTNA) in particular, as organizations need to protect important assets from workers connecting from poorly protected home networks.

John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet articulates, “with the evolving threat landscape, transition to work-from-anywhere, and the need to securely manage applications in the cloud, the shift from implicit trust to zero trust is top of mind for organizations. Our survey shows while most organizations have some form of a zero-trust strategy in place, they fall short of a holistic strategy and struggle to implement some core zero-trust security basics. An effective solution requires a cybersecurity mesh platform approach to address all zero-trust fundamentals across the infrastructure, including endpoint, cloud, and on-premises, otherwise, the result is a partial, non-integrated solution that lacks broad visibility.”

John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet

Confusion Over Defining Zero-Trust Strategies

The report illustrates some confusion about what comprises a complete zero-trust strategy. Respondents indicated they understand zero trust (77%) and ZTNA (75%) concepts and over 80% reported already having a zero-trust and/or ZTNA strategy in place or development. Yet, over 50% indicated being unable to implement core zero-trust capabilities. Nearly 60% indicated they cannot authenticate users and devices on an ongoing basis and 54% struggle to monitor users post-authentication.

This gap is concerning because these functions are critical tenets of zero-trust and it brings into question what the actual reality of these implementations is across organizations. Adding to the confusion are the terms “Zero Trust Access” and “Zero Trust Network Access,” which are used sometimes interchangeably.

Zero Trust Is Top of Mind and Priorities Are Varied

Priorities for zero trust are “minimizing the impact of breaches and intrusions” followed closely by “securing remote access” and “ensuring business or mission continuity.” “Improving user experiences” and “gaining the flexibility to provide security anywhere” were also top priorities.

“Security across the entire digital attack surface” was the single most important benefit cited by respondents, followed by a “better user experience for remote work (VPN).”

A vast majority of the survey respondents believe that it is vital for zero-trust security solutions to be integrated with their existing infrastructure, work across cloud and on-premises environments, and be secure at the application layer. However, more than 80% of respondents indicated that it is challenging to implement a zero-trust strategy across an extended network. For organizations without a strategy in place or development, obstacles included a lack of skilled resources with 35% of organizations using other IT strategies to address zero trust.

About the Zero-Trust Report:

The report is based on a global survey of IT decision-makers aimed at better understanding how far along organizations are in their zero-trust journey. The survey is intended to better understand the following:

• How well zero trust and ZTNA are understood
• The perceived benefits and challenges in implementing a zero-trust strategy
• Adoption of and the elements included in a zero-trust strategy

The survey was conducted in September 2021 with 472 IT and security leaders from 24 different countries, representing nearly all industries, including the public sector.

Additional Resources

• Read the blog for valuable takeaways from this survey or access the full report
• Learn about how to better secure access for remote users to applications anywhere with Fortinet Zero Trust Network Access
• Learn more about how the Zero Trust Education Pathway including certifications from the Fortinet NSE Institute can help you navigate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to grow your career in Zero Trust Access
• Watch how Fortinet makes possible a digital world you can always trust, and view how the Fortinet Security Fabric platform delivers broad, integrated, and automated protection across an organization’s entire digital infrastructure
• Read more about how Fortinet customers are securing their organizations
• Engage in the Fortinet User Community (Fuse). Share ideas and feedback, learn more about our products and technology and connect with peers
• Follow Fortinet on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Subscribe to Fortinet on YouTube

What solutions does Veeam present to its enterprise customers in the region? Tell us also about your experience at GITEX.

Veeam offers modern data protection solutions to customers across the enterprise portfolio. Another one is cloud solutions include Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) with very reliable and simple recovery standards.

At GITEX, we held a live demonstration of these latest innovations. Besides, we showcased the ransomware protection solutions we offer as it is one of the hot topics in the post-pandemic era. We offer robust and solid solutions for ransomware protection to help our customers from data loss and financial risks. Our demonstrations also included: the hybrid cloud acceleration to help our customers protect their workloads when moving to the cloud, which is critical as cloud adoption is rapidly growing in the region. Moreover, on our stand, we demonstrated Kasten (acquired by Veeam back in 2020) which is a data protection solution that is purpose-built for Kubernetes environments.

Kinda Baydoun, Manager of Channels & Distribution – ME at Veeam

Elaborate about the data management solutions Veeam offers

At Veeam, we ease customer challenges by offering seamless and comprehensive data management and mobility solutions, across the public and private cloud with 100 percent data portability. Wherever this data is kept, we ensure it is protected even while it moves from one environment to another.

We presented VMware Orchestrator, with which our customers can automate disaster recovery planning as well as help them meet the objectives of DRI for business continuity and compliance. Similarly, we had recently acquired Kasten, which facilitates easy-to-use data backup and recovery.

Excellent, thank you for giving us comprehensive input on your solutions. What is your regional strategy and which are the industries you focus on?

We wish to focus on all industry verticals and our solutions are also made to fit most industries. We are getting requests from all verticals as data is becoming very precious and needs to be protected. It is important for all businesses including telecom, banks, oil and gas, hospitality, etc.

We have a very solid SMB customer base and they raise high demands for stable and solid solutions.

Being the Manager of Channel and Distribution in the Middle East, what are your priorities?

I have been in this role for the past six months and my priority is to evaluate our current channel ecosystem and segment this into four categories, which takes into account the size of the channel partner from a VEEAM revenue perspective vs. their level of commitment. The channel ecosystem consists of our partners, distributors, and service providers who provide growth and reach for Veeam products. As I come from a channel background, I have deep knowledge about the market. So, my focus also is to onboard some new names in the market, especially in the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) space.

Tell us how did the COVID-19 Pandemic impact Veeam’s business?

The pandemic had created an unpleasant situation for all of us. At Veeam, we had orchestrated a shift in our approach from centralization to decentralization because most of our customers mandated their employees to work from home or work remotely. We had quickly responded to our customers’ needs. Thus, it didn’t take a toll on our business operations.