As this year’s RSA Conference quickly approaches, I can’t help but reflect on the trends influencing how today’s enterprises should approach security. As the cloud continues to grow in importance and BYOD and social trends intensify, security threats are becoming smarter, more targeted and purposeful, resulting in more frequent and severe data breaches that ultimately affect millions. These challenges make a holistic, yet flexible IT security strategy even more important.
Today’s business networks are under constant assault and organizations are struggling to defend their perimeter at all entry points. Many businesses are concentrating on a single security defense tower, but fail to extend their threat perimeter, providing inadequate protection and potentially hindering employee collaboration. As threats have broadened in scope and reach, an enterprise’s approach to security should move from a near-sighted security vision to one connecting the entire IT environment – from the network to users and ultimately endpoints and the cloud. At Dell, we've taken a holistic approach to security and strongly believe it’s time for organizations to refocus technology resources to drive connected security.
Having run global security at other Fortune 100 companies and having established a Cyber-Counterintelligence program for the FBI, I see this as a significant change in perspective for today’s organizations. Instead of narrowly focusing on single inflection points within the enterprise, it means adopting an inside-out and outside-in strategy that focuses on protecting the entire environment. Consider that for a moment. By implementing a comprehensive, end-to-end solution, IT can transform itself from deterrent to enabler in the eyes of the business without compromising access, collaboration, performance and cost. In other words, companies should take a more offensive, proactive approach rather than a defensive, reactive one.
Ultimately, an effective, end-to-end security strategy is one in which organizations deploy solutions that protect inside-out and outside-in. That can only come by partnering with IT to refocus security resources, break down operating silos, and turn information into true, predictive intelligence. The results allow organizations to not only embrace external demands driven by cloud, BYOD and social forces, but leverage these dynamics to create a more sustainable and competitive business.
To help customers build a connected security strategy, Dell has expanded its security solutions with organic innovation and acquired IP from the likes of Quest, SonicWALLand SecureWorks, to name a few. In fact, we’re making several announcements at RSA this year to help customers approach their security strategy.
So, while at RSA, stop by our booths – Dell Quest booth #2053, Dell SonicWALL booth #1348 and Dell SecureWorks booth #1933 – to talk to one of our experts about how we’re delivering connected security to customers today.