Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 44 | Page 9

NEWS Mobily encourages development of 5G and IoT App technology ITC launches managed security services around the clock I TC (Integrated Telecommunications Company), a leading telecommunications and IT company, has announced that it has expanded its information security services by launching a new set of Managed Security Services (MSS). This will help organisations monitor and detect threats, deal with incidents and manage cybersecurity risks. MSS provides proactive security monitoring for network devices, endpoints, cloud- based environments and SAAS software. By leveraging the company’s extensive knowledge in the field of communications and IT, ITC will provide this service to address the unique concerns and lack of security resources in the Saudi market, as well as providing real-time threat visibility. The company is taking this step at a time when the management of all information security technologies is a daunting task for many, making it very difficult to monitor all threats and mitigate their effects. E tihad Etisalat, under its brand name ‘Mobily’, has announced the winning projects of the Collegiate Competition for 5G and IoT applications, held in Riyadh. The competition was in collaboration with Ericsson and Intel, and aimed at creating an interactive programme for university students in order to maximise the use of IoT technologies, both locally and globally. Prince Sattam University in Alkharj won first place with the ‘Save Now’ project; Shaqra University came in second with its ‘Intelligent Irrigation System’ project; while King Abdulaziz University ranked third with the ‘Blind Guide’ project. Salman Al-Badran, CEO of Mobily, congratulated the winning universities www.intelligentcio.com and praised their submissions as creative and technologically sophisticated ideas, as they represented the development of technology for the good of the country and society. He also expressed his thanks and appreciation to Saudi universities and their role in supporting such competitions and valued the high engagement rate shown by students towards technological progress. The competition stems from Mobily’s and Ericsson’s keenness to develop and adapt the latest technologies as well as witness the high engagement from students who saw it as an opportunity to realise their aspirations, enrich their creative ideas and stay abreast of developments in the digital and technical transformation of the Kingdom. “Many Saudi companies have expressed frustration at the lack of adequate monitoring of threats and insufficient attention from their managed service provider,” said Ahmed Hassan, Head of Corporate Communications at Etisalat. “They do not have experience or know how to adapt their support to the Saudi market. Many companies still suffer from risk management because they cannot improve all security tools or simply do not have the resources to monitor their output. Expanding our services with information security services, incident management, threat intelligence, WAF, security management, vulnerability testing and IT security management will significantly increase our ability to help our customers meet this challenge by providing real-time, week-long and 360-degree protection.” INTELLIGENTCIO 9