FEATURE : STATE OF THE CIO
Israel Barak , CISO , Cybereason
According to Auda , this means being ready to operate in an increasingly app-centric world and cater to a growing population that expects a seamless , digital-first experience .
“ In this light , CIOs should consider moving their organisation to cloud-based systems built on a flexible , secure platform that will enable their organisation to deploy and manage applications and services from any cloud , on any device and anywhere ,” he said .
Israel Barak , Chief Information Security Officer , Cybereason , said from a security perspective , CIOs need to ensure that their security programme infrastructure in place is extensive , agile and thoughtful enough to enable growth and acceleration in a remote workforce reality .
Barak said specifically , areas of special attention should include , identity and access management , endpoint and mobile management , security operations and incident response and certainly security awareness and adequate preparation of staff and executive leadership .
“ After about six months of going through the COVID-19 pandemic , many businesses are still prioritising maintaining a certain level of service . CIOs need to plan on transitioning from maintaining a steady level of service to a state of growth and innovation and embracing this new norm ,” he said .
Mohamed Abdallah , Regional Director , Middle East , Turkey and Africa , SonicWall , said CIOs should look at preparing IT systems to safely and securely handle a vast increase in remote workers and fulfil customer demand through digital platforms . Abdallah explained that with the risk surface hugely extended , organisations should look at prioritising cybersecurity technologies such as endpoint security due to the growth of devices being used and cloud application as a result of the rise of cloud apps in recent months and , of course , VPN security .
“ In April 2020 , SonicWall introduced the new Boundless Cybersecurity model , designed to help organisations navigate a hyper-distributed IT reality where everyone is remote , everyone is mobile and everyone is less secure ”.
Looking to the year ahead , Dell Technologies ’ Amin pointed out that the company has prioritised strengthening its partnerships across industries .
“ Gartner predicted that in 2020 , 100 % of roles in IT will require an intermediate level of proficiency in business acumen to effectively execute on the digital business strategy . A CIO nowadays needs to deliver business results , create platforms to derive value from data , ensure security and manage risk holistically . CIOs need to focus on organisational results , not IT projects . And their IT teams are an intrinsic part of ensuring organisational results ,” he said . • www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
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