It’s a scary world, with the constant risk of random viruses infecting systems and hackers actively attempting to penetrate the corporate perimeter. Add in innumerable employees playing fast and loose with BYOD policies, and it’s no wonder that security is always top of mind.
Large enterprises, such as banks and financial services firms, typically have the resources required to deal with security concerns. For a start, they will probably have a dedicated CISO. But, if you look at other enterprises, from SMEs to the Mid-market, it’s a very different picture. Most won’t have a CISO, which means that the burden of security falls on already hard-pressed IT managers who aren’t usually security experts.
For a long time, the standard approach for such firms was to canvass vendors and look for a point security solution. But, it was easy to get confused about what they actually need and whether what is on offer actually meets their requirements.
Another idea was to implement something piecemeal, and hope it can take care of everything. However, these days there is a third option – the cloud!
Cloud security ecosystem
Forward thinking organisations are recognizing the potential that cloud security vendors – some of them operating out of Equinix IBX data centres – can offer, on their own or in concert with other players.
As a neutral partner, Equinix can offer access to a rich ecosystem of cloud security vendors. They include GTI in Hong Kong, which offers IT Security Consulting, Security Operation Centre and Managed Security Services, and ViewQwest in Singapore, whose partner NSFocus concentrates on Anti-DDoS, Next Generation IPS and Web Application Firewalls.
That concentration of expertise offers companies the flexibility of buying Security-as-a-Service from the vendor or vendors of their choice to meet their organisation’s precise requirements. It’s tailor-made security.
To cloud or not to cloud?
There are other advantages that make cloud an attractive option for security. They start with speed of implementation and ease of maintenance. Setting up is simple and administering updates or adding upgrades is just as easy. In addition to delivering real-time protection, Security-as-a-Service also offers freedom from the age old IT spectre of vendor lock-in.
With Platform Equinix™, customers can expect secure, on-demand, reliable and private high-performance connections to multiple public cloud vendors for their geographically-dispersed users.
Cloud security is also highly inclusive. It doesn’t discriminate between bigger businesses or smaller players. In fact, SMEs and SMBs frequently find that cloud can offer them more bang for their security bucks.
Having all the required network components hosted at an industry-leading Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) – linked via Equinix Performance Hub™ – means that solutions are optimised for performance and efficiency. Or, to put it another way, they provide low latency and high performance.
What’s more, such security offerings aren’t just optimised for today. They are designed to scale for the future, providing a smooth runway for ambitious organisations with plans to grow their operations.
Good for customers, great for the industry
That is great for customers, but, it is even better news for the industry as a whole.
As a networking and cloud magnet, Equinix’s IBX network has created critical-mass for solution providers in the security vertical. And, as this momentum continues, more providers are establishing a footprint in Equinix data centres to leverage the capabilities and the steadily increasing customer density.
In addition, by bringing together a variety of partners – a systems integrator, a network provider and a security solution provider – the technical and economic factors that previously limited security are beginning to disappear. Indeed, the power of cloud-based solutions may offer a way to finally eliminate many of the threats that currently plague the planet.
That could be the real silver lining of cloud security!