Enterprise Strategy Group - Experts & Thought Leaders

A new study from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), commissioned by cybersecurity pioneer AlgoSec, has revealed that most organisations are struggling to secure applications across fragmented, hybrid cloud environments.  As more applications are spread between on-premises data centres and multiple cloud providers, traditional approaches to network security are proving ineffective. The report, “The Case for Convergence in Hybrid Multi-cloud, Application-centric Networks,” shows that 89% of organisations are using different tools and policies to secure various parts of their infrastructure, making it harder to maintain consistency and control. Key findings Key findings from the research include: Hybrid is the new normal: 85% of organisations use two or more cloud service providers, but 43% of applications are still on-premises. Most expect that mix to stay for the foreseeable future. Security tools are siloed: Nearly 80% use firewalls from cloud providers, while others rely on third-party tools or micro segmentation solutions, leading to inconsistent policies and limited visibility. Attacks are happening: 43% of organisations experienced a public cloud attack in the past two years. Common issues include malware moving across systems (44%), misconfigurations (32%), and open ports (26%). Collaboration is still lacking: Even as some teams merge responsibilities for on-prem and cloud security, 55% say they still need to improve coordination between security, cloud, networking, and application teams.  Real business impact: Beyond risk reduction, companies see strong operational gains. The top expected benefits of better network security include greater efficiency (63%), lower costs (48%), and faster cloud migrations (46%). 

Cisco announced innovations to help enterprises reimagine security for the AI era. Security teams are racing to securely adopt AI throughout their enterprises, while threat actors are using AI to increase the frequency and reduce the cost of launching sophisticated cyber attacks. To overcome this unprecedented challenge, Cisco is fusing security capabilities deeper into its networking infrastructure, helping companies implement zero trust architectures, innovating on security for AI apps and models, and delivering breakthrough AI tools that improve threat detection and remediation.   Cisco Splunk integrations Cisco announced further Splunk integrations that unify data across platforms, helping security teams Key advancements announced at Cisco Live include solutions for Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Universal Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) that simplify policy management, enhance visibility, and enable enterprises to scale securely without adding complexity to their security stack. In addition, Cisco announced further Splunk integrations that unify data across platforms, helping security teams automate tasks and respond faster to threats.  Cisco AI apps and models “Safety and security are the defining challenges of the AI era—and agentic AI multiplies the risk, as every new agent is both a force multiplier and a fresh attack surface,” said Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer, Cisco. “At the same time, threat actors are already leveraging AI tools to launch more sophisticated attacks than ever. To help IT and security teams fight back, Cisco is reimagining how we secure networks, protect AI apps and models, manage identity, and equip security teams with the AI tools they need to meet the moment.”   Reimagining zero trust: Fusing AI-powered security  Cisco is addressing these challenges with innovative solutions for AI-ready data centres Robust network security has never been more critical, as enterprises navigate increasingly complex environments characterised by a growing number of applications, a highly-distributed and mobile workforce, and sophisticated AI-driven threats. Adopting a zero-trust security approach – including continuously verifying users, applications, and soon AI agents – is critical to preventing the lateral movement of threats across hybrid environments. Cisco is addressing these challenges with innovative solutions for AI-ready data centres and campus networks, centred on the Cisco Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Universal ZTNA.  Zero-trust security framework Cisco Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Universal ZTNA work together to deliver a robust zero-trust security framework that seamlessly integrates into the network. For zero-trust segmentation, AI application protection and advanced threat shield across diverse environments For zero-trust segmentation, AI application protection and advanced threat protection across diverse environments, including data centres and IoT, Cisco Hybrid Mesh Firewall offers a distributed security fabric.  This fabric includes Cisco and third-party firewalls, Cisco Hypershield and Cisco Secure Workload. For secure, identity-driven access for users and devices, regardless of location, Universal ZTNA unifies policy management and extends zero trust principles even to unmanaged devices and IoT. Cisco’s Security Cloud Control   Together, these solutions secure user-to-application connections and back-end interactions, simplify management through Cisco’s Security Cloud Control, and enhance observability with AI-driven insights, empowering organisations to scale securely and protect their digital assets in a complex threat landscape.  Cisco’s Hybrid Mesh Firewall is adding hardware as well as new enforcement points and policy management capabilities in Security Cloud Control with its latest innovations:  Cisco Secure Firewall 6100 Series: Addresses complexity, cost, and scalability challenges in AI-ready data centres with the highest performance density for data centre firewalling — 200 Gbps per rack unit — and modular scalability.   Cisco Secure Firewall 200 Series: Delivers advanced on-box threat inspection and integrated software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) for distributed branches, at up to 3x price-performance compared to competition.   Expanded Enforcement Points: Cisco Security Cloud Control will extend unified policy management to next generation firewall (NGFW) on Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (including on the new Cisco 8000 Secure Router Series), Cisco Hypershield-ready C9000 Smart Switches, and Cisco’s Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) data centre fabrics.  Multi-Vendor Segmentation Policy: Cisco Security Cloud Control introduces Mesh Policy Engine, enabling teams to define a single intent-based policy that is enforced across Cisco and third-party firewalls. Not only does this simplify day-to-day operations, it also enables organisations to change enforcement points without re-writing policy.  Cisco’s Universal ZTNA Cisco’s Universal ZTNA will also bring customers new innovations that simplify secure connectivity and enhance visibility across hybrid environments and AI agents.  Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Simplified: All Cisco SD-WAN offerings, including Meraki, now integrate with Cisco Secure Access. This enables customers to choose the optimal branch connectivity while still enjoying a unified security service edge (SSE) policy and consistent enforcement.   Frictionless Phishing Resistance: With the launch of Duo Identity and Access Management (IAM), Duo now acts as an identity broker. With a new complete passwordless option and unique proximity verification capability, Duo layers end-to-end phishing resistance—without clunky hardware tokens—on top of existing identity infrastructure.  Enabling agentic AI securely The emergence of agentic AI is revolutionising workplaces while introducing critical security and safety challenges. These AI agents autonomously access enterprise resources, make decisions, and act on behalf of users, necessitating robust safeguards. To tackle these pressing issues, Cisco is advancing its Universal Zero Trust architecture to:  Secure agentic identities  Enable seamless zero-trust access to enterprise resources  Provide comprehensive tracking of agent actions  Cisco Security investments Cisco's vision integrates cutting-edge capabilities, including automated agent discovery Cisco's vision integrates cutting-edge capabilities, including automated agent discovery, delegated authorisation, secure zero trust agentic access, and native support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP).  This approach is powered by Cisco Duo IAM, Cisco Identity Intelligence, Cisco Secure Access, and Cisco AI Defense, unified under a single policy framework in Security Cloud Control. By leveraging these innovations, enterprises can confidently adopt agentic AI, ensuring unparalleled safety and security while maximising their Cisco Security investments. Transformative approach to security "The AI era demands a transformative approach to security. Organisations need distributed, identity-based, zero trust protection for applications, users, AI models and agents, supported by a unified policy framework," said John Grady, Principal Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. "Cisco is in a very unique position to support this with its ability to embed advanced protections directly into the network through innovations like Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Universal Zero Trust Network Access, which safeguard AI models and applications, manage identity, and simplify policy management across distributed environments." Latest innovations from Hybrid Mesh Firewall "As AI continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace and new cybersecurity challenges emerge, it's even more important to fuse security into the very fabric of the network," said Chris Konrad, Vice President, Global Cyber, World Wide Technology. “Cisco is redefining security for the AI era with its latest innovations from Hybrid Mesh Firewall to Universal Zero Trust Network Access. This integrated approach will help our customers to prepare for an AI-driven future and achieve better outcomes, by protecting AI models and applications, managing identity, and providing essential tools to combat increasingly complex threats.”  Splunk integrations unlock new threat detection and response   As security challenges become more complex, organisations need integrated solutions that enhance visibility, accelerate detection, and streamline response. Advancements between Cisco and Splunk strengthen interoperability across key security workflows. By unifying and enriching data across platforms, these enhancements help security teams respond faster, reduce manual effort, and extract greater value from their security operations. This expanded functionality includes:  Surface Insights from Cisco Secure Firewall integrated with Splunk: Customers using Cisco Secure Firewall will be able to unlock deeper threat insights within Splunk by ingesting firewall log data. This enables advanced detections and helps security teams maximise the value of their Cisco and Splunk investments.  Expanded Threat Detection, Investigation and Response (TDIR) Coverage with Enhanced Detection Integration with Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense: The Cisco Security Cloud App for Splunk now delivers deeper support for Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD), enabling enriched correlation and detection content aligned to TDIR workflows. Combined with telemetry from Cisco AI Defense, Cisco XDR, Cisco Multicloud Defense, Cisco Talos, and other sources, Splunk accelerates detection use cases across hybrid environments.  Streamlined TDIR with Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) integrations for Cisco Secure Firewall: Expanded SOAR integrations now include Cisco Secure Firewall-specific actions to support containment and response within TDIR workflows. This is in addition to the currently available Cisco Talos Threat Intel integration. Playbooks can automatically isolate hosts, block outbound connections, and apply policy controls, reducing manual effort and accelerating resolution.  Connected Application Risk Signals from Splunk AppDynamics: By forwarding Secure Application events into Splunk, security teams gain visibility into application-layer vulnerabilities and threats, helping to contextualise findings within broader business risk. 

Dell Technologies introduces advancements across its industry-pioneering server, storage and data protection portfolios designed to help organisations achieve data centre modernisation.  Why it matters  Organisations are rethinking their IT strategies to respond to the rise of AI, the need to support both traditional and modern workloads and increased cyber threats. IT teams are moving toward disaggregated infrastructure that abstracts compute, storage and networking into shared resource pools to deliver improved scalability, efficiency and adaptability.   Dell Technologies server, storage and data protection innovations are designed to help customers rethink their IT infrastructure approach to better meet the needs of traditional and modern workloads.  Dell PowerEdge: performance, energy efficiency and scalability  Dell PowerEdge R470, R570, R670 and R770 servers with Intel Xeon 6 Processors with P-cores are single and double-socket servers in 1U and 2U form factors that easily handle demanding traditional and emerging workloads like HPC, virtualisation, analytics and AI inferencing:  Improves Workload Consolidation: Consolidate legacy platforms, freeing up power and up to 80% of space per 42U rack with the Dell PowerEdge R770. These systems save up to half of the energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions, and support up to 50% more cores per processors and 67% increased performance. This reduces data centre footprints to help achieve sustainability goals and lower overall total cost of ownership without sacrificing performance.   Delivers Extreme Power with Efficiency: The powerful and efficient Dell PowerEdge R570 achieves record-breaking Intel performance per watt, helping enterprises save on energy costs while maintaining high performance workloads.  Future-Ready Designs: Simplify and future-proof operations with the Data Centre – Modular Hardware System (DC-MHS) architecture, as part of the Open Compute Project (OCP). DC-MHS standardises server design, supporting easier integration into existing infrastructure, improving customer choice.  Streamlined management: PowerEdge servers deliver streamlined management and robust protection through Dell OpenManage enhancements and Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (IDRAC 10) updates, including real-time monitoring. When paired with PERC13 PCIe Gen 5 HW Raid controller, customers can see up to a 33X reduction in write latency.    Dell PowerStore boosts security: data management   Dell PowerStore’s intelligent software design delivers an automated, highly programmable platform with advanced data reduction and independently scalable storage services suited to the needs of modern disaggregated architectures. PowerStore’s latest software release delivers:   AI-Powered Analytics: Reduce cost and eliminate manual effort with Smart Support alerts and remediation, performance headroom analytics and carbon footprint forecasting using Dell AIOps (formerly CloudIQ) software.  Enhanced Zero-Trust Security: Control access and boost availability with DoD smart card authentication support, automated certificate renewal and enhanced Storage Direct Protection integrations that deliver up to 4X faster backup restores plus support for the latest Dell PowerProtect systems.   Advanced File System Support: Enhance system performance with advanced file management capabilities, robust data protection with secure file snapshots, capacity insights for smarter storage planning and streamlined migration from Dell Unity systems.  Next generation of Dell ObjectScale  Dell introduces the next generation of Dell ObjectScale, the industry’s highest-performing object platform. Dell ObjectScale delivers massive scalability, performance and efficiency for AI workloads. Dell is modernising the enterprise-grade architecture of ObjectScale and introducing new all-flash and HDD appliance options to provide:   Fast Object for AI: Innovate faster with the industry-pioneering AI workload performance of ObjectScale XF960, delivering up to 2X greater throughput per node than the closest competitor and up to 8X greater density than previous-generation all-flash systems.  Accelerate Modern Workloads: HDD-based Dell ObjectScale X560 accelerates key workloads like media ingest, backups and AI model training with read 83% faster throughput.  Extreme Efficiency and Resiliency: Easily operate and secure AI data lakes with multi-site federation, copy-to-cloud, geo-replication, global namespace and data governance capabilities, backed by a new hybrid cloud solution powered by ObjectScale, developed in collaboration with Wasabi.   Dell PowerScale innovations unlock the power of AI data  Dell PowerScale’s scale-out architecture makes it ideal to use as the backbone for modern AI-driven operations. Advancements improve performance-per-terabyte, enhance data centre floorspace utilisation and balance affordability with performance to optimise TCO.   High Density All-Flash Storage: 122TB SSDs maximise GPU utilisation with up to 6 PBs of high-speed data access in a single 2U node configuration and deliver pioneering performance density to meet massive AI throughput requirements.  Hybrid and Archive Nodes: PowerScale A & H series nodes (H710, H7100, A310, A3100) deliver reduced latency and improved performance with a refreshed compute module for HDD-based platforms. Customers can future proof their data centres and retain AI training data longer with a flexible, TCO-optimised portfolio mix to improve accuracy and efficiency.  Dell PowerProtect: performance and efficiency   Dell, the industry pioneer in purpose-built backup appliances, introduces data protection updates designed to help customers strengthen their cyber resilience while controlling costs with enhanced performance, security and efficiency:   Scalable and Efficient Data Protection for All: Dell PowerProtect DD6410, with a capacity of 12 TB to 256 TB, is ideal for commercial, small business and remote site environments. It delivers up to 91% faster restores and scalability for traditional and modern workloads plus efficient operations with industry-pioneering up to 65X deduplication.   All-Flash Performance and Efficiency: Dell PowerProtect All-Flash Ready Node, the first step in Dell’s all-flash data protection journey, delivers more secure and efficient data protection with a 220 TB capacity system that offers over 61% faster restore speeds, uses up to 36% less power, and features a 5X smaller footprint.    Strengthened Enterprise Resiliency: PowerProtect Data Manager updates help customers quickly identify security risks with Anomaly Detection, manage Microsoft Hyper-V and Red Hat OpenShift Virtualisation virtual machine backups and easily archive data to Dell ObjectScale for long-term retention.  IT agility and data centre modernisation “Modern applications require a new breed of infrastructure that will help customers keep pace with everchanging data centre demands,” said Arthur Lewis, president, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies. “From storage to servers to networking to data protection, only Dell Technologies provides an end-to-end disaggregated infrastructure portfolio that helps customers reduce complexity, increase IT agility and accelerate data centre modernisation.”  IT strategies and resource management “Organisations are refocusing their IT strategies to take a disaggregated approach to infrastructure that improves resource management and simplifies management complexity,” said Simon Robinson, principal analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia. “Dell Technologies is delivering updates across its infrastructure portfolio designed to help customers easily overcome these challenges so that they’re ready to manage any workload.”  Availability  Dell PowerEdge R470, R570, R670 and R770 servers featuring Intel Xeon 6 Processors with P-cores and E-cores are available now.  Dell PowerStore software updates are available now.  Dell ObjectScale is available now as a software update for current Dell ECS environments.  HDD-based ObjectScale X560 will be available in April 2025.  All-Flash ObjectScale appliances will be available beginning in Q3 CY2025.  Dell PowerScale HDD-based nodes will be available in June 2025.  Dell PowerScale with 122TB drives will be available in May 2025.  Dell PowerProtect DD6410 and All-Flash Ready Node will be available in April 2025.  Dell PowerProtect Data Manager updates are available now.