Cisco is making its newly-expanded suite of cloud-based security services available to South African users through a local point of presence (PoP) hosted at AWS.
“At a time when cybersecurity is one of the top concerns of every business and public sector leader, our goal is to provide organisations with advanced protection and help them operate more securely in an increasingly digital landscape,” says Smangele Nkosi, GM of Cisco South Africa.
The PoP consists of multiple redundant data centres for high availability. It is carrier-neutral and offers organisations of all sizes direct access to Cisco’s cloud-hosted security services.
Fady Younes, MD: cybersecurity for MEA, Türkiye, Romania and CIS at Cisco, explains that the company has made a number of acquisitions and innovations over the last 12 months to create a complete security portfolio.
Cisco has acquired nine cybersecurity companies and made major investments in establishing business unit leadership to fill out a cybersecurity line-up that addresses all parts of the landscape.
“None of these acquisitions has been to buy market share or eliminate competition, but has been part of a strategy set by our engineering leadership to augment any technology gaps. And, because we don’t want to add to customers’ security headaches, all of the solutions are integrated into the rest of the portfolio.”
The new PoP offers Cisco Secure Access, an integrated SSE service.
Nkosi adds that the launch of Cisco Secure Access in South Africa is the culmination of an 18-month investment that positions Cisco as a global leader in the cybersecurity space.
To enable secure and seamless access to necessary applications and resources, organisations must transition from complex, outdated security tools that were not designed for today’s distributed work environments. Cisco Secure Access automates connectivity decisions for the Internet, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and private applications, reducing complexity and enhancing productivity.
Younes adds: “Threats are not only becoming more frequent but also increasingly sophisticated. Cisco recognises the importance of implementing modern cybersecurity measures that significantly reduce risk while meeting the needs of both end-users and IT staff.
“The new PoP for Cisco’s converged cloud security Secure Service Edge (SSE) solution is founded on zero-trust principles. This solution offers our customers seamless, transparent, and secure access from any device to any location. It is designed to provide a frictionless end-user experience, enhance security with granular controls, and simplified IT operations.”
The announcement builds on the recent launch of Cisco AI Defense, which enables and safeguards AI transformation within enterprises.
Cisco now offers integrated cybersecurity solutions that help organisations eliminate the many point solutions many employ today, which make cybersecurity a complex and fragmented exercise.
Instead, Cisco offers integrated solutions across three areas: user protection with identity and SSE; cloud protection with firewall and microsegmentation; and breach protection with XDR, SIEM and SOAR.
“We are able to provide secure access to users, whether remote or on-premise, on managed or unmanaged devices – including IoT devices,” Younes explains. “It is about having a seamless experience to secure access to any application – be it private app, public app, SaaS app.
“It is also easier for IT, with a unified dashboard; and safer for all users.”