EDITOR’S COMMENT
TAJ EL-KHAYAT, REGIONAL DIRECTOR MENA, CITRIX
In the current data economy, organisations
need to re-evaluate the state of their
information security processes, tools
and roles, according to Taj El-Khayat,
Regional Director MENA, Citrix. He believes
enterprises in the Middle East should be
taking a closer look at their information
security processes to remain competitive in
the channel.
I
n an age when ‘data is the new oil’, large-scale processing
of data related to customer behaviour and preferences,
product usage, or movement patterns will be increasingly
critical to every enterprise. Obviously, greater reliance on
data means an increased risk and an increased business
opportunity for integrators and valued added partners.
As we can all see, the Digital Transformation arriving
in this new data economy is moving so fast that IT
organisations struggle to keep their information security
defences up to date. That’s why enterprise organisations
across all industries in the Middle East need help to take
a closer look at their information security processes,
roles and tools. Otherwise, data-related risks are bound
to increase — and this can quite easily result in customer
dissatisfaction, compliance violations, reputation damage
and financial loss.
Channel partners can seize this opportunity if they
propose to their customers what they truly need. Namely:
16
original data needs
to be safely stored in
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databases and content
ay
at
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egi
management systems
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ctor MENA, Citrix
(CMS), while additions,
updates and changes must be
tracked and kept consistent across platforms. This usually means
installing monitoring and asset management tools
IT security systems for secure role-based access to sensitive
information: This aspect of information security requires an
identity and access management (IAM) solution, VPN-based
access to corporate resources and data leakage prevention (DLP)
tools to avert data loss due to targeted attacks or insider threats
A content collaboration platform (CCP): A platform that provides
secure, centrally-controlled sharing of information even across the
multi-cloud environments, minimising the risk of data loss
Intelligent workspaces and endpoint management: An
organisation should homogenise end-user access to corporate
resources via a virtual workspace platform, allowing for
centralised control of all resource access and usage. In a best-
practice scenario, this is complemented by an enterprise mobility
management solution to manage and secure mobile endpoints
(along with Windows 10)
A software-defined perimeter: Intelligent networking, provided
by application delivery controllers and analytics software,
extends contextual control and behaviour monitoring beyond the
traditional data centre. This allows IT to proactively secure data,
detect breaches and mitigate risk across the enterprise
Given the growing importance of data to the modern economy,
organisations need to re-evaluate the state of their information
security processes, tools and roles. A holistic security approach
is the only way to protect valuable information, manage risk and
achieve compliance.
Value-added integrators must take their deserved share into
the process by making the most of the trainings and certifications
proposed by the security, workspaces and content management
vendors. A holistic approach, that goes beyond pure cybersecurity,
is the way to address and master the inherent data complexity
organisations deal with on a daily basis.
CITRIX EXPERT
DRAWS
ATTENTION TO
DATA SECURITY
ISSUES THE
CHANNEL SHOULD
BE AWARE OF
Stringent, enterprise-wide data classification. Determining
which data are sensitive, internal,
or personally-identifiable
information
is crucial
Technical means
to keep track
of sensitive
information
(e.g. personally-
identifiable
information): This