Page 60 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2024

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

TM Forum to enable the adoption of industry standards in real- importance of expertise in industry standards such as Business
life scenarios, nurturing an ecosystem of innovation and tailored Process Frameworks, Open Digital Architectures, Open Digital
solutions to meet specific challenges that CSPs face today and Frameworks, Open Application Programming Interface (API), and
in the future. George Glass, CTO of TM Forum, said, “To reignite Standard Information Frameworks for leveraging technological
growth, investment by CSPs must go beyond technology and and human ingenuity as CSPs transition to platform strategies.
focus on building a workforce trained on industry best practice and This includes adopting composable architectures, data and
standards, and equipped with the skills needed to reimagine the artificial Intelligence, automation, and cloud-native technologies
role of telco in the digital era. The partnership with Tech Mahindra to transform their operating models into an orchestrator of
is a clear demonstration of the value this approach will bring, value within digital ecosystems. Furthermore, this partnership
creating a talent-pool that's ready to lead CSP transformations with emphasizes Tech Mahindra's commitment to being a strategic
innovation and excellence.” The partnership highlights the critical partner for CSPs in their transformation journey.

Tech Mahindra and Cisco to Deliver AI-powered Firewall Modernization
Solution for Global Customers

NGFW is designed to be flexible, adjusting to the ever-changing
requirements of network environments and security risks, and
is available in various deployment formats, including hardware,
software, and virtual options. Kunal Purohit, Chief Digital Services
Officer, Tech Mahindra, said, “Enterprises need a flexible approach
that allows them to scale at speed while modernizing their network
security. While firewalls are critical to the organization’s network
security, they can be time-consuming, complex, and expensive to
deploy, manage, and operate. The partnership with Cisco marks a
milestone in providing a unique, robust, efficient, and cost-effective
solution for the firewall modernization roadmap.” The partnership
will further expand Tech Mahindra’s security service portfolio,
enhance market reach, and provide upskilling opportunities for
its workforce. As per analyst reports, the global average cost of a
data breach was $4.35 million in 2023. Cisco's Secure Firewall is
a next-generation firewall, an essential tool for the security of your
networks, that delivers extensive visibility and robust protection
against a wide array of threats, including malware, known and
unknown exploits, and web-based attacks, across applications,
devices, users, and multi-clouds networks. Nick Holden, VP of
Global and Strategic Partners & Ecosystem Co-Sell, Cisco, said,
“As global customers continue to modernize their infrastructure,
they’ll need a next-generation firewall solution that scales as their
network expands, combines multiple security functions into one
platform, and provides threat intelligence across different security
Tech Mahindra, a leading global provider of technology consulting layers. Our partnership with Tech Mahindra offers these customers
and digital solutions to enterprises across industries, announced a specialized way to customize and implement these firewall
an expansion of its strategic partnership with Cisco to deliver a capabilities based on their unique business and network needs.”
next-generation firewall (NGFW) modernization solution for their The partnership leverages Tech Mahindra's extensive network
shared global customers. The partnership between Cisco and Tech and security engineering consultancy resources, encompassing a
Mahindra elevates standard firewall functions with sophisticated robust team across key global markets, including the Americas,
features such as unified policy management across on-premises Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In 2023, Tech Mahindra also established
and cloud environments. Additionally, it integrates Talos threat a dedicated Cisco Business Unit to develop and implement
intelligence and delivers comprehensive malware defense for services that build and maintain agile, secure, collaborative, and
the network and endpoints, among other enhancements. The hybrid networks.

60 MAY-JUNE 2024