According to a research announced by VMware on the sidelines of the IDC CIO Security Summit 2017 Saudi Arabia, indicates that two-thirds of IT decision-makers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia rank cybersecurity as their top IT priority. The research further finds that the businesses in the region are increasing funding for cybersecurity solutions across data backup (74%), encryption (66%), threat monitoring (64%) and firewalls (60%).
Over half (52%) of Saudi respondents said the threat of cyber-attacks has caused a “high” or “very high” impact on investment in technology without awareness or education. As a result, the greatest threats in the Kingdom are the use of non- IT validated cloud services (44%) and bring your own device (42%) employees (40%).
“VMware is committed to helping organizations through their transformation journeys and we are delighted to be announcing our expanded presence in the region with a new office opening in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this year.” said Jean-Pierre Brulard, senior vice president and general manager, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, VMware.
“Saudi organizations are among regional leaders in recognizing the importance in delivering end-to-end cybersecurity strategies. By leveraging security across the cloud, mobility, and data centre, CIOs can embed security in the IT infrastructure, and keep their employees up-to-date on the best practices and methods on how to protect their data,” said Ahmed Auda, managing director, Middle East and North Africa, VMware. “Having a new office in Riyadh will enable us to better service our customers here in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we look forward to that opening later this year.”