Mohammed Abukhater, RVP for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa at F5, highlights the importance of GITEX and the kickoff of the ‘A Force for’ Awareness Campaign at the mega tech event.
What are the plans for you to be part of GITEX GLOBAL this year and why is it important for you to be part of the week long show?
GITEX is an important event for F5 because of the breadth and variety of organizations attending. The event attracts many companies and government entities who we either already work with, or would like to work with. Cybersecurity has long been an important component of GITEX, and this year we are excited to discuss our latest innovations that will help organizations to innovate while boosting their security.
Please highlight the products and solutions that you will be showcasing at the GITEX?
F5 is set to highlight the scale and impact of its Distributed Cloud Services platform at GITEX. A major expansion of its application security and delivery portfolio, F5 Distributed Cloud Services provides security, multi-cloud networking, and edge-based computing solutions on a unified software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. This further strengthens F5’s security portfolio with simplified management and security for all applications in all locations.
The platform also encompasses F5 Distributed Cloud WAAP (Web Application and API Protection), which augments multiple security capabilities across F5 technologies in a single SaaS offering. F5 will also Debut its ‘A Force For’ Awareness Campaign in the Middle East, emphasizing how cybersecurity impacts individuals in all walks of life.
Which are the major cybersecurity trends influencing the Middle East?
As organizations enhance digital services users and pursue a wider breadth of infrastructure models to improve performance and reduce costs, application service environments have become more complex. Research from F5 2022 State of Application Strategy Report reveals that as many as 88% of organizations operate both legacy and modern application architectures. 70% also operate in multiple clouds, which expands the threat surface area as companies are forced to deploy separate, and often inconsistent, security controls across different environments. Furthermore, 78% of organizations are currently focused on API security measures.
We’re keen to meet up and network with existing customers and partners from across the region, in addition and starting conversations with new prospects. We aim to raise awareness of our Distributed Cloud Services platform, which has the power to help organizations transform securely.
How does your offerings enable organisations to enhance their cybersecurity preparedness in the new normal?
Nearly all organizations in the Middle East and beyond find themselves at the epicenter of two significant trends: the evolution of applications as the center of their customers’ digital lives and the escalation of threats against them. At F5, we’ve transformed both our business and our portfolio to meet these challenges. F5 Distributed Cloud Services is central to this shift, offering a new approach to app security with SaaS-based solutions that are centrally managed but can be deployed anywhere the app needs to be. This maximizes business impact and delivers a superior customer experience.”
What message would you like to give to the customers visiting the show and why should they meet you?
Organizations should understand that application innovation and cyber resilience can go hand in hand. We’re here to demonstrate how all organizations can enhance their security while innovating with applications in multi-cloud environments.
GITEX 2022 will also see the Middle East debut of F5’s new security-focused awareness drive, and this will be another important message at the event: Through individual stories, the ‘A Force For’ campaign focuses on how cybersecurity impacts individuals in all walks of life. This also includes the CIOs, CISOs, DevOps, NetOps, SecOps and other IT professionals that count on F5 technologies to keep their business, their employees, and their customers safe.
Cybercrime might harm organizations, but the true victims are people. ‘A Force For’ is all about making cybersecurity personal. It is explicitly driven by what we value most: the people in our lives that depend on us to ensure their digital worlds are secure.
What are your expectation from this year’s GITEX?
We have always found GITEX to be a vibrant and diverse event, with an eclectic mix of exhibitors and visitors. Interest in cybersecurity – and especially cybersecurity solutions for the cloud – is rising, and we expect to have many opportunities to start valuable conversations on this topic.
Where can we find you at GITEX? (booth no and hall no)
You can find us in Hall 3, Stand B30.