Netskope to showcase its innovative SASE architecture at GITEX 2022

Jonathan Mepsted, VP Sales, Middle East, UK and Africa, highlights the products and solutions that Netskope will be showcasing at the GITEX.

 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 the largest & most inclusive tech show in the region, and Netskope is a technology vendor that is rapidly growing and firmly establishing our footprint in the Middle East and Africa. And so it is an important showcase for us, as well as an unparalleled opportunity to meet decision-makers in enterprise technology and establish our presence in region.

We intend to make sure everyone hears about the investment that Netskope has been making in the Gulf region, having substantially expanded our Middle Eastern infrastructure, with four Netskope NewEdge data centres across the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, all supporting local customers. We have also boosted our local team and are fully committed to supporting regional initiatives including the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, Saudi Vision 2030, New Kuwait Vision 2035 and Bahrain’s Cloud First Policy.

 Please highlight the products and solutions that you will be showcasing at the GITEX.

At GITEX this year we are going to be showcasing the recent completion of our SASE architecture, bringing together our market-leading Intelligent SSE, IoT Security and Borderless SD-WAN to deliver a modern cloud security stack with unified capabilities for data and threat protection, and reliable network connectivity for every site, application, user or IoT device.

Netskope is exhibiting jointly with our global alliance partner Mimecast, showcasing how combining our solutions allows omnichannel in-depth defence against threats and risks.

Which are the major cybersecurity trends influencing the Middle East?

The Middle East continues to rapidly race toward digitisation, and is experiencing the same challenges that Netskope helps organisations around the world navigate. The theme of GITEX this year is ‘next digital universe’, that is a useful catch all for the trends we see. A digital universe is one with technology at its heart – driving business productivity and enabling innovation. The *next* digital universe repositions somewhat, and is more specific in placing data (rather than technical infrastructures) at its heart. Data drives organisational growth and enables competitiveness, as well as fuelling AI, and data is where organisations will increasingly identify value.

In this ‘next digital universe’ we see organisations moving from private digital infrastructures to a widespread adoption of cloud, freeing data from geographic perimeters previously dictated by applications, infrastructures and workplaces. This next digital universe is home to a new array of threat challenges and requires a complete rethink of the traditional models of security – but is also an opportunity to rebuild better with cloud-native, data centric security. This is why we are seeing a large number of organisations express intentions for security transformation in the coming years, and we are working to support those plans and help companies understand how best to architect this transformation.

How does your offerings enable organisations to enhance their cybersecurity preparedness in the new normal?

You can no longer effectively secure an organisation’s activity and data in the cloud using appliances sitting on-premise. To do so ignores the reality of how people are working, their location and that of the data being shared. And it is not just our organisations that have changed with the prevalence of cloud and hybrid models. Malicious actors are both using and targeting cloud, taking advantage of growing digital trust. With a divergence of working models and IT infrastructure (SaaS, private cloud, web, private apps) the number attack surfaces to protect have grown, but organisations cannot just keep adding costs and resource – it is time to consolidate and integrate. Netskope is a global cybersecurity leader, and we are redefining cloud, data, and network security to help organisations apply zero trust principles to protect data wherever it goes – in the cloud, on the web, in private applications and even onto endpoint devices.

 What message would you like to give to the customers visiting the show and why should they meet you?

We understand the security challenges that organisations in the Gulf region are facing, in particular in balancing the desire to adopt cloud with a requirement to navigate sensitive data sovereignty issues. Because of our investment in our NewEdge infrastructure in region (both in UAE and KSA), we can specifically help with this conundrum.

We are recognised by Gartner and others as leading the market with our vision of cloud-native, data-centric security, SASE, SSE and SD-WAN. We help organisations to turn security into an enabler for growth – addressing today’s data protection, cloud data processing and security challenges and creating a security posture that allows the organisation to embrace innovation and growth.

 What are your expectations from this year’s GITEX?

● Enhance brand presence and visibility in region with a powerful presence at this strategically important in-region conference
● Connect with strategic IT decision makers in end-user organisations and partners to share Netskope’s vision and innovative technologies
● Raise awareness of and generate demand for Netskope’s unified SASE architecture across the Gulf region
● Build business awareness of Netskope’s own expansion, solutions, infrastructure and investment in the Middle East, and in KSA in particular
● Educate Middle Eastern enterprises on how they can embrace cloud innovation whilst retaining data sovereignty and compliance using SASE

Where can we find you at GITEX? (booth no and hall no)

You can find us in Hall 1 – Stand E2