Our Insight

Given the prediction that, by 2020, 80% of organisations will primarily use public cloud and there will be 10 billion mobile-connected devices¹, it’s no surprise that there’s a Software-Defined WAN boom. Many companies are using this advanced technology to simplify how they move workloads to any cloud, consume hosted applications and enable new services in remote locations. And the stats are compelling: SD-WAN offers 2.25x more bandwidth, software updates can be completed 51% faster and there’s 94% less unplanned downtime.² It’s essentially the enabler for digital transformation across hundreds of companies. 

The modern network can't survive without a security ecosystem. But with multiple complementary services, devices and systems producing millions of log events each month, identifying and acting on security events is a skilled and time-consuming job.

So you have three choices

Since we launched our Managed SIEM service, we've been talking a lot about the kind of security, reporting and compliance headaches that businesses face, and how Managed SIEM (security information and event management) can help solve them. That's an important angle - as I know very well from my 22 years 'client side' at a major retailer - but I want to explore the additional benefits of having a team of information security experts on call, armed with the latest threat intelligence and event management tools.

SIEM isn't a one-size fits all proposition. Organisations have unique IT estates, face unique threats and risks, and have unique requirements from their security solutions. Finding the right SIEM (security information and event management) solution means weighing up your needs and matching them to the vendor and service who can best satisfy them, and at the right price.

To help you choose wisely, we've put together these 10 tips for getting a SIEM service that meets your requirements.

Time was you could cover off the majority of cyber threats with a firewall in the server room and anti-virus on your PCs, but the way we work has changed. Your mobile workforce isn't behind your firewall, and your anti-virus software isn't enough to secure smart devices from smarter criminals.

You don't need me to tell you that there's a worldwide shortage of cyber skills - just try advertising a cyber security vacancy. According to the Center for Cyber Safety and Education there's already a 1.5 million-person shortfall in the worldwide information security workforce, and the centre's research suggests this will have widened to 1.8-million staff by 2022.

What does this mean for you?

Ideal has officially launched its latest managed security service: Managed SIEM (security information and event management). I want to explain what it is, and how it helps you become more secure without the associated costs and resource headaches.

When cyber vulnerabilities are found, we shouldn't think of it as a failure - more as an inevitability. In the open, standards-based computing and network environments we rely on, across hardware and in software, millions of instructions and rules interact in ways that can't always be predicted. Amid this complex fabric, unavoidably there are dropped stitches, just waiting to be discovered or picked at.

One in two businesses regard incident response planning as an afterthought, critically limiting their organisation’s information security. Is yours one of them?

It looks like the worst of the weather might be over, as the Beast from the East slowly relaxes its grip on the UK. In Brighton's comparatively small freeze, my plan B was to ditch the road bike for my mountain bike, wrap up extra warm and enjoy an amazing snowy ride to Ideal along the seafront. What was yours?

This year's going to be an exciting one for Ideal as we expand our managed services portfolio and grow our cloud offering and expertise. We already apply best-practice security across our core architectures - enterprise networking, data centre and unified comms - and we wanted to ensure we could offer the same level of security expertise and reassurance as we expand our range of public, private and hybrid cloud solutions.