Versa extends SASE platform to the LAN edge

Versa Networks has bumped up its secure access service edge (SASE) software with a variety of features, including AI to help customers better manage LAN resources at the edge of their networks.

The company announced Versa SD-LAN, a software package that the company says will let customers integrate security, switching, routing, network and AI management services on approved white box Ethernet switches and access points.

“Versa Secure SD-LAN is built as an extension of Versa’s Unified SASE platform, so it shares the same management console, policy repository, and data lake as our Versa Secure SD-WAN, cloud, and data center products,” according to Kevin Sheu, vice president of product marketing with Versa.  

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Gartner: IT spending to climb 8% to $5.1 trillion in 2024

Driven primarily by cloud and cybersecurity investments, worldwide IT spending is projected to total $5.1 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8% from 2023, according to the latest forecast from Gartner.

The software and IT services segments will see double-digit growth in 2024, largely driven by cloud spending, according to Gartner.

Global spending on public cloud services is forecast to increase 20.4% in 2024. The source of growth will be a combination of cloud vendors' price increases and increased utilization, just as it was in 2023, wrote John-David Lovelock, a distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner.

Cybersecurity spending is also driving growth in the software segment. Roughly 80% of CIOs reported that they plan to increase spending on cyber/information security in 2024, according to Gartner's 2024 CIO and Technology Executive Survey.

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Palo Alto expands cloud security platform

Palo Alto Networks has bolstered its cloud security software with features that help customers quickly spot suspicious behaviors and trace security issues to their source to better protect enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications.

The vendor has added a variety of new components, under the moniker Darwin, to its core cloud-security package, Prisma Cloud. The core platform already includes application-security features such as access control, advanced threat protection, user-behavior monitoring, and the ability to code security directly into SaaS applications. Managed through a single console, Prisma Cloud also includes firewall as a service, zero-trust network access (ZTNA), a cloud-access security broker (CASB), and a secure web gateway.

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Security startup Airgap Networks brings telco technologies to the LAN

AI-generating malware, deep fake identity spoofing, and state-sponsored ransomware are just a few of the latest methods that attackers are using to bypass traditional cybersecurity tools. Ritesh Agrawal, CEO of cybersecurity startup Airgap Networks, noticed that many of the attacks that compromise enterprise networks fail to penetrate telco and service provider networks.

“Even though they’re deploying the same routers, switches, and firewalls, there’s something fundamentally different about telco networks that shields them from many threats to enterprise LANs,” Argawal said. Agrawal has 20 years of experience with cybersecurity, enterprise networking, and cloud computing, most of that time spent with Juniper Networks focusing on telco and large enterprise clients.

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Gartner’s 2024 predictions: Lots of AI, changing cybersecurity roles, electricity rationing, and more

AI will play a significant role in enterprise IT in the coming year, and the influence of generative AI will permeate other tech trends on the horizon. Smart robots, a rise in employee unionization, and growing power-availability concerns are among the top predictions for 2024 and beyond from research firm Gartner, which is hosting its annual IT Symposium/Xpo this week.

“This is the first full year with generative AI (GenAI) at the heart of every strategic decision, and every other technology-driven innovation has been pushed out of the spotlight,” said Leigh McMullen, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “GenAI has broken the mold and has kept building more excitement.”

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BackBox adds network vulnerability management to automation platform

BackBox this week announced its Network Vulnerability Manager (NVM), a software add-on to its existing Network Automation Platform, that will enable network managers to automate operating system upgrades, network configuration updates, and various remediations across firewalls and other network and security devices.

“Common vulnerability management tools focus on endpoints and are designed for security teams rather than network teams,” says Josh Stephens, CTO of BackBox. “BackBox’s vulnerability management capabilities have been specifically engineered for network operations teams in the way that they operate and to accelerate their path toward network automation.”

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Generative AI pervades Gartner’s 2024 predictions for cybersecurity roles, application modernization and more

AI will play a significant role in enterprise IT in the coming year, and the influence of generative AI will permeate other tech trends on the horizon. Smart robots, a rise in employee unionization, and growing power-availability concerns are among the top predictions for 2024 and beyond from research firm Gartner, which is hosting its annual IT Symposium/Xpo this week.

“This is the first full year with generative AI (GenAI) at the heart of every strategic decision, and every other technology-driven innovation has been pushed out of the spotlight,” said Leigh McMullen, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “GenAI has broken the mold and has kept building more excitement.”

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