Security tops Dubai CIO meeting agenda

The event, was held recently at Dubai's Mina Salam Hotel at the Madinat Jumeirah.

Five papers from international experts from IBM, GBM and Cisco Systems were presented on security solutions, and a blueprint was discussed for an enterprise security architecture.

"Blended security threats are real, they're here and they are requiring a new level of sophistication from major organizations in our region today," said Samer Shaar, general manager of IBM Middle East, Egypt and Pakistan. "These threats are demanding an integrated approach to security that combines hardware, network elements and consulting services for building a secure platform."

Building integrated security solutions requires a strategy to reduce the risk profile of an organization, as they combine secure solutions from IBM and Cisco into a single, homogeneous and secure technology environment. Core to these solutions are the capabilities of enterprise software offerings from IBM, including Tivoli, the enterprise resource, identity and system management solution. These work across the elements that make up the infrastructure such as networks, embedded security features in IBM servers, storage systems, operating systems, databases and security application agents.

"Security is a problem that has so far been solved one piece at a time. That approach however is proving to have security holes. Vendors have been producing good firewall or intrusion detection or virus products, but none of these tools alone solve all security problems. Each certainly helps, but today's IT infrastructure is becoming more complex with many more points to attack while security breaching tactics are becoming more sophisticated. By offering an integrated Security management Solution, we are able to offer clients end to end solutions and consultancies", said Cesare Cardone, CEO of GBM. "GBM has represented IBM in the region for the past 15 years, and also has achieved Gold Partner status from Cisco Systems, which is the highest standard for network expertise and support capabilities".

Live demonstrations at the event highlighted some of the major security threats that organizations in the Middle East are likely to face today. "The problem is that security has often been looked at in terms of a single point of entry issue, rather than as an integrated solution. We proposed a more integrated approach to the issue at the conference," said Soubhi Chebib, IBM Brands Team Director. "Today, security is not an issue that only haunts IT Managers. It has become a boardroom issue as it impacts business, brand image, market value and credit rating among others. Organizations are spending 5% - 9% of their IT budget on security, which represents approximately US$500 per employee".

"Unified systems and virtual networks are powerful tools, but they require equally powerful security structures, which Cisco's Intelligent Information Network envisions as integrated, end-to-end, self-defending and self-healing networks. These networks incorporate security that is native to all aspects of an organization, with every device in the network playing a part in securing the networked environment through a globally distributed defense. These intelligent networks are capable of identifying and killing threats at their infancy," said Mark De Simone, Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Cisco Systems.