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Writer's pictureSarah-Jayne Gratton

A10 Networks’ New Research Adds Essential Value to Enterprise Security

The interesting thing is that the hacker only has to be right once!


Tech Uncorked, the popular podcast show that breaks down the hype and gossip surrounding new technology, was delighted to have Paul Nicholson, Senior Director of Product Marketing at A10 Networks as a guest.

Nicholson joined Tech Uncorked hosts, Dean and Sarah-Jayne Gratton, to discuss A10 Networks’ recently published report: Enterprise Perspectives 2022: Zero Trust, Cloud, and Remote Work Drive Digital Resiliency.


“This research was conducted to understand the challenges, concerns, and perspectives of large enterprise organisations as they continue adapting their IT strategy and infrastructure to the rigors and risks of digital transformation and the hybrid work environment,” explained Nicholson.


Over 2000 participants were surveyed in the report which covered UK: 250 respondents, Southern Europe: 250 respondents (France and Italy), US: 250 respondents, Germany: 250 respondents, India: 250 respondents, Middle East: 250 respondents (UAE and Saudi Arabia), Benelux: 250 respondents (Netherlands and Belgium), Eastern Europe: 225 respondents (Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland), Asia Pacific: 225 respondents (Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore), and Nordics: 225 respondents (Finland, Norway, and Sweden).


The report is a critically valuable one in light of the pace and extent of digital transformation that global enterprise organisations have undergone in the past two years.


As we now move into the autumn of 2022, the daily working experience for employees of large enterprises remains very different to the way it looked back in late 2019.


The report reveals: “The infrastructure shift to support distributed home and remote work pace of adoption has accelerated dramatically. And, as a result, threats in the virtual world have escalated. Supply chains have come under intense strain and employees have faced sustained levels of stress as they strive to stay productive through the long-tail of COVID-19.”


“There was a rapid response in the shift to cloud during the pandemic,” explained Nicholson, “and remote access became incredibly important.”


“This resulted in a gap between the services offered and satisfaction from users. It’s an interesting juxtaposition,” he continued.


“With the move from a secure environment to working from home. It ultimately all comes back to Zero Trust,” he added.


“A10’s software can go into the cloud environment, where we can have a controller to push policies out infrastructure and even ecosystem wide, providing far greater peace of mind,” Nicholson revealed. “Imagine trying to go in manually – it would be a nightmare!”


The report also highlights distinct variations in opinion around the globe, differences which can be explained by a few factors.


Nicholson explained, “in some countries they are going to have more advanced concerns based upon the systems they have deployed, for example adoption of cloud technology which in Europe and North America is in full swing when compared to other parts of the globe. Levels of crime in different regions can also result in different survey results.”


In terms of the technology, the report states: “Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have undoubtedly come of age and are leading the list of technologies already deployed. There is also interest in implementing a Zero Trust strategy. A notable proportion are also exploring metaverse-related technologies. With all these priorities, it is not a surprise automation is top of mind to improve and ease operations.”


But this can be a double-edged sword, explained Nicholson. AI is a big driver of security but also presents a potential means of attack for hackers.


“The interesting thing is that the hacker only has to be right once”, he continued.


“Sometimes, with the attacks that happen, there might be a thousand hackers scanning for vulnerabilities”, he added. “In fact, it’s often not targeted but opportunity based.”


The report reveals: “Asked to rate their concern about 11 different aspects of business resilience, nine out of ten respondents showed some level of concern about every issue. However, the top concern shared by respondents was the challenge of optimising security tools to ensure competitive advantage — striking the right balance between protection and business agility to make sure neither compromises the other. This underlines the business objectives at the heart of securing the organisation.”

And it’s at the heart of the services provided by A10 Networks.


The latest report was incredibly insightful, and it effectively lifts the lid on where we are at regarding each aspect of digital resilience in enterprise.


The Tech Uncorked interview highlighted the impressive span of knowledge that A10 Networks possesses and its ability to scale and protect networks through Zero Trust is not only necessary – it’s nothing short of inspiring!




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