Arab News, Wed, Nov 15, 2023 | 1 Jumada, 1445
AH
Saudi Arabia in its way to lead cybersecurity
landscape
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia is making “leaps” across several global indices to position
itself as a frontrunner in technology and cybersecurity on the global and
regional level, a top Cisco official said.
Speaking to Arab News in an interview on the sidelines of the Black Hat MEA
2023, Salman Faqeeh, the managing director of Cisco Saudi Arabia,
highlighted that the Kingdom is rapidly progressing, particularly in the
telecommunication technology, information security, and cybersecurity
sectors.
“We’ve all witnessed and seen several global indices highlighting how Saudi
Arabia is making leaps when it comes to advancements and its position at a
global and at a regional level,” Faqeeh said.
“We operate in a very dynamic market. We operate in a market that is leading
the region in different aspects. Particularly, when it comes to
telecommunications technology as well as information security and
cybersecurity. It’s the biggest market and it’s the fastest to move in the
right direction,” he added.
In line with regional advancements, the manager noted that Cisco recognizes
this as an opportunity and is “very keen” to be relevant to the digital
transformation agenda and the unfolding trends in the Saudi market.
The company has annually invested over $28 billion in research and
development to keep up with the perpetual pace of growth and ensure its
quality, according to Faqeeh.
The firm has positioned itself as a leader in honing the skills of young
Saudis as it considers investing in human capital essential to its growth.
Through its networking academy, a global program that has existed for over
25 years and in Saudi Arabia for over 20 years, Cisco has been keen to
highlight the learning and development journey of hundreds of thousands of
Saudis throughout the program’s history, according to Faqeeh.
He further outlined that the company has contributed to the learning and
development journey of more than 336,000 Saudis, of which about 38 percent
are females. The top executive noted that this achievement is above the
global average of the female workforce.
“The opportunity size is something that deserves the right attention, but at
the same time, it’s a market, as I’ve mentioned earlier, that continues to
grow. With the complexity that we’re seeing in the cybersecurity world with
the introduction of the cloud, cybersecurity concerns, we always need to
focus on the learning and development of the specialists,” Faqeeh said.
The firm recently unveiled its plans for creating a first-of-its-kind data
center in the Kingdom, an announcement that the director noted is “planned
to be up and running throughout or before the end of the calendar year of
2024. And we’re definitely keen to expedite.”
In recent months, the company has continued to take charge of the digital
transformation agenda by outlining various new initiatives in the cyber
sector.
Among them is the Secure Service Edge, a project the CEO said would help the
company provide all the required security cloud services in the Kingdom
locally. These include the net-zero trust offering, cloud firewalls, and
solutions available on the cloud.
Net-zero trust is a system based on a preventative agenda that aims to
ensure security in the cloud without interfering with the user’s
experiences. The program will allow for the verification of identity before
the individual is able to access any information.
Faqeeh further shed light on Cisco’s most recent acquisition of “Splunk,” a
company that he deems “a very well respected security market leader,” noting
that the group’s innovative edge will aid in enriching the Kingdom’s
cybersecurity efforts.
“That is another confirmation of Cisco’s commitment to enriching its
portfolio of cybersecurity and offering of providing meaningful solutions
when it comes to observability and to continue the ongoing innovation
journey, by such an acquisition of a very innovative company such as Splunk,”
Faqeeh said.
“We’re committed to learning, and our contribution from that point of view,
and we encourage the great talent of Saudis and people in Saudi Arabia to
continue developing and contributing to aiding our national cybersecurity,”
he concluded.