{"id":23829,"date":"2022-12-15T21:30:43","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T21:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/15\/platform-consolidation-expanded-c-suite-participation-and-other-cybersecurity-trends-emerge-from-ignite-22\/"},"modified":"2022-12-15T21:30:43","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T21:30:43","slug":"platform-consolidation-expanded-c-suite-participation-and-other-cybersecurity-trends-emerge-from-ignite-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/15\/platform-consolidation-expanded-c-suite-participation-and-other-cybersecurity-trends-emerge-from-ignite-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Platform consolidation, expanded C-suite participation and other cybersecurity trends emerge from Ignite ’22"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If the current cybersecurity threat landscape were a comic book villain, it\u2019d have the ability to morph and switch forms on a whim.<\/p>\n

And in response to this ever-evolving threat to the enterprise, several trends are emerging within cybersecurity, according to\u00a0BJ Jenkins<\/a> (pictured), president of Palo Alto Networks Inc.<\/span>\u00a0One of them is platform consolidation, as companies look for that sweet spot between best-of-breed solutions and long-term platform value.<\/p>\n

Particularly necessitated by current economic uncertainties, organizations feel more risk-averse right now; but they also want to weed out unnecessary capital expenditures by slimming down their security vendor count to more manageable numbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty old, and<\/span>\u00a0I\u2019ve been through a lot of [economic] cycles,\u201d said\u00a0BJ Jenkins<\/a> (pictured), president of Palo Alto Networks Inc.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cAnd in those cycles, I\u2019ve always found stronger companies<\/span>\u00a0with stronger value proposition<\/span>\u00a0separate themselves in uncertain,<\/span>\u00a0economic times. The message has tilted, though,<\/span>\u00a0where it\u2019s been about innovation and new threat vectors to one of\u00a0you have 20, 30, or 40 vendors\u00a0and\u00a0you can consolidate\u00a0to\u00a0become more effective in your security posture\u00a0and save money on your total cost of ownership.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jenkins spoke with theCUBE industry analysts\u00a0Dave Vellante<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Lisa Martin<\/a> at <\/span>Ignite \u201922<\/span><\/a>, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media\u2019s livestreaming studio. They discussed how Palo Alto Networks is reformatting its cybersecurity business in the wake of market changes. <\/span>(* Disclosure below.)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Streamlining people-focused go-to-market strategy<\/h3>\n

While the global economy might be in a downturn, with some even foreseeing a recession, tech spending in the corporate world has mostly held strong<\/a>. It does mean, however, that companies are becoming more frugal with the dollars they\u2019re willing to spend and will channel them only to a handful of proven solutions at a time.<\/p>\n

Palo Alto Networks is responding to this trend by hammering home its value proposition to existing and potential customers as part of its GTM approach. In doing so, the company hopes to remain the focal point in many enterprise security strategies even as they trim down vendor counts, according to Jenkins.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you take a customer who\u2019s got 20 or 30 tools<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0take them down to 5 or 10, where Palo is more central<\/span>\u00a0and strategic and be able to demonstrate that value?\u201d he asked.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cWe do that by<\/span>\u00a0making a huge investment in our people.<\/span>\u00a0But macroeconomic times also puts some stronger people back<\/span>\u00a0on the market,<\/span>\u00a0and we\u2019re able to incorporate them into the business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A prominent factor spurring that consolidation is the long-bemoaned cybersecurity skills gap, with the (ISC)2\u00a0\u201c2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study<\/a>\u201d showing a workforce gap of 3.4 million people, an increase of 26% over 2021\u2019s numbers. By rejigging its ecosystem strategy, Palo Alto Networks has been able to step in and help company executives tackle the subsequent standardization and consolidation problems for the few skilled people within customer companies, according to Jenkins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed to get in with the CIO and CISO and say,<\/span>\u00a0\u2018Look at this chaos you have here and the challenges<\/span>\u00a0around people that it\u2019s presenting you.<\/span>\u00a0We can help solve that by standardizing, consolidating, and<\/span>\u00a0taking that integration away from you,<\/span>\u00a0making it easier for your<\/span>\u00a0high-skill people to work on<\/span>\u00a0high-skill challenges,\u201d he concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE\u2019s and theCUBE\u2019s coverage of <\/span>Ignite \u201922<\/span><\/a>:<\/span>
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