Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) play a crucial role in protecting organizations against emerging threats. These advanced network security guardians can scour inbound and outbound traffic on the network edge and in the data center for signs of intrusions and malicious activity, blocking potentially dangerous data before it reaches its destination. Many organizations have deployed NGFW technology as an integral component in their cybersecurity programs.

At the same time, organizations are fine-tuning their cloud strategies. Whether they’re adopting an all-in, cloud-first strategy or selectively using cloud services as part of a hybrid offering, the reality is that sensitive business data now resides both in our own data centers and in those run by cloud partners. Cybersecurity and networking teams must be able to defend that information from attack everywhere that it resides, or attackers will seek out the weak points in an organization’s cybersecurity architecture.

Cybersecurity leaders should integrate their NGFW and cloud computing strategies to better protect organizational assets. The best way to do this is to consolidate on a single NGFW platform and use it across both cloud and on-premises network systems. NGFW vendors offer virtual appliances and software subscription models that allow for easy cloud deployment, anticipating this approach. Let’s take a look at four drivers for this consolidation.

Judging from search engine traffic — and from the calls I receive — there’s some confusion out there about hybrid cloud and multicloud. In truth, both are completely viable models, with various organizations relying on each to achieve significant business benefits. But before IT and business leaders can decide which approach makes the most sense for them, they need to step back and ask themselves what outcomes they are trying to achieve.

The excitement of realizing the benefits of the cloud means that organizations sometimes skip the planning process and move right ahead to the implementation phase. But those who have dived headfirst into the cloud have sometimes found themselves backing out as fast as they jumped in when issues around performance, cost or security don’t work…

— Written by Troy Brick-Margelofsky, Brandon Jackson and Stephan Stelter Public cloud, just like private cloud, has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the circumstances in which it is used. That’s why almost every organization will gravitate toward some combination of cloud solutions that best achieves its business goals, performance expectations and requirements for security and…

Those of you have read part 1 and part 2 of this blog series already know all about the cloud migration framework — what it is, why it’s important and how to get started. This post will discuss the last piece of the puzzle: the migration. Migration Framework Key Steps for a Cloud Migration The…

In my last blog post, I discussed the importance of following a detailed framework when migrating to the cloud. By doing so, organizations ensure key areas are incorporated into their implementation and migration efforts remain consistent. This blog post dives deeper to discuss the data-gathering, analysis, dependencies and strategic roadmap phases of any successful framework….