• Security skills and specialized talent shortage in the Middle East paves the growth of Managed Security Services

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: eHosting DataFort (eHDF), the region’s leading Cloud Infrastructure, Managed Hosting and Security Services Provider, today announced the growing trend of Managed Security Services (MSS) globally as well as in the Middle East. Few reasons for the increasing demand are the increased levels of Cyber threats, in-house shortage of security skills talent, digital transformation and increased adoption of BYOD due to the progressive increase in the mobile workforce.

Simultaneously, organizations are also relying on MSS providers with portfolios that include advanced predictive security intelligence and analysis as well as detection services to manage and mitigate the complex security landscape.    

According to a Gartner report, the worldwide security market was around $86.4 billion in 2017 and will grow to around $93 billion in 2018. It indicates that there is a particular opportunity around managed security services as organizations are moving towards building a more mature security posture which they choose to outsource. The report also says that 40 percent of all managed security services contracts will be bundled with other security services and IT outsourcing projects by 2020.

“The frequency and very powerful security threats that organizations are facing are now being recognized and discussed in boardrooms. Focused efforts are going into detailed strategies to build and implement comprehensive security for risk management and protection. The fast-paced developments in cybersecurity also call for specialized skills. Most organizations are unprepared to adapt to this next chapter. As MSS providers, we see increasing number of CIOs contracting these services to reduce the vulnerabilities to attacks as well as enable a quick response to information security breach incidents.,” said, Yasser Zeineldin, CEO, eHosting DataFort. 

According to a Cisco 2016 Annual Security Report, there is a deficit of 1 million security practitioners, increasing to 1.5 million by 2019. Globally, 26% of organisations are facing staffing shortages, and 35% are facing expertise shortages with security jobs growing at 12 times the rate of the overall job market, and 3 times the rate of general IT. This skills shortfall is the basis for the increasing use of MSS globally.

Digital penetration across the government and business sectors in the Middle East has been growing at a very rapid pace. The push is being spearheaded by local governments especially in countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt with digital transformation strategies to building smart cities as well as for eCommerce. While the progress has very positive consequences for the society at large as well as businesses, it also brings along the added challenges of cybersecurity.

“As an MSS provider, we focus on ensuring that our services are positioned to provide advanced threat intelligence and management for larger organizations as well as the growing SMB markets in the Middle East. Our team of skilled professionals and experts are equipped to provide short as well as long term security strategies and we have continued to grow our customer base by meeting their diverse demands. This is supported by the substantial investments we make in updating and upgrading our services with new technologies and services to stay abreast with the dynamic threat environment,” added Zeineldin.

eHDF has also recently added several certifications that illustrate the company’s commitment to providing its customers with the best security services. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance certification ensures the protection of sensitive cardholder data and also helps customers meet their compliance needs. While the acquisition of the CREST Certificate for its Cyber Defense Centre / Security Operation Centre highlights the policies, processes and procedures that eHDF has in place to provide faster and more effective Managed Security Services.

eHDF also recently launched a dedicated Cyber Defense Centre where advanced security intelligence and automations tools are implemented to identify and tackle cybersecurity with higher accuracy and precision. The company’s Managed Security Services portfolio was also expanded this year to include advanced services such as SIEM, Real Time Threat Monitoring (RTTM), Remote Managed Security Services, Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) and Incident Response (IR). This is alongside a larger portfolio of other services which include Cloud, Managed Hosting, Disaster Recovery as well as Managed Services. 

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About eHosting DataFort
Established in 2001, eHosting DataFort (eHDF) is amongst the 1st providers of Cloud Infrastructure, Managed Hosting and Security Services in the Gulf region. It owns and operates multiple T3 data centers, delivering managed services through reliable infrastructure, 24/7 support and guaranteed uptime, and is the only services provider in the ME to offer credit based Service Level Agreements.

eHDF was the pioneer in the region to introduce hosted managed private cloud solutions and were the 1st in the UAE to launch public cloud services which can be bought from an online storefront. Very recently, eHDF obtained the PCI-DSS and Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) STAR Certification, becoming the 1st company in the region to achieve this. It also achieved the acclaimed ISO 22301 certification for Business Continuity last year and was amongst the 1st companies to achieve ISO 9001 / 20000/ 27001. eHDF also owns a Cyber Defense Centre based in DIC, delivering advanced security solutions to customers across the region.

Website: www.ehdf.com, Email: info@ehdf.com, Phone: +971 4 563 4848, Fax: +971 4 391 3050
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For more information, please contact:
Michelle Silva
OAK Consulting FZ LLC, Email: michelle@oakconsulting.biz (M): +971 50 781 8568

© Press Release 2018