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Hybrid cloud security architecture requires rethinking

Enterprises need a centralized approach when considering a hybrid cloud security architecture, an analyst says. Plus, is user experience management an IT responsibility?

David Harbeck
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Published: 12 Jun 2018

Cloud security isn't for the squeamish. Protecting cloud-based workloads and designing a hybrid cloud security architecture has become a more difficult challenge than first envisioned, said Jon Oltsik, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group in Milford, Mass.

"The goal was simple," he said. Enterprises wanted the same security they had for their internal workloads to be extended to the cloud.

But using existing security apps didn't work out so well. In response, enterprises tried to concoct their own, but that meant the majority of companies had separate security foundations for their on-premises and cloud workloads, Oltsik said.

The answer in creating a robust hybrid cloud security architecture is central policy management, where all workloads are tracked, policies and rules applied and networking components displayed in a centralized console. Firewall and security vendors are beginning to roll out products supporting this strategy, Oltsik said, but it's still incumbent upon CISOs to proceed carefully.

"The move to central network security policy management is a virtual certainty, but which vendors win or lose in this transition remains to be seen."

Read the rest of what Oltsik had to say about centralized cloud security.

User experience management undergoing a shift

User experience management, or UEM, is a more complex concept than you may realize.

Dennis Drogseth, an analyst at Enterprise Management Associates in Boulder, Colo., described the metamorphosis of UEM, debunking the notion that the methodology is merely a subset of application performance management.

Instead, Drogseth said, UEM is multifaceted, encompassing application performance, business impact, change management, design, user productivity and service usage.

According to EMA research, over the last three years the two most important areas for UEM is application performance and portfolio planning and optimization. Valuable insights can be provided by UEM to assist both IT and business.

One question surrounding UEM is whether it falls into the realm of IT or business. In years past EMA data suggested 20% of networking staffers considered UEM a business concern, 21% an IT concern and 59% said UEM should be equally an IT and business concern. Drogseth agreed wholeheartedly with the latter group.

Drogseth expanded on the usefulness of UEM in his blog, including how UEM is important to DevOps and creating an integrated business strategy.

Mixed LPWAN results, but future could be bright

GlobalData analyst Kitty Weldon examined the evolving low-power WAN market in the wake of the 2018 annual conference in London.

Mobile operators built out their networks for LPWAN in 2017, Weldon said,  and are now starting to look for action. Essentially every internet of things (IoT) service hopped on the LPWAN bandwagon; now they await the results.

So far, there have been 48 launches by 26 operators.

The current expectation remains lowered costs and improved battery life will eventually usher in thousands of new low-bandwidth IoT devices connecting to LPWANs. However, Weldon notes that it's still the beginning of the LPWAN era, and right now feelings are mixed.

"Clearly, there is some concern in the industry that the anticipated massive uptake of LPWANs will not be realized as easily as they had hoped, but the rollouts continue and optimism remains, tempered with realistic concerns about how best to monetize the investments."

Read more of what Weldon had to say here.

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