IT Brief: IT vendors respond to Federal Government budget

Summary

This blueAPACHE post reports: CrowdStrike, WatchGuard, Zscaler and LogRhythm are amongst several IT vendors responding to the Australian Federal Government’s budget announcements. Andrew Littleproud, vice president Asia Pacific and Japan, CrowdStrike, said the company was pleased to see the government acknowledge the risks associated with having outdated digital infrastructure, and “recognise the importance of supporting Australian businesses transition away from legacy security solutions and modernising cybersecurity to ensure long-term success, following a period of rapid change”. It concerns emPOWER Security, Managed Detection & Response, emPOWER Cloud. It names CrowdStrike in connection with the announcement. Published in 2020. Figures, product names and event details reflect that time; for current information see the linked service pages.

Key facts

Label Value
Publication year 2020
Services referenced emPOWER Security, Managed Detection & Response, emPOWER Cloud
Named products or vendors CrowdStrike
Cited figure ...Nintex, says the Federal Government announcement to provide a $800m budget plan to help businesses go digital presents Australian...

Article

CrowdStrike, WatchGuard, Zscaler and LogRhythm are amongst several IT vendors responding to the Australian Federal Government’s budget announcements. Andrew Littleproud, vice president Asia Pacific and Japan, CrowdStrike, said the company was pleased to see the government acknowledge the risks associated with having outdated digital infrastructure, and “recognise the importance of supporting Australian businesses transition away from legacy security solutions and modernising cybersecurity to ensure long-term success, following a period of rapid change”.

“At CrowdStrike, we recently conducted research which found over half of Australian business leaders believe that cybersecurity is the top priority for additional investment and that despite a grim economic outlook, two in five expect their technology budgets to increase,” said Littleproud. “It is our hope that this substantial investment from the government will encourage further collaboration between government and the broader technology community to ensure Australian businesses are investing wisely, and transitioning into the digital economy with industry-leading technologies that will boost business operations and strengthen security and risk protocols,” he says. Mark Sinclair, ANZ regional director at WatchGuard Technologies, says he welcomed the government’s initiative to invest in helping businesses go digital. “However, more digital connectivity increases the likelihood of cyberattacks,” he says. “This budget announcement with its instant asset write-off will help Australian businesses cope with the financial burden of increased cyber security. It will also support Australian companies and businesses obtain the technology and awareness training required for effective mitigation of modern cyber threats. “In turn, this will also help drive more jobs in the local cyber security industry and is a recipe that the Morrison government should consider for future stimulus packages.” Budd Ilic, ANZ country manager, Zscaler, also welcomed the government’s focus on digitisation fit for purpose in the post-COVID-19 world. “Indeed, applying new technology to achieve better results will become an overwhelming focus for business in the year ahead as organisations deploy solutions that drive revenue and make them more productive,” he says. “A part of that investment will involve retiring legacy technologies and migrating to cloud based systems that allow companies to be more agile and productive. “This is particularly evident in cybersecurity where solutions can now be delivered and consumed as a service and ideal for combatting ransomware which has risen sharply since the outbreak of Covid19 as well as threats from state-based actors,” Ilic says. “It is imperative that the Government ensures robust and consistent investment in providing protection across all departments and agencies irrespective of size. “During times of rapid change, it can be tempting to put your head down and simply continue with business as usual. However, this is no longer an option and the governments budget provides a positive incentive to further adopt cloud platforms so that they can help companies and the customers they serve with new service and opportunities.” LogRhythm vice president international marketing APAC Joanne Wong, applauded the government’s focus on digital project investment, which builds on its previously announced ten year investment strategy in cyber security. “Australia will also be in a much better position to tackle the IT security issues that will continue to increase in coming years,” she says. “Indeed, the government’s zeal should now spur company management within businesses of all sizes grappling with a remote workforce and uncertain market conditions to take a proactive approach and review their cyber security hygiene. “This will benefit employees and customers of organisations who will want to know that management have the latest technology in place which can detect threats and help quickly remediate attempted attacks if they do happen.” Christian Lucarelli, vice president sales, Asia Pacific, Nintex, says the Federal Government announcement to provide a $800m budget plan to help businesses go digital presents Australian companies with a “fantastic opportunity” to look at the way they currently operate and find ways to invest and innovate through the adoption of technology. “One of the biggest trends is to invest in technology that drives automation, not to remove the need for people, but as a tool to standardise, grow and free up employees time to focus on customers and growth its a win-win for all,” he says. blueAPACHE managing director Chris Marshall added, “The governments prudent decision to invest in Australia’s digital future will now further accelerate cloud adoption among businesses of all sizes and encourage organisations to completely rethink their approach to technology. “Right now, with workforces distributed, there’s an urgent need to harness emerging devices, software and services while at the same time extracting maximum value from existing investments,” he says. “Gone are the days where an organisation’s IT department could design and build systems based on clear, five-year plans. The luxury of having the time to scope out requirements, assess a range of vendors, test and then deploy company-wide systems is no longer available. Any organisation that believes it can confidently plan more than two years ahead is likely to be misguided. “Faced with constantly changing customer demands and a rapidly evolving competitive landscape, an organisations technology infrastructure must be able to change just as quickly,” Marshall says. “In the era of the post-pandemic empowered customer, the end game is to know what your customers want, before they know they want it. “This budget will support companies to innovate and rapidly evolve so that they can become more agile and even more customer obsessed.” View the full article here

Related

Frequently asked questions

Which vendors and spokespeople does the article quote reacting to the Australian Federal Government's budget?

The article quotes CrowdStrike's Andrew Littleproud, WatchGuard's Mark Sinclair, Zscaler's Budd Ilic, LogRhythm's Joanne Wong and Nintex's Christian Lucarelli, alongside blueAPACHE managing director Chris Marshall.

What budget figure does Nintex's Christian Lucarelli reference, and how does he describe it?

Lucarelli references an $800 million federal budget plan to help businesses go digital, calling it a "fantastic opportunity" for Australian companies to invest in automation and rethink how they operate.

What research finding does CrowdStrike's Andrew Littleproud cite in the article?

Littleproud cites CrowdStrike research finding that over half of Australian business leaders viewed cybersecurity as the top priority for additional investment, and that two in five expected technology budgets to increase despite a difficult economic outlook.

What did blueAPACHE's Chris Marshall say about how far ahead organisations can plan their technology infrastructure?

Marshall said organisations can no longer plan on five-year technology cycles, stating that "any organisation that believes it can confidently plan more than two years ahead is likely to be misguided" given how quickly customer demands and the competitive landscape change.

Is the information in this post still current?

No. It reports vendor and blueAPACHE reaction to a specific 2020 federal budget announcement; for blueAPACHE's current security and cloud positioning, see the emPOWER Security and emPOWER Cloud pillar pages rather than this post.

Source

https://www.blueapache.com/blog/it-brief-it-vendors-respond-to-federal-government-budget/

Knowledge Base

What is this blueAPACHE blog post about?

The post is a press piece titled 'IT Brief: IT vendors respond to Federal Government budget,' which reports on how CrowdStrike, WatchGuard, Zscaler, LogRhythm and other IT vendors responded to the Australian Federal Government's budget announcements, including commentary from blueAPACHE's managing director.

When was this article published and who wrote it?

The article was written by IT Brief Australia and dated October 7, 2020, with a read time of 5 minutes.

What did Andrew Littleproud of CrowdStrike say about the government budget?

Andrew Littleproud, vice president Asia Pacific and Japan at CrowdStrike, said the company was pleased the government acknowledged risks from outdated digital infrastructure and recognised the importance of helping Australian businesses move away from legacy security solutions and modernise cybersecurity. He cited CrowdStrike research showing over half of Australian business leaders see cybersecurity as the top priority for additional investment, and that two in five expect technology budgets to increase despite a grim economic outlook. He hoped the investment would spur further collaboration between government and the tech community.

What was WatchGuard's response to the budget, according to Mark Sinclair?

Mark Sinclair, ANZ regional director at WatchGuard Technologies, welcomed the government's initiative to help businesses go digital but noted that more digital connectivity increases cyberattack risk. He said the budget's instant asset write-off would help businesses cope with the financial burden of increased cybersecurity, support obtaining technology and awareness training, and drive more jobs in the local cybersecurity industry, suggesting it as a model for future stimulus packages.

How did Zscaler's Budd Ilic view the budget's focus on digitisation?

Budd Ilic, ANZ country manager at Zscaler, welcomed the government's focus on digitisation suited to the post-COVID-19 world, saying businesses would focus on applying new technology to drive revenue and productivity. He noted investment would involve retiring legacy technologies and migrating to cloud-based systems, particularly in cybersecurity delivered as a service, to combat rising ransomware and state-based threats. He stressed the need for robust, consistent government investment in protection across all departments and agencies regardless of size.

What point did LogRhythm's Joanne Wong make about the budget?

Joanne Wong, LogRhythm's vice president of international marketing APAC, applauded the government's digital project investment as building on its previously announced ten-year cybersecurity investment strategy. She said Australia would be better positioned to tackle increasing IT security issues and that the government's approach should spur businesses of all sizes to proactively review their cybersecurity hygiene amid remote workforces and uncertain market conditions.

What did Nintex's Christian Lucarelli say about the budget?

Christian Lucarelli, vice president sales Asia Pacific at Nintex, said the Federal Government's $800 million budget plan to help businesses go digital presents a 'fantastic opportunity' for Australian companies to rethink operations and invest in technology, particularly automation that standardises and grows business while freeing employee time to focus on customers and growth.

What did blueAPACHE managing director Chris Marshall say about the budget?

Chris Marshall, blueAPACHE's managing director, said the government's decision to invest in Australia's digital future would accelerate cloud adoption among businesses of all sizes and encourage organisations to rethink their approach to technology. He noted the urgent need to harness emerging devices, software and services amid distributed workforces, and said the days of five-year IT plans are over — organisations can no longer confidently plan more than two years ahead. He argued technology infrastructure must change as quickly as customer demands and competitive landscapes, and that the budget would help companies innovate, become more agile, and be more customer-obsessed in the post-pandemic era.

Where can the full original article be viewed?

The full original article can be viewed via a link to itbrief.com.au, titled 'IT vendors respond to Federal Government budget.'

Under what category is this article filed on the blueAPACHE blog?

The article is filed under the 'Press' category on the blueAPACHE blog.

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