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Brocade is teaming with Harris Corp. in a strategic partnership that will lead to cyber-security products designed to enable organizations to protect key assets.
The solutions developed by the two companies will include Harris’ cyber-security technologies integrated with Brocade software-defined networking (SDN) products. The vendors announced the alliance June 14 at the Federal Forum 2016 show in Washington D.C., where they also previewed a proof-of-concept (PoC) designed to demonstrate how scalable cyber-solutions enable organizations to protect themselves against attacks, officials with the companies said.
The offerings will be targeted at such organizations as federal agencies, financial services firms, health care provider and energy companies. Other industries that will benefit include oil and gas, retail and service providers.
“Strengthening the cybersecurity of federal and financial networks is one of the most important challenges facing our nation,” Brocade CTO Ken Cheng said in a statement.
Officials with both companies cited a report by IDC’s Government Insights unit indicating that federal IT spending for national security and policy or emergency services will grow 9.3 percent a year, from $3.7 billion last year to $5.7 billion in 2020. A Bank of America report from last year found that 91 percent of companies in the United Sates have been the victims of cyberattacks. In addition, the level of sophistication of cyber-threats has been increasing, with attackers being able to spend an average of 205 days in compromised systems before being discovered.
“The increasing number and impact of cybersecurity incidents demonstrate that continuously confronting cyber threats must remain a strategic priority for organizations of all sizes in every industry,” Carl D’Alessandro, president of Harris Critical Networks, said in a statement.
Brocade has been building out its SDN portfolio since 2012, when it bought Vyatta in a move that brought with it the technology that led to the company’s SDN controller.