Technology & IT | Wednesday 8 April, 2015 11:02 am |

– Qatar’s most influential IT security decision-makers will congregate at the Marriott Marquis City Center in Doha on April 13, 2015, for the IDC IT Security Roadshow 2015 to discuss the country’s threat landscape, which is becoming increasingly volatile, not just in terms of regular malware, but also due to hacktivist incidents, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and even cyberwarfare. Adding to this complexity is the disruptive “3rd Platform” technologies of cloud, big data, mobile, and social business that create issues relating to IT management, skills, and implementations. Both lines-of-business and IT departments now must deal with the transformation brought about by these new technologies and develop a clear understanding of how they impact their people, processes, and security postures.

Megha Kumar, senior research manager for software at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, notes "Companies in Qatar need to evaluate existing IT security investments while trying to rationalize costs, protect assets, and deploy new solutions. They must address how they can sustain security as a business enabler while simultaneously ensuring they remain secure.”

According to IDC’s IT Security Survey in 2014, in which CIOs in Qatar were asked about investments in IT security initiatives, the top 5 responses were: anti-malware (63%), firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention (53%), information security measurement and reporting (37%), email protection (32%), and training and awareness (32%).

Against this backdrop, senior security experts, analysts, and IT leaders from across the region will deliver presentations and interactive sessions on the key challenges and opportunities brought about by the latest technology developments in security. They will discuss new technologies and approaches, and explain how they can fit into business strategies that are enabled, not hampered, by security considerations. The sessions will feature speakers from leading technology vendors such as Akamai ,VMWare, Websense, Palo Alto Networks in association with HelpAG, HP, Cisco, Fortinet, Aruba & Oxygen.