Cisco announced in 2023 it would acquire Splunk for US$ 28 billion ( AU$ 42.4 billion ). It was referred to as” the Moby Dick” of deals and aimed to combine Splunk’s security information and event management tech with Cisco’s extended detection and response systems.
This is significant information for these local businesses because both Splunk and Cisco have established client bases in Australia and New Zealand. Clients have been asking what the combination could suggest for the security systems industry’s potential since the offer closed in March 2024.
By combining end-to-end surveillance and observability, Splunk vice president of Australia and New Zealand, Craig Bates, said the agreement will help customers protect against contemporary threats. He added that as organizations battle threats more frequently launched with the aid of AI, surveillance data unification will be crucial in the future.
What does the combination of Cisco and Splunk mean for consumers of computer security program?
The Splunk offer, according to Cisco, is the engine behind the newest generation of AI-enabled surveillance and observability. Generally, it meant adding Splunk’s SIEM risk prediction and elimination capabilities to its existing Dpi firm, creating a strong XDR and SIEM proposition.
Bates said unifying the system and terminal strengths of Cisco with Splunk’s security and observability solution, underpinned by an Iot- driven platform, would help customer resilience. He added the mixture had promote Splunk’s existing strategy.
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” One issue that is evident in Australia and New Zealand is that, currently, every business is a modern company. Being able to take the next step on their endurance journey may enable organizations to have that end-to-end capability because the impact of disruptions and the like are now a board-level concern.
Creating the” SOC of the future”
One of Splunk’s aims has been to support computer security team create the’ SOC of the future.’ To enable clients to have greater presence and attack surface coverage, a unified approach to data was a part of this. Additionally, it has been about bringing together safety operations to break down organizational silos across the detection, research, and response processes.
Bates predicted that the Cisco and Splunk partnership will help Splunk’s determination to risk defense and Stack development, particularly those that are likely to emerge in an AI era. He claimed that the combination of Cisco features like cloud and user protection with Splunk’s security platform enabled end-to-end visibility for businesses in a contemporary threat environment.
Increasing security observability
Organizations need to be online, accessible, and proactive around the clock, which is one of the characteristics of the digital business reality. According to Bates, this is boosting the demand for full-stack observability capabilities in the market and that Cisco and Splunk’s offering is the most comprehensive for technology customers across all kinds of environments.
He cited coverage and synergies between the two combined organizations across on-premise, hybrid, and multicloud, which would support organizations ‘ efforts to gain a more proactive understanding of their digital systems to improve customer experiences. ” Observability is top of mind, and it is becoming a topline priority”, Bates said.
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Unification of security-related data
Another benefit of the Cisco and Splunk agreement will be data unification. According to Bates, customers could bring together data from various IT, security, and engineering teams through the combination of Cisco and Splunk. He said this would move security operations towards more complete visibility, something that he expects will be “table stakes” in the era of artificial intelligence.
In a world where AI is present, readiness for cyber security
Customers, according to Splunk, will use AI to automate and enhance the tasks they perform during security investigations and responses. According to Bates, this will enable customers to become more proactive, enabling the identification and mitigation of threats more quickly than before.
He claimed that the addition of AI to the team could also close the cyber-skill gap. Cyber security professionals are among the hardest to come by because Australia and New Zealand are currently experiencing a tech skills crisis, a pressure that AI capacities may help to lessen over time.
Splunk’s State of Security 2024: The Race to Harness AI report found that, of 1, 600 global security leaders, 93 % were using public generative AI themselves, 46 % thought it would be ‘ game- changing’ for security and 50 % were developing a formal plan for AI deployment. The most popular generative AI use cases were those that included identifying risks and threat intelligence analysis.
Bates claimed that partnering with Cisco would help businesses overcome the AI challenge. Splunk hopes that the unification of data will enable businesses to use AI to improve detection, response, and remediation as well as stop the anticipated rise in AI-related threats from bad actors.
Using channel partners to create value
As the company collaborates with Cisco, Splunk has promised channel partners will have a long-term opportunity in Australia and New Zealand. Our partner programs are still in place and will continue to be available across both businesses, according to Bates.
The combined capabilities of Cisco and Splunk will help partners build practices with , end- to- end offerings, Bates said. He added that the channel’s ability to provide business value to customers, as well as customer support during a tech skills shortage, will be the key to this.
Customers continue to be a real challenge because they lack the time or people to step out of the day-to-day business to consider some of the innovations they might implement. Partner partners who can clearly define the business value of our offering will have a significant impact, he said.
