The German IT sector suffers from staff shortages and is chronically understaffed. According to Bitkom, there was a shortage of around 137.000 IT specialists in Germany last year - the highest level of a deficit that has persisted for years.
On average, an open position remained vacant for over seven months with employers and, due to demographic change, more IT staff are leaving the labor market for retirement than newly trained experts are joining. At a global level, things aren't looking rosy either: According to cybersecurityventures.com, the number of unfilled IT security positions will rise to 2023 million in 3,5. The consequences: More pressure, stress and workload per capita in the existing IT teams. This increases the susceptibility to errors and thus the general risk for companies of being inadequately prepared for cyber attacks.
To fill staffing gaps, companies are trying to outsource day-to-day operations and maintenance to IT and security providers. One way is via the cloud, more precisely via so-called SASE solutions (Secure Access Service Edge). This is an architectural concept that moves security mechanisms to the edge of the network and allows access to applications and services to run through cloud providers. This approach combines security and network access to create a more flexible and secure way to access digital spaces.
With SASE against the lack of IT specialists
- Continuously updated security: Staying one step ahead of IT threats requires real-time defense mechanisms. A SASE solution can automatically block new malware and phishing sites based on up-to-date threat intelligence. This minimizes the amount of staff required to keep firewalls and gateways up to date and block previously unknown threats. It also eliminates the need to manually review and update threat intelligence solutions.
- Effortless patch management: The traditional patching process can take a significant amount of time. With a SASE solution, the responsibility for ironing out vulnerabilities in gateways, browsers, applications and systems is transferred to the cloud security (SASE) provider. Instead of patching new vulnerabilities every weekend, a cloud IPS keeps systems updated and protected virtually, keeping businesses protected even when IT professionals haven't had time to patch the systems themselves.
- Thin backup and restore: SASE solutions provide cloud-based backup and recovery services. This means companies can outsource the responsibility of regularly creating backups, managing them and restoring them. The cloud provider takes care of the backup.
- Automated scaling for optimal performance: Seasonal peak loads can put traditional infrastructures under pressure when users need access to critical business areas and applications. SASE solutions alleviate this pressure with auto-scaling capabilities that leverage the elasticity of private or public clouds to ensure optimal performance during times of high demand. Additionally, SASE overcomes the challenges associated with mergers and acquisitions by seamlessly integrating new entities into the network.
- Integrated BC/DR: SASE's solutions have business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR) capabilities as part of the cloud service. This is important for companies that have to reckon with force majeure, such as a fire, flood or earthquake. SASE solutions usually even offer local locations, such as data centers, in the region. This allows a fast and local connection to the cloud security provider to be maintained while employees remain productive.
- Automation of tasks: A key advantage of SASE is the ability to automate the creation of tasks. SASE solutions simplify IT operations by streamlining processes and linking them to the respective helpdesk systems and programs for day-to-day collaboration. This allows IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives instead of dealing with routine manual tasks.
- Reduced administrative effort: Consolidating key network security products into one SASE platform significantly reduces day-to-day management. In this way, companies can centrally manage all important security aspects - from zero trust network access to firewalls and secure web gateways to data loss prevention. This maximizes the efficiency of the existing IT teams.
Conclusion
With a SASE solution, you shift the workload from the thinly staffed IT specialists to the cloud provider and leverage automation where it makes sense. Talented workers should never again have to struggle with checking patches, maintaining backups, and completing repetitive, routine tasks. SASE relieves IT departments, enables control of access rights and user identities, centralizes the enforcement of security policies and outsources the management of various tasks to the cloud provider. This makes SASE solutions attractive for CISOs who are concerned about staff shortages: it not only handles recurring tasks efficiently, but is also less error-prone, making it an effective multifunctional tool in times of skilled labor shortages.
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About check point Check Point Software Technologies GmbH (www.checkpoint.com/de) is a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions for public administrations and companies worldwide. The solutions protect customers from cyberattacks with an industry leading detection rate for malware, ransomware and other types of attacks. Check Point offers a multi-level security architecture that protects company information in cloud environments, networks and on mobile devices, as well as the most comprehensive and intuitive “one point of control” security management system. Check Point protects over 100.000 businesses of all sizes.