Optus offers expanded network security services with Cisco

The multi-year partnership includes an upgrade of the Optus Secure Network Operation Centre and a suite of new Cisco products which will enhance network security and data security services for office-based customers and Optus Enterprise and Business customers tackling challenges associated with a hybrid workforce.

The premise for this move seems to be, according to the telco, that more than a third of Australians (37%) regularly now work remotely and many have embraced a hybrid model. This has led organisations to increasingly adopt SaaS public and on-demand network services. Combined with increasing vulnerabilities, Optus argues, this shift exposes both systems and users to potential significant risks across devices and software.

The press release, as is customary, recites a number of benefits coming out of the extra investments Optus is making, such as networks becoming secure by design, removing complexities through effective and innovative services, adding visibility to incidents, and accelerating the identification and rectification of any underlying issues.

While the Cisco-powered Secure Firewall and Managed Secure Service Edge (SSE) services platform is now live and available already, additional capabilities will be added throughout this multi-year partnership. Those will include enabling customers to add features that cover vulnerability management, advanced email security, identity intelligence and threat hunting.

“Our enterprise and business customers rely on Optus to deliver a network that can support high traffic, secure and reliable bandwidth” said Danny Price, VP Client Services & Delivery at Optus. “We are committed to creating solutions that address complex security issues while optimising performance and reliability particularly in environments that are increasingly hard to defend.”

On the partnership Rodney Hamill, Managing Director Partner at Cisco Australia and New Zealand said “The Optus and Cisco alliance continues to deliver innovative solutions for businesses to address complex business challenges to enable growth while managing risk in an ever-changing world.

“Activating the power of the network to deliver security outcomes will go a long way to meeting the cybersecurity challenges that are a top priority for Australian businesses. The collective focus of the partnership is to provide scalable, reliable, and repeatable secure network services, together.”