Tech Mahindra and Cisco Partner on Next-Gen AI Firewall
Tech Mahindra and Cisco have announced an expansion to their partnership to deliver a next-generation firewall (NGFW) solution powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning for their shared customers.
The partnership between the IT consulting company and tech company will elevate Cisco's standard firewall functions with advanced features such as unified policy management across on-premises and cloud environments.
Additionally, it integrates Cisco's Talos threat intelligence, providing comprehensive malware defence for both network and endpoints, leveraging cutting-edge technologies.
"While firewalls are critical to an organisation's network security, they can be time-consuming, complex, and expensive to deploy, manage, and operate," said Kunal Purohit, Chief Digital Services Officer at Tech Mahindra. "The partnership with Cisco marks a milestone in providing a unique, robust, efficient, and cost-effective solution for the firewall modernisation roadmap."
Nick Holden, VP of Global and Strategic Partners & Ecosystem Co-Sell at Cisco, emphasised the importance of a scalable next-generation firewall solution as global customers continue to modernise their infrastructure.
"Our partnership with Tech Mahindra offers these customers a specialised way to customise and implement these firewall capabilities based on their unique business and network needs," said Holden.
Damage of data breaches
This announcement comes as the increasing cost of data breaches becomes a significant concern for businesses worldwide in the digital age.
In 2023, the average cost of a data breach reached a record high of US$4.35 million.
These costs encompass various factors, including legal and regulatory, and technical activities, loss of brand equity, customer turnover, and a drain on employee productivity.
AI in cybersecurity
AI solutions are increasingly being employed to combat data breaches due to their ability to detect and respond to threats swiftly and efficiently.
With firewalls, AI can enhance traditional solutions by incorporating machine learning algorithms that can analyse vast amounts of data in real-time, identify potential threats, and adapt to new attack vectors.
This proactive approach allows for more effective threat detection and response, reducing the likelihood of successful breaches and minimising the impact of any incidents that do occur.
The NGFW is designed to be flexible, adapting to the ever-changing requirements of network environments and security risks. It is available in various deployment formats, including hardware, software, and virtual options.
Cisco's Secure Firewall delivers extensive visibility and robust protection against a wide array of threats, including malware, known and unknown exploits, and web-based attacks, across applications, devices, users, and multi-cloud networks.
Tech Mahindra's AI experience
Tech Mahindra has a proven track record of working with high-profile tech clients to build innovative solutions, including AI and analytics, cloud and infrastructure services, and network services.
The multinational been actively forging partnerships to accelerate AI adoption across various industries. In the automotive sector, they collaborated with Anyverse for simplifying the use of synthetic data, Google for GenAI-powered email solution in contact centres, and Atento for AI-driven business solutions focused on enhancing customer experience.
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