Sangfor Technologies provides first-class cloud computing and network security solutions to over 100,000+ customers worldwide, with their global footprint reaching from Asia to North America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
CyberCentric team had an exclusive session with Farhan Mannan, Head of Sales, Sangfor Middle East focusing on the emerging threat landscape and technologies being developed at Sangfor to counter the latest threat vectors.
Farhan has played an integral role in developing the market for Sangfor solutions in the Middle East, North Africa & Pakistan. He is an accomplished business leader with over 20+ years of experience in driving revenue through building and maintaining client relationships.
CyberCentric: How do you see the cyber security industry pre covid & post covid?
FM: Work from home is a term that we hardly hear in the Middle East. Post-Covid, when the majority of the organizations were forced to accept work from home, the cyber threats took a new height. Phishing emails & attempts of unauthorized access increased at an alarming rate. Organizations had to prepare themselves for this new norm of business and hence the demand for SSL VPN & VDI increased. Sangfor Technologies helped a lot of customers in securing their digital boundaries.
CyberCentric: What kind of cyber threats the organizations in the Middle East are facing today?
FM: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), Phishing, Ransomware and VPN attacks are some of the prominent threat vectors faced by organizations in the Middle East. The government, private, oil and gas, telecom and healthcare sectors are the prime target of the hackers with repeated attacks targeting specific customers. Phishing emails have become the prime source of triggering a ransomware attack. The threat landscape has taken a paradigm shift not only because of the technologies involved but also because of the regional geopolitical situation.
CyberCentric: How is Sangfor Technologies helping its customers in safeguarding their digital environment?
FM: Sangfor Technologies is a leading global vendor of IT infrastructure solutions, specializing in Cloud Computing & Network Security with a wide range of products & services including Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, Next-Generation Firewall, Internet Access Management, Endpoint Protection, Ransomware Protection, Managed Detection and Response, WAN Optimization, SD-WAN, and many others.
CyberCentric: How is Sangfor different than the rest of the service providers in the same domain?
FM: One of the hallmarks of Sangfor that sets us apart from the rest of the competition is our belief in research & development. Sangfor invests at least 20% of its yearly revenue in R&D, improving current products, and developing new solutions in its five R&D centers in the USA & China. So far, Sangfor has applied for more than 1,500 patents with more patent applications scheduled for 2021. This dedication to innovation enables Sangfor to release new and updated versions of products and ultimately to stay ahead of the competitors.
Our technology bed focuses on Infrastructure, Cloud Computing & Network Security which allows us to offer end-to-end protection to our customers.
CyberCentric: What are the strategic growth plans of Sangfor for the region?
FM: We at Sangfor have a very customer-centric approach for expansion. We are coming up with the latest technologies that provide an additional layer of security for our customers. Cyber Command is one example that is a next-generation, AI-driven Network Detection and automated threat response platform that helps businesses identify threats and hunt them down. Since taking up the role, I personally focused on the development of the partner network and enabling their sales & pre-sales teams. Our customer acquisition strategy focuses on service delivery which ensures that we don’t only deliver the box but provide quality of service that solves complex cyber security challenges of our customers.