-For the first time: $108 billion in total global revenues for “Palo Alto” and a 30% growth rate locally.

- In cooperation with "MCS", launching our new strategy to enhance the cybersecurity industry in the Egyptian market

By: Pakinam Khaled

Engineer Wassim Youssef, Regional Director of Engineering Systems in Egypt, the Gulf and North Africa at Palo Alto Networks, a global company specializing in the field of cybersecurity, confirmed in response to Alam Rakamy’s question that the company succeeded in 2023 in achieving $108 billion globally, to be the first An information security company that has succeeded in exceeding $100 billion in annual revenues, almost double that of our closest competitors, as a result of the company’s strategy that it adopted more than 3 years ago to rely on providing a unified platform that includes integrated solutions in the field of cybersecurity based on artificial intelligence techniques, which is what guaranteed the company It is far ahead of its competitors and its ability to provide innovative solutions in the field of information security to all business institutions in all markets.

In response to Alam Rakamy’s question, during the activities of the annual conference organized by “Palo Alto Networks” for its partners in Egypt, he said that the company has 6 strategic partners in the Egyptian market, along with about 30 other partners, with the aim of helping business institutions, in the government sector and the banking sector, communications. and oil, to meet their needs for information security solutions, especially with the increased awareness among these institutions of the necessity of adopting information security solutions, especially in light of the doubling of the number of cyber threats and crimes, the growth rate of which has exceeded about 600%. Therefore, the Egyptian market for information is one of the most important markets in the Middle East and Africa region. .

Human resources

In response to Alam Rakamy’s question about the extent of the company’s interest in preparing human resources, Waseem said that the share of “Palo Alto Networks” in the Egyptian information security market reached 25%. The company also succeeded in increasing the number of its employees by about 20-30% during the year 2023, explaining that the company It has a number of partnerships in the Egyptian market, the most important of which is the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA), to work on organizing training courses to qualify and prepare human cadres specialized in the field of information security. We also have partnerships with a number of Egyptian universities to make all of our programs and solutions available to train students for free during the university study period. .

Artificial Intelligence

In response to Alam Rakamy’s question about the company’s role in filling the gap related to the shortage of human resources specialized in the field of information security, which research estimates at about 3.5 million jobs, the regional director of engineering systems in Egypt, the Gulf and North Africa at Palo Alto Networks said that, of course, there is a shortage of Human cadres specialized in the field of cybersecurity, not only at the local and regional levels, but also at the global level. However, adopting artificial intelligence “AI” solutions in developing information security solutions will allow us the possibility of reducing this gap by leaving traditional work to be carried out by computers instead of humans. Human cadres must be employed in jobs that require specialized human minds. This is in addition to the company’s efforts that take place in the field of training human cadres and developing their digital capabilities in the field of cybersecurity on an ongoing basis in cooperation with our partners.

In response to Alam Rakamy’s question about the importance of cloud computing in disseminating cybersecurity solutions, Waseem said that cloud computing technologies play an important role in meeting the needs of business organizations for information security solutions, but this depends largely on the classification of data available to each organization and the extent of its importance and privacy. For it and its customers, and of course, cloud computing of all kinds, “private, public, hybrid,” depends on each organization’s view of the data it has and wants to protect.

Partnership with Middle East Technology Services

Waseem explained that Palo Alto Networks, a global company specializing in the field of cybersecurity, in cooperation with the Middle East Information Technology Services Company MCS, today announced the organization of its annual Partner Award Ceremony 2023 conference to honor its partners in the local market. It is also scheduled to review during the event the features of its future strategy. To strengthen its position in the Egyptian market, which is based on innovation with the aim of enabling secure digital transformation for all major sectors, this comes in line with its vision that is in line with the accelerating pace of change in the cybersecurity industry.

He added: “We are pleased with this event, which culminates our efforts and the great achievements that Palo Alto Networks has achieved in the Egyptian market, which is witnessing strong growth of up to 30% annually. This success is not only attributable to our sustainable growth, but also to the strategic partnerships that we have developed within the business ecosystem.” "Local."

He added: Our dedication to strengthening our position in the Egyptian market extends beyond support to effective participation in the implementation of successful projects for a number of diverse sectors such as the public sector, banks, communications, oil and gas, and private fields. By benefiting from our experience and empowering our local partners, we collectively contribute to growth and security of these sectors.”

Support digital transformation

For his part, Engineer Ali Azzam, Executive Vice President of MCS, said, “We are proud to cooperate with our strategic partner Palo Alto Networks in this event, which reflects the magnitude of the huge efforts made by all parties of the cybersecurity industry system in Egypt, which are commensurate with the growth rates of this sector of In terms of business volume and rates of demand for innovative solutions and applications, with the aim of consolidating the foundations of safe digital transformation in all major and pivotal sectors, especially since these steps are in line with government visions in the engine of digital transformation in the Egyptian market.”

It is worth noting that honoring partners included a number of categories, most notably the strategic project partner, public sector partner, government partner, commercial partner, and business sector partner. A number of prominent Egyptian companies were honored.