Securing The Next Together

F5’s Anticipate 2016 event took place in Singapore on 18-19 May at St Regis Hotel, and gave its attendees a deep dive into the complex web that is cybersecurity, and what this means to F5, our customers and other stakeholders.

Manu Bonnassie, SVP of Asia Pacific, F5 Networks kicked off Anticipate 2016 with his keynote speech. He set the tone for the rest of the event, sharing how F5 is at the forefront of constant development and effective collaboration to stay ahead of the competition to deliver effective solutions and products to our customers.

Throughout the day, the audience was privy to insights from various perspectives. Different stakeholders highlighted different concerns, and some of them displayed how F5 is playing a role in keeping the digital space safe for all customers and consumers.

At the end of it all, two messages came out strongly. First, the world had changed, and a new, app-centric approach to security was the way to go. Secondly, all of us, as a security community, need to come together to define our ‘next’ security architecture in this new world order, and to secure the ‘next’ together.

• Industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan shared an overview of today’s threat landscape, with cloud migration, the growing IoT trend and cyberattacks on critical infrastructure like utilities and called for the need for resilience to deter a cyber-catastrophe.
• Some of our customers shared their experiences with F5’s solutions. One of them was the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT), Ministry of Finance of Republic of Indonesia, who deployed F5 solutions to manage network traffic, and ensure the security of digital tax payments. The improved delivery and robust security has resulted in more taxpayers paying their taxes online.
• Another customer, Catholic Education South Australia (CESA) also raved about F5’s solutions, and explained how they leverage these solutions to secure CESA’s applications and protect education services in a highly technological environment, so schools under its jurisdiction could deliver seamless education services. 
• Networks World Asia shared findings of the Enterprise Security Survey 2016. Results showed that cybersecurity has become a top concern for enterprises, and that cyberattacks spare no industry, country or device. The editor-in-chief, Victor Ng, also anchored a panel discussion between Frost & Sullivan, F5 and the customers, where they shared their views on the evolving paradigm of cybersecurity.
• Two of our technology partners, FireEye and Cisco, also spoke at the event, sharing the extent of their capabilities and their respective collaborations with F5. Cisco described the journey it has embarked on with F5 to reduce complexity and drive automation. The closing statement summed it up best – “we keep innovating our business so you can innovate securely in yours.” FireEye spoke about how technology has enabled businesses to move from not knowing what has hit them to knowing what has hit them and counter what has hit them on the spot.

Some of our experts were on hand to not just give demonstrations our products and solutions, but also to hammer home that cybersecurity is in a constant state of flux, and that constant innovation and close collaboration is needed to keep would-be attackers at bay.

It was a day filled with refreshing insights and experiences, which took a closer look into the digital realm that F5 and our network of partners operate within. For a topic as essential and broad such as cybersecurity, perhaps even an entire day’s worth of discussion and sharing would not have sufficed. Vishal Singh, RVP of ASEAN, F5 Networks brought the proceedings to a close, and reiterated the mission statement: F5 is around to add value to your cybersecurity journey.