C&L May 2018

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Training your workforce 

on digital transformation Pg 8 

COLUMN 

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of GDPR violations? Pg 18 

Volume 07 

Issue 02 

May 2018 

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EDITORIAL 

Shyamanuja Das 

shyamanuja.das@9dot9.in 

CIOs badly 

need an 

outside-in 

perspective… 

A 

All that we do 

in this issue is 

to highlight the 

important points 

within the draft 

(communication 

policy) that 

have direct 

and indirect 

implications for 

IT and security 

managers 

good two weeks after the Srikrishna Committee 

released its whitepaper outlining various 

issues to consider in a possible data privacy 

legislation in India, I tried to informally seek 

the opinion of delegates—CIOs, CISOs and 

other senior security professionals—participating 

in a security-themed event. Just 3-4 out 

of more than 30 delegates knew something 

about the report. 

I was not exactly shocked. I was already working 

on a story on the digitalization journey of 

large Indian corporations then and was getting 

a strong message that if not many CIOs are leading 

the digitalization journey, it is not 

because they are devoid of any skills but 

many of them cannot draw on a blank 

canvas. They are excellent problem solvers 

but they expect the ‘problem’ to be 

defined for them. Digitalization—where 

‘use cases’ is the ruling catchphrase— 

does not work that way. 

Earlier, enterprise IT managers 

understood only technology; then, 

understood processes and corresponding 

metrics; now, many of them have 

a fairly good understanding of their 

own business dynamics. That is good 

enough to derive value from technology 

for ‘business as usual’ part. But 

to derive value from new technology, new changes 

in economy, business environment, regulatory 

regimes, they need to keep their eyes and ears open. 

Unlike the Srikrishna Committee white paper, the 

new national digital communication policy is a fullfledged 

policy document. Despite its positioning as 

the latest update to the country’s telecom policy, it 

is not a mere sectoral policy draft—partly because 

communication itself has broadened its scope and 

partly because the government has chosen to include 

certain policy positions—such as data privacy itself— 

within this policy draft. 

Yet, the awareness about its provisions is also low 

among the community. All that we do in this issue is 

to highlight the important points within the draft that 

have direct and indirect implications for IT and security 

managers. To that extent, it is not even a story. 

But carrying it on cover is also our way of reiterating 

that environmental changes are as important as 

changes in an organization or a particular industry 

in what has already become an outside-in regime 

May 2018 | CIO&LEADER 

1

TRACK TECHNOLOGY BUILD BUSINESS SHAPE SELF 

A 9.9 Media Publication 

INTERVIEW 

Training your workforce 

on digital transformation Pg 8 

COLUMN Volume 07 

Issue 02 

How to steer clear 

May 2018 

of GDPR violations? Pg 18 

150 

CONTENT 

MAY 2018 

COVER STORY 

12-17 | Why the new 

policy matters… 

Despite a narrower positioning by Department of 

Telecommunications, the new digital communication 

policy is a statement of intent to improve the digital 

environment holistically 

Cover Design by: 

Manoj Kumar VP 

advertisers ’ 

index 

Accenture 

BC 

Please Recycle 

This Magazine 

And Remove 

Inserts Before 

Recycling 

COPYRIGHT, All rights reserved: Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission 

from Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx Pvt Ltd. is prohibited. Printed and published by Vikas Gupta for 

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does not assume any liabilities 

for errors or omissions. 

2 CIO&LEADER | May 2018

AROUND THE TECH 

04 

Bending the issue 

www.cioandleader.com 

COLUMN 

20-21 

Understanding APIs 

for private cloud 

implementations 

By Abhinav Asthana 

24-25 

Bringing IoT sensors to 

the farm 

By Adam Drobot 

SECURITY 

28-29 

Information sharing is 

key to ward off cyber 

threats 

INSIGHT 

30-31 

Mixing digital 

technologies 

34-35 

Artificial 

intelligence sees 

big business 

38-40 

The dirty secrets of 

network firewalls 

MANAGEMENT 

Managing Director: Dr Pramath Raj Sinha 

Printer & Publisher: Vikas Gupta 

EDITORIAL 

Managing Editor: Shyamanuja Das 

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SALES & MARKETING 

Director-Community Engagement 

for Enterprise Technology Business: 

Sachin Mhashilkar (+91 99203 48755) 

Brand Head: Vandana Chauhan (+91 99589 84581) 

Assistant Product Manager-Digital: Manan Mushtaq 

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Community Manager-B2B Tech: Renuka Deopa 

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Near Mandir Masjid, Delhi-110091 

Published, Printed and Owned by 9.9 Group Pvt. Ltd. 

(Formerly known as Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx Pvt. Ltd.) 

Published and printed on their behalf by 

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Mayur Vihar, Phase - I, Near Mandir Masjid, Delhi-110091, 

India. Printed at Tara Art Printers Pvt Ltd., A-46-47, Sector-5, 

NOIDA (U.P.) 201301. 

Editor: Vikas Gupta 


3

around 

thetech 

WHAT 

CIOs ARE 

TIRED OF 

HEARING... 

“We don't have 

the budgets but 

let's make it 

work!" 

GENDER 

Bending the issue 

We have talked a great deal about 

gender equality in the workforce. 

In enterprise IT and security, the 

percentage of women in the workforce is 

strikingly poor. Take for instance, ISACA’s 

annual State of Cybersecurity 2018 

report, a 31-point perception gap exists 

between male and female respondents, 

with 82% of male respondents saying 

men and women are offered the same 

opportunities for career advancement in 

cybersecurity, compared to just 51% of 

female respondents. 

The report also found that while gender 

disparity exists, it can be mitigated 

through effective diversity programs. In 

organizations that have one, men and 

women are much more likely to agree 

that men and women have the same 

career advancement opportunities. A 

full 87% of men say they have the same 

opportunities, as compared to 77% of 

women. 

A lot of companies are publicly taking 

up this cause to improve diversity in 

the workforce. Take for instance, staff 

in Starbucks' outlets that the company 

owns in the U.S.—more than 8,000 in 

total—are undergoing racial-bias training. 

The city of Boston is also addressing 

the cause by offering to train women in 

negotiating their salaries better. 

In Hollywood too, women are speaking 

up about gender bias. 

However, IT and security leaders need 

to do more. By hiring qualified women, 

companies can tackle the widening 

skill gap. They can create a cohesive 

work environment and help make IT 

a preferred career choice for women 

employees. How are you addressing the 

issue in your organization? 


Around The Tech 

BY THE BOOK 

This book takes you on a journey to 

project a worldview where women 

haven't asked for permission from 

Silicon Valley to chase their dreams. 

They are going for it -- building the next 

generation of tech start-ups, investing 

in each other's ventures, crushing 

male hacker stereotypes and rallying 

women and girls everywhere to join 

the digital revolution. Geek Girl Rising 

isn't about the famous tech trailblazers 

you already know, like Sheryl Sandberg 

and Marissa Mayer. Instead, veteran 

journalists Heather Cabot and 

Samantha Walravens introduce readers 

to the fearless female entrepreneurs and 

technologists fighting at the grassroots 

level for an ownership stake in the 

revolution that's changing the way we 

live, work and connect to each other. 

Readers will be introduced to Debbie 

Sterling, inventor of GoldieBlox, the first 

engineering toy for girls, which topples 

the notion that only boys can build. 

They'll get a peek inside YouTube sensation 

Michelle Phan's ipsy studios, where 

she is grooming the next generation 

of digital video stars while leading her 

own mega e-commerce beauty business. 

makingheadlines 

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is newest regulation to come 

into effect in the European Union. However, it hasn't deterred two of the Big Four 

from being hit with a handful of lawsuits having to do with how they share data. 

The Verge, citing the lawsuits, reported they are seeking to hit Facebook and 

Google with fines that collectively amount to around USD 8.8 billion. The 

lawsuits were filed by Max Schrems, an Australian activist who has long 

criticized how the companies collect data on their users. 

Under the new regulation, companies have to provide clear consent and justify 

why they are collecting data on their users, as well as clarify what they intend to 

do with it. They are also required to overhaul their privacy and data collection 

policies to better protect consumers. 

Google and Facebook have been addressing GDPR before it was law, rolling out 

new policies and products to better protect the data, but those steps aren't enough. 

What happens when an entire city tries to close the 

gender pay gap? In the last few years, the city of 

Boston has doubled down on a commitment made 

in 2013 by its former Mayor, Thomas M. Menino, to 

bring pay equity to the city’s workforce. The Boston 

Women’s Workforce Council teams up with the area’s 

companies and institutions, including major ones 

like Morgan Stanley, Zipcar and the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology, to help them figure out 

ways to advance women, which they share with one 

another in quarterly best-practice meetings. 

The city has also trained over 7,000 women 

in salary negotiation, with a goal of training an 

additional 78,000 by 2021. A more immediate 

deadline: The Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, 

passed by the legislature in 2016, goes into effect 

in July 2018. 

gender 

bender 


5


UNCHAINED MELODY 

matter of 

twitter 

The ability of blockchain to track, trace, and authenticate products, 

record contracts, guarantee the movement of information and 

record transactions means it can be put to use across the entire 

value chain, with the benefits consequently being passed on to the 

consumer in the form of savings, increased trust and transparency, 

and safer and higher quality products. 

In this new Deloitte report, we examine the implications and 

assess the value of specific blockchain use-cases, analyzing how 

they could be used to resolve key business issues. 

Deloitte has predicted that blockchain technology will reach a tipping 

point in the next five years, moving from a fringe technology 

associated with dubious cryptocurrency investments and get rich 

quick stories to a standard operational technology across the financial, 

manufacturing and consumer industries. 

Along the way, blockchain will face significant challenges, but if 

these can be overcome and the technology continues to develop as 

expected, there could be widespread adoption among enterprises. 

The ultimate beneficiary will be the consumer. If blockchain can 

create efficiencies and save costs throughout the supply chain. 

VITAL 

STATISTICS 

Why are so few 

women investing 

into bitcoin? 

94.73% 

5.27% 

*Note –the responses to these questions should be 

evaluated based on the facts and circumstances in 

your organization and discussed with legal counsel. 



These five companies have secured the 

top five spots in Fortune 500 Companies 

2018 list. Amazon entered the top 10 list 

of Fortune 500 companies for the first 

time. It became the second tech company 

after Apple to be in Top 10. Telecom 

major AT&T follows Amazon in the list. 

Alphabet, Microsoft, IBM, Dell and 

Intel are the other tech companies 

who feature among the top 10. While 

Apple dropped one position in the 

revenue ranking, technology companies 

till create the most value. The 

four most valuable companies on the 

list are all technology firms—Apple, 

Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. 

Walmart 

Rank: 1 

Revenues: USD500,343 

Walmart business in the U.S. is 

transforming its website into an 

online mall offering a slew of brands 

and expanding its grocery delivery. 

It is also making big moves in both 

Five companies in the 

FORTUNE500 2018 LIST 

China and India, looking to rev up 

international growth again. 

Exxon Mobil 

Rank: 2 


Oil giant is enjoying the same momentum 

as the rest of the energy sector, posting 

a 151% year-over-year earnings gain 

for 2017 on revenues of USD 244 billion. 

Berkshire Hathaway 

Rank: 3 


The conglomerate holding company– 

whose many subsidiaries include Geico 

and the railroad Burlington Northern– 

struggled to grow through acquisitions 

in 2017, losing out on its bid for Oncor 

when it refused to raise its offer. 

Apple 

Rank: 4 

Revenues: USD 229,234 

Apple took a small step back, from 

No. 3 to No. 4, despite a 6% gain in 

annual sales, but it led the way in 

profits with more than $48 billion 

in net income. In short, the Apple 

juggernaut continues at tremendous 

scale and despite the overall saturation 

of smartphones, which make up 

the vast majority of the company’s 

sales and profits. 

In a year dominated by proposed 

cross-sector health care mega-mergers 

like the CVS-Aetna deal, United- 

Health Group flew somewhat under 

the radar. But America’s largest 

health insurer was far from idle. 

UnitedHealth Group 

Rank: 5 

Revenues: USD 201,150 

UnitedHealth’s 2017 revenues 

spiked 9% compared with 2016 to 

$201 billion. That was mirrored 

by a 9.1% year-over-year boost in 

Optum’s revenues, which grew to 

$91.2 billion. 


7

INTERVIEW 

How are you 

upskilling your 

IT team on digital 

transformation 

initiatives? 

Simplilearn has launched a digital transformation 

academy for enterprises. Have IT leaders enrolled yet? 

By Shubhra Rishi 


Anand Narayanan, Simplilearn 

Interview 

In the last few years, CIOs have been 

chanting the ‘digital transformation’ 

catchphrase as if it is a common cure for 

all enterprise IT worries. However, a lot of 

organizations have embarked on standalone 

digital initiatives and are slowly 

evolving their digital readiness. However, 

a frequent issue that companies face is 

the lack of available talent to lead these 

innovations. As a result, a lot of companies 

are looking at hiring outside skills 

for the duration of the initiative. Some are 

also working with startups or external 

vendors. What about enterprises/CIOs 

that are planning to upskill their existing 

workforce on digital skills? 

A quick Google search displays several 

courses offered by premiere institutions 

such as Indian School of Business (ISB), 

and online courses by platforms, such as 

Udemy, Coursera, edX among others. Simplilearn, 

a professional online certification provider, 

recently launched Digital Transformation Academy 

– a complete suite of courses tailored for 

enterprise needs. 

We spoke to Anand Narayanan, Chief Product 

Officer at Simplilearn, to find out how the Academy 

aims to bridge the digital skill gap. 

Digital Transformation is a very 

broad concept. How do you define it 

at Simplilearn? 

We believe that, to successfully drive Digital 

Transformation, any organization needs to pay 

attention to three foundational aspects: People, 

Process, and Technology. The people aspect 

includes the process of transforming the mindset 

of an organization and creating an innovation 

driven culture from the grounds up. Process 

involves the ability to be “agile” and always follow 

“devops” principles. And finally technology allows 

an organization to change the way business is 

performed. Digital transformation isn’t just about 

technology but is also about the people that drive it 

and the processes that foster innovations. 

Can you talk about the skill gap 

issue in enterprise IT? 

Digital transformation is already disrupting traditional 

technologies, replacing them with digital 

domains, such as AI & Machine Learning, 

Analytics, Cloud, and Robotic Process Automation. 

It is also clear that these skills are not 

easily acquired due to their rapid evolution.To 

remain competitive and efficient, organizations 

have tried hiring for these skills, but the talent 


9

Interview 

Anand Narayanan, Simplilearn 

The Academy has 

a suite of training 

programs that 

help organizations 

become competent 

in digital 

technologies 

pool remains small. This leads to a skill gap that can only 

be overcome with a strong upskilling program. 

We conducted a survey of IT Managers 

recently and found that only less than half 

of them have completed any kind of certification 

in the last two years. Every three out of four of 

the respondents said they have done some kind 

of certification in the last five years. Why do you 

think CIOs/IT managers will be interested in taking 

up what you have to offer? 

Enterprises, more than ever, are measuring the ROI of their 

employees and realizing that they are falling behind on key 

skills in the digital domain. Online learning does not drive 

user engagement and the completion rates are abysmal as 

a result. The Simplilearn learning approach drives user 

engagement and skill achievement through a high-engagement, 

outcome centric model. Online self learning content, 

skills assessments, live classes with industry grade faculty, 

teaching assistants to intervene when required and hands 

on projects, have helped us to deliver an industry high 72% 

completion rate on our curriculum. Being able to achieve the 

learning outcomes and truly transform their organization is 

what makes our offer exciting to these CIOs/IT managers. 

Another survey finding that we encountered 

was that 28% of IT Managers said they 

would go for learning new technologies; however, 

leadership skills still topped the choice list. 

Clearly leadership skills are a CIO's top priority 

and they would rather spend dollars on hiring 

temporary skills. Then why would CIOs reskill at 

all or do you feel differently about this? 

In recent focus groups and discussions that Simplilearn 

has had with CIOs and L&D heads, it was clear that 

while the target group thought that leadership skills 

were important, a majority of their budgets were going 

towards technology training. IT Managers and CIOs 

are realizing that there is a significant technology shift 

happening in the industry with the mainstream use of 

digital technologies and this is clear from the way their 

training budgets are being allocated. 

While there has been intermittent use of a transient 

workforce, this approach has not delivered a culturally 

aligned outcome for these corporations. This transient 

workforce solves for the technology aspect, but it fails 

to deliver on the people and process aspects due to poor 

alignment of outcomes. It has become an imperative for 

corporations to upskill their employees or risk being left 

behind as a result. 

What's the vision and mission of the Simplilearn 

Digital Transformation Academy for 

enterprises? 

The Simplilearn Digital Transformation Academy is our 

flagship initiative to enable enterprises become digital ready. 

We are partnering with organizations to equip them with the 

skills needed to survive the digital era. The Academy has a 

suite of training programs that help organizations become 

competent in digital technologies. The program covers all 

knowledge aspects of the people, processes and technology 

framework and allows any organization to quickly move up 

the digital transformation capability ladder. 

What is the broad breakup of the course 

module? 

The Simplilearn Digital Transformation Academy covers 

varied topics across the people, process and technology 

aspects. On the people side, the academy provides 

training around design thinking, and UX principles 

which can lead to a more innovative, customer centric 

approach within an organization. 

On the process side, the academy covers core topics 

such as Agile and DevOps which allow an organization to 

run lean and fast. And on the technology side core digital 

disciplines are covered such as AI and machine learning, 

robotic process automation, big data, data analytics, digital 

marketing, and cloud computing. 

Our outcome centric curriculum is a blend of online selflearning 

and live instructor led classroom, allowing the 

learner to learn from anywhere. The courses are designed 

for three levels of training - Practitioner, Consultant, and 

CXO, and are based on the depth of knowledge and digital 

expertise required for various roles. Additionally the 

academy provides the capability to customize the curriculum 

for specific verticals 


A PEER-POWERED, 

KNOWLEDGE - BASED AND 

COMMUNITY-LED INITIATIVE 

FOR CFOS

Cover Story 


Cover Story 

Why the 

new policy 

matters… 

Despite a narrower positioning by Department 

of Telecommunications, the new digital communication 

policy is a statement of intent to 

improve the digital environment holistically 

By CIO&Leader 

On 1 May 2018, the Department 

of Telecommunications (DoT) 

released the draft, National 

Digital Communication Policy 

2018 for public consultation. The 

latest national communication policy is the fifth 

overall communication policy document from 

the government. For long, communication in the 

country was governed by the Indian Telegraph 

Act 1885. It took 109 years to get the first national 

telecom policy of India, in 1994. Since then, this is 

the third policy statement, the other two having 

been released in 1999 and 2012. 

The significant ways in which it differs from 

the other three in recent times (1994, 1999 and 

2012 versions) is that while all of them were called 

National Telecom Policy, the current draft replaces 

‘telecom’ with broader and more contemporary 

‘communication’, while ‘digital’ has been inserted. 

The policy is available on the DoT website 

and is open for public comments, at the time of 

writing this. 

According to the policy document, the policy 

aims to accomplish the following strategic objectives 

by 2022: 

1. Provisioning of broadband for all 

2. Creating 4 million additional jobs in the Digital 

Communications sector 

3. Enhancing the contribution of the Digital 

Communications sector to 8% of India’s GDP 

from ~ 6% in 2017 

4. Propelling India to the top 50 nations in the ICT 

Development Index of ITU from 134 in 2017 

5. Enhancing India’s contribution to global 

value chains 

6. Ensuring digital sovereignty 

While the first five objectives have traditionally 

guided policymaking in all sectors, the last two— 

that deal with India’s position in the world—are 

new additions to this policy statement. 

Beyond Telecom 

When we asked about the policy to CIOs and some 

senior IT managers, few had any knowledge about 


13

Cover Story 

By its content, specific 

goals and possible 

implications, the policy 

goes well beyond 

telecom sector. Yet, both 

its stated objective and 

the channel through 

which it was released 

(the administrative 

department DoT rather 

than a NITI Aayog or 

PMO), tends to indicate it 

is a sectoral policy. 

what it contains, other than the fact that such a policy has 

been announced. The only respondent who seemed to be 

familiar with the policy was from the telecom industry! 

While we are not defending the lack of awareness by the 

IT managers’ community, part of the blame should go to the 

government. Despite being fairly holistic, it has been positioned 

as just the latest ‘telecom’ policy. 

By its content, specific goals and possible implications, 

the policy goes well beyond telecom sector. Yet, both its 

stated objectives—enable creation of a vibrant competitive 

telecom market to strengthen India’s long-term competitiveness—and 

the channel through which it was released 

(the administrative department DoT rather than a NITI 

Aayog or PMO), tends to indicate that it is a sectoral policy. 

Take for example, the specific goal, ‘establish a strong, 

robust and flexible’ data protection regime, on which the 

Government has already acted by establishing a committee 

headed by Justice B.N Srikrishna. 

What is ‘telecom’ about it? 

There are three mission statements mentioned in the 

policy—Connect India (creating robust infrastructure), 

Propel India (promoting innovation and tech ecosystem 

and leverage emerging technologies) and Secure India 

(ensuring privacy, security and digital sovereignty). Only 

the first part is a logical sequel to previous telecom policies 

in its scope. The rest two are completely new additions. 

In that sense, it is a digitech policy, rather than a telecom 

policy. 

Not too surprisingly, one of the areas for which the 

provisions have direct implications, is enterprise IT, 

including information security. 

While almost the entire policy has implications for IT, there 

are several provisions and objectives that will have direct 

impact on enterprise IT operations (including information 

security). We have identified 18 such specific points from the 

draft policy text. You are advised to go through the entire policy 

at the DoT’s website though by the time the issue reaches you, 

the time for registering your comments would have elapsed. 

Here are the 18 points we strongly suggest you need to 

go through, and take them as inputs while working out 

your long-term plans. Most of them have positive implications 

but nevertheless, if you miss them, in a highly competitive 

market, you may just incur an opportunity cost! 

We have indicated the specific clause in the policy within 

parentheses () against each of the points. This will help you 

locate them within policy text easily in case you need to 

understand the context, know specific actions points, etc. 

Here we go… 

1 

Ensuring inclusion of uncovered 

areas and digitally deprived segments 

of society (1.4) 

Possible impact: Expansion of access today means 

expansion of the market. For many products and services, 

this will give access to new market segments, some of 

which are at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’. That itself may 

foster further innovation! 

This is also the only point from the first section of the 

policy (Connect India) that finds a place in this listing. 

2 

Deployment and adoption of new 

and emerging technologies (2.2.a) 

The policy talks about creating a roadmap for emerging 

technologies, such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, 

Internet of Things, Cloud Computing and M2M by simplifying 

licensing and regulatory frameworks whilst ensuring 

appropriate security frameworks for IoT/ M2M. 

It also explicitly mentions another emerging challenge—earmarking 

adequate licensed and unlicensed 

spectrum for IoT/M2M service. 

Encouraging use of Open APIs for emerging technologies 

is another progressive stance that the policy envisages. 

Possible impact: Today, most of the experimentations 

with new technologies like IoT and M2M do not scale up 

because businesses are unwilling to take the investment 

risks, because the regulatory directions in a lot of issues 

including spectrum availability are still unknown. A proactive 

policy stance like this will open up investments and 

accelerate the deployment of new technologies. 


Cover Story 

The Policy at a Glance 

Vision 

To fulfil the information and communication needs of citizens and enterprises by establishment of a ubiquitous, 

resilient, secure and affordable Digital Communications Infrastructure and Services; and in the process, 

support India’s transition to a digitally empowered economy and society 

Mission Description Objective 2022 Goals 

Points in 

our Story 

pertaining 

to the 

mission 

Connect 

India 

Creating Robust 

Digital Communications 

Infrastructure 

To promote Broadband 

for All as a tool for 

socio-economic development, 

while ensuring 

service quality and 

environmental sustainability 

a. Provide Universal broadband coverage at 50 Mbps to 

every citizen 

b. Provide 1 Gbps connectivity to all Gram Panchayats of 

India by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022 

c. Enable 100 Mbps broadband on demand to all key development 

institutions; including all educational institutions 

d. Enable fixed line broadband access to 50% of households 

e. Achieve ‘unique mobile subscriber density’ of 55 by 2020 

and 65 by 2022 

f. Enable deployment of public Wi-Fi Hotspots; to reach 5 

million by 2020 and 10 million by 2022 

g. Ensure connectivity to all uncovered areas 

a. Attract investments of USD 100 Billion in the Digital 

Communications Sector 

b. Increase India’s contribution to Global Value Chains 

c. Creation of innovation led Start-ups in Digital Communications 

sector 

d. Creation of Globally recognized IPRs in India 

e. Development of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) in the 

field of digital communication technologies 

f. Train/ Re-skill 1 Million manpower for building New Age 

Skills 

g. Expand IoT ecosystem to 5 Billion connected devices 

h. Accelerate transition to Industry 4.0 

a. Establish a comprehensive data protection regime for 

digital communications that safeguards the privacy, 

autonomy and choice of individuals and facilitates India’s 

effective participation in the global digital economy 

b. Ensure that net neutrality principles are upheld and 

aligned with service requirements, bandwidth availability 

and network capabilities including next generation access 

technologies 

c. Develop and deploy robust digital communication network 

security frameworks 

d. Build capacity for security testing and establish appropriate 

security standards 

e. Address security issues relating to encryption and security 

clearances 

f. Enforce accountability through appropriate institutional 

mechanisms to assure citizens of safe and secure digital 

communications infrastructure and services 

#1 

Propel 

India 

Enabling Next 

Generation Technologies 

and 

Services through 

Investments, 

Innovation and 

IPR generation 

To harness the power of 

emerging digital technologies, 

including 5G, 

AI, IoT, Cloud and Big 

Data to enable provision 

of future ready products 

and services; and 

to catalyse the fourth 

industrial revolution 

(Industry 4.0) by promoting 

Investments, 

Innovation and IPR 

#2 through 

#9 

Secure 

India 

Ensuring Sovereignty, 

Safety and 

Security of Digital 

Communications 

To secure the interests 

of citizens and safeguard 

the digital sovereignty 

of India with a 

focus on ensuring individual 

autonomy and 

choice, data ownership, 

privacy and security; 

while recognizing data 

as a crucial economic 

resource. 

#10 through 

#18 


15

Cover Story 

3 

Transition to IPv6 for all existing 

communications systems, 

equipment, networks and devices (2.2.c) 

Possible impact: For network managers, especially those 

managing large and complex networks, everything changes. 

4 

Enabling hi-speed Internet, IoT and 

M2M by 5G rollout (2.2.d) 

Possible impact: As sensor technologies become mainstream, 

the demand for speed will go up exponentially. And 

most of that speed has to be on wireless networks. So, 5G is 

a natural evolution. Just that a proactive stance like a policy 

statement makes the evolution a bit faster and seamless. 

5 

Establishing India as a global hub 

for cloud computing, content hosting 

and delivery, and data communication 

systems and services (2.2.f) 

The policy promises regulatory frameworks for promoting 

international data centers, content delivery networks 

and independent in exchanges in India, while promising 

a light-touch regulation. 

Possible impact: Lower latency, drop in prices and 

more choice 

6 

Leveraging AI and Big Data to 

enhance the overall quality of 

service, spectrum management, network 

security and reliability (2.2.g) 

Possible impact: Though it is targeted at the telecom sector, 

a large and mature sector like telecom can drive down 

the price as well as help grow skills. 

7 

Recognizing Digital Communications 

as the core of Smart Cities (2.2.h) 

The policy proposes developing, in collaboration with 

Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD), a Common Service 

Framework and Standards for Smart Cities. There are 

similar initiatives globally. The government needs to evaluate 

whether it makes sense to adapt one of these to India or 

start working on it from scratch, though. 

Possible impact: Accelerated smart city rollout will 

directly impact the volume of sales of many technologies 

like IoT/M2M, Big Data, leading to more use cases, availability 

of skills and lower cost of these technologies. 

8 

Promoting Start-ups (2.4) 

One of the important objectives and 2022 goals is 

supporting start-ups through various fiscal and nonfiscal 

benefits, such as academic collaboration, promoting 

start-ups in government procurements, measures for 

application service providers. 

Possible impact: A vibrant start-up environment 

leads to better innovation and flexibility of deploying 

technologies for enterprises. 

9 

Accelerating Industry 4.0 (2.8) 

The policy lists, among its objectives, creation of a 

roadmap for transition to Industry 4.0 by 2020 taking 

a sectoral approach. It explicitly mentions development 

of markets for IoT/ M2M connectivity services in sectors 

including agriculture and smart cities components. It 

also talks of establishing a multi-stakeholder led collaborative 

mechanism for this purpose. 

Possible impact: Faster deployment of robotics, IoT 

and other similar technologies leading to not just huge 

efficiency gains but also better decision making through 

data analytics. 

10 

Today, most of the 

experimentations with 

new technologies like IoT 

and M2M do not scale 

up because businesses 

are unwilling to take the 

investment risks, thanks 

to unclear regulatory 

direction. A proactive 

policy stance will open 

up investments and 

accelerate the deployment 

of new technologies. 

Establish a strong, flexible and 

robust Data Protection Regime 

(3.1) 

While the Government has already taken measures on 

this regard, like the appointment of an expert committee 

under the chairmanship of Justice Srikrishna, which has 

already issued a draft stance document and has taken 

feedback from public, it is probably incorporated in the 

communication policy document to show its importance 

in the overall policy making. 

Possible impact: This has major implications for enter- 


Cover Story 

prise IT and compliance teams. Compliance with newer 

provisions like right to forget may need significant efforts 

including investment. 

11 

Assure Security of Digital 

Communications (3.3.a) 

The policy talks of infrastructure security (physical 

infrastructure, cyber-physical infrastructure, hardware 

and network elements), systems security (equipment, 

devices, distributed systems, virtual servers) as well as 

application and platform security (web, mobile, device 

and software security). 

Possible impact: One more layer of security at the service 

provider level is good news for enterprises, especially 

small and medium businesses. 

12 

Participating in global standard 

setting organisations (3.3.c) 

The policy talks about establishing comprehensive security 

certification regime based on global standards 

Possible impact: It was a long-desired requirement. A 

country of over a billion people should have a say in what 

direction the standards should go. 

13 

While the Government 

has already taken 

measures on data 

protection legislation, 

its incorporation in 

the communication 

policy document shows 

the importance it is 

accorded in the overall 

policy making. 

Formulating a policy on 

encryption and data retention 

(3.3.e) 

This is a hotly debated issue globally. While the government 

has made a mention of it in the policy, its exact 

stance is not known. 

Possible impact: A policy with clear guidelines is 

always better than a vague and ad-hoc approach. But keep 

your fingers crossed. 

14 

Facilitating lawful interception 

agencies with state-of-art lawful 

intercepts (3.3.f.ii) 

Mentioned as a sub-point of a clause, this one is tricky. The challenge 

is not technology always, though it is also becoming one. 

It is how robust is the process and what real powers do the service 

providers enjoy to say no to a request that is not mandated 

by policy bought sought by the enforcement agencies. 

Possible impact: Depends on how the policy making 

proceeds, it may make things easier or far more difficult. 

15 

Establishing a Security Incident 

Management and Response System 

for communications (3.3.g) 

Since communication industry is the basic foundation of 

a digital ecosystem, it has to be made thoroughly secure. 

Instituting a sectoral CERT that works in tandem with 

CERT-in is a welcome step. 

Possible impact: More secure infrastructure; also lessons 

for other sectors 

16 

Enforcing obligations on service 

providers to report data breaches 

(3.3.g.iii) 

Part of the requirements is to report data breaches, not just 

to authorities but also to affected users. The breach of data 

at a major telco in India reported in media sometimes back 

was a major cause of concern. 

Possible impact: A lot but we have to see how much 

teeth the legislation will have. 

17 

Developing a comprehensive plan 

for network preparedness 

Targeted at improving network resilience and disaster 

response, this will surely help all those who depend on 

these networks; i.e., all of us. 

Possible impact: More resilient infrastructure is good 

news for all users, be it business users or common citizens. 

18 

Developing a Unified Emergency 

Response mechanism 

In a natural disaster-prone country like India, creating a permanent 

mechanism for emergency response is a welcome step. 

While many a times it happens because of alert officials, the 

approach is always ad-hoc. An institutional framework with 

clearly defined roles and responsibilities, standard operating 

procedures and technical guidelines will surely go a long way 

in making disaster response far more effective. 

One welcome approach is to force service providers 

share infrastructure in emergency situations. 

Possible impact: Many of the other disaster management 

mechanisms can be effective if the basic connectivity 

is available 


17

COLUMN 

How to build better 

data protection and 

steering clear of 

GDPR violations 

Enforcement means that organizations should already be 

processing personal data in accordance with the GDPR — 

including provisions for data subject rights 

By Nilesh Jain 

T 

he General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), 

adopted in April 2016 after four years of 

deliberations, is now in force. The regulation 

made headlines around the globe with its stricter 

data protection standards, substantial fines, and 

most of all, extensive reach. The GDPR affects any 

organization that holds an EU citizen’s personal 

data, no matter the size or location. A company 

based in Asia is as accountable as a multinational 

enterprise with offices across Europe — as long as 

it collects and processes the data of EU citizens. 

The regulation also delineated the data 

protection obligations of affected organizations 

— from adopting state-of-the-art security 

methods to providing people more access to 

and control of their data. Recognizing the 

sweeping changes required for compliance, 

the EU authorities granted member states 


Column 

and organizations two years to get ready and 

prepare. And today, the transition stage is over 

— the GDPR will now be enforced. 

What happens now? 

Enforcement means that organizations 

should already be processing personal data 

in accordance with the GDPR — including 

provisions for data subject rights. Data Protection 

Authorities (DPAs) of EU member states will also 

already be able to penalize organizations that are 

not compliant. Depending on the member state, 

it is possible that regulators will immediately 

take action to address any noncompliance. 

Some regulatory bodies, however, plan on being 

more lenient with businesses and organizations 

that have started but not yet completed their 

compliance efforts. 

What is the worst-case scenario? An 

organization is liable for damages caused by 

noncompliance and is subject to corresponding 

administrative fines. The heftiest fine is 

20,000,000 euros or up to 4% of annual 

turnover, whichever is higher. 

What is the best-case scenario? If an 

organization is fully compliant with the GDPR, 

or uses the regulation as a starting-off point 

and goes beyond the minimum standards, then 

there are significant advantages. Some benefits 

would be: Secured valuable information, more 

efficient operations with proper archiving and 

data management, and increased trust from 

customers and users. 

While the GDPR applies to personal data of 

EU citizens, the GDPR has sparked a change in 

privacy regulations across the world. The 2018 

enforcement allowed several countries to make 

their own legislative improvements — the UK 

and Australia are just two of a number of regions 

that have also updated their data protection laws. 

This only indicates that GDPR compliance is a 

good opportunity — not just for multinational 

enterprises but smaller organizations as well — to 

keep up with global advances in data privacy and 

state-of-the-art security. 

What should organizations be doing? 

Ideally, all the groundwork for compliance 

should have been finished by now, and items on 

the compliance checklist should have been ticked. 

Organizations should already be able to provide 

products or services that address their customers’ 

rights as outlined in the GDPR. Those using 

third-party applications or suppliers should 

watch for updates concerning issues like the 

“right to be forgotten” and stricter user consent 

standards and make sure they are working 

properly. Several laws as well as software changes 

are also expected to be in effect starting today or 

in the coming months, and organizations should 

be ready for any necessary changes. 

For those not yet fully compliant, some member 

state DPAs have reassured companies “acting in 

An organization is liable for 

damages caused by noncompliance 

and is subject to 

corresponding admin fines 

good faith” or on the way to compliance that they 

will initially be treated with consideration. It’s 

crucial to document steps being taken as well as 

to prioritize addressing potential security risks. 

Ready or not, the road to GDPR compliance 

does not end on enforcement day — assessments 

and audits should be regular moving forward. 

Building better data protection 

The GDPR was enforced to set a new standard 

for data privacy and protection. One key 

element to this is building in privacy measures 

from the first stages of development — not 

patching up problems after they occur. As 

organizations create new products and 

applications post-implementation day, privacy 

by design must be kept in mind. 

Through its new rules and standards, the GDPR 

encourages organizations to rethink existing 

data management policies and invest in state-ofthe-art 

security for data protection. To reiterate, 

compliance efforts should be constant after GDPR 

implementation day; staying up to date with 

cybersecurity developments plays a major part. 

We created an infographic to demonstrate the 

path well-protected personal data takes — leaving 

the data subject’s hands and on to an organization 

for secure processing. It also shows what happens 

if something goes wrong and what happens if 

everything goes right. 

The author is Vice President – South East Asia and 

India, Trend Micro 


19

Column 

Understanding APIs 

for private cloud 

implementations 

Three tips to minimize the development hassles in 

your cloud hybridization journey... 

By Abhinav Asthana 

G 

iven the ecosystem complexities of hybrid cloud 

deployments, API management can be tough. 

While addressing Inspire Partner Conference 

in 2017, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made an 

interesting observation when he opined that in 

the fight between public and private cloud, it's 

the hybrid cloud that has emerged the winner. 

Nadella's statement gets validated when one 

views the rise of hybrid cloud as part of the overall 

cloud market. According to Markets and Markets, 

the global hybrid cloud market is forecast to be 

valued at USD 91.74 billion by 2021, growing by 

22.5% CAGR. Compare this with the overall cloud 

computing revenues of USD162 billion in 2020 

(growing from USD 67 billion in 2015). 

A highly sought after model by CIOs, hybrid 

cloud offers organizations a flexibility to use costeffective 

resources and innovative features from 

public cloud vendors as and when required while 

retaining the advantages of tight management 

controls that their private cloud deployments 

assure. The hybrid model, however, can be a 

challenge to the backend API developer who has 

to ensure that users can move from one model 

to another seamlessly without compromising 

on the organization’s security and compliance 

mandates. Let’s explore three API management 

good practices companies may follow to get the 

best out of their API programmes for hybrid 

cloud implementations. 


Column 

Streamline the database access needs of 

individual components 

Generally, a hybrid cloud set-up presents a 

complex ecosystem of applications, business 

processes, and infrastructure components. 

Given this complex environment, when multiple 

components spread across business and 

application process flows are accessing database, 

it may impact performance of the whole system. 

In any case when components are moving into the 

cloud, performance gets affected further. An aspect 

to consider, here is the type of data–whether it is 

persistent or non-persistent. 

The API management exercise should therefore, 

begin with mapping the database access needs of 

various application components with the linked 

business processes, and application workflows 

besides the user access levels. Ensuring that the 

database access function is carried out by one or 

only a few components may be a good approach 

to follow. Creating controlled interface(s) for 

public cloud-components to access applications 

and data from your private cloud may also be 

deemed useful. 

Do not ignore security and support 

In a hybrid cloud set-up APIs work as the pipe that 

provides access to enterprise resources to users 

internal as well as external. Safeguarding sensitive 

business information is, therefore, an important 

task APIs must perform. A combination of security 

provisions including basic authentication via API 

keys, the advanced authorization model by using 

OAuth 2.0, and JSON Web Tokens (JWT) along with 

encryption may be considered a reasonable solution 

stack to secure API framework for a hybrid cloud 

implementation. 

In a hybrid cloud environment, requests 

continuously flow back and forth between 

public cloud and the data center or private cloud. 

Therefore, in addition to the standard functions 

of visibility, availability, and monitoring, your 

APIs, while acting as gatekeepers, also need 

to support features such as throttling. When 

designed with adequate provisioning for caching 

and fair-use as the guiding principle, throttling 

can help private cloud administrators achieve 

performance optimization while measuring 

resource requests on the business criticality 

parameters. Allowing developers to request 

access to a predefined data-set through a 

developer-portal can also build efficiency into 

support operations. 

In a hybrid cloud set-up 

APIs work as the pipe 

that provides access to 

enterprise resources to 

users internal as well 

as external 

Know your organization’s hybrid cloud 

priorities 

Hybrid cloud has various usage-driven models. 

Some organisations build strong data center 

capabilities and a private cloud relying on public 

cloud resources only for analytics especially 

when big data is involved. In fact, this method 

is similar to the model traditionally followed 

in third party business intelligence system 

deployments wherein data fetched from multiple 

enterprise source systems and ETL is fed into a 

data warehouse and then to a BI system. In this 

method, replace BI system with public cloud. 

The public cloud's access is thus limited to the 

EDW layer only. The enterprise systems are kept 

oblivious and out of reach for the public cloud. 

Another practice followed by organizations is 

limiting the scope of public cloud to spike-based 

provisioning while majority of provisioning 

being done by the private cloud. Popularly 

termed as cloud-bursting, the public cloud’s role 

is of augmentative nature only. Through this 

method, CIOs try to keep their risks and costs 

under control while ensuring uninterrupted 

performance at all times. 

Lastly, some organizations take a different 

view of public cloud adoption. By breaking down 

their applications into back-end and front-end 

components, the web-based front-end portions 

are moved to the public cloud while retaining the 

transaction data processing and analysis at the 

private cloud level only. An API developer should 

therefore thoroughly review the practices and 

risk-return priorities of the organization before 

creating a suitable API architecture. 

The author is CEO & Co-founder, Postman 


21

Column 

Five questions post 

Pichai’s impressive 

duplex demo… 

And why we must ask them now? 

By Shyamanuja Das 


Column 

T 

how will it feel to 

be served by virtual 

beings? What 

impact could it 

make on the way 

societies work? 

raditionally, people have been trained to talk 

to technology. For some time now, research is 

directed towards making technology talk to 

human beings. 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai just showed what 

you could possibly see in near future – natural 

conversation by an automated assistant over 

phone to do specific tasks. He demonstrated 

recordings of calls made by Google Duplex, 

a new technology for conducting natural 

conversations, leaving those who watched it live 

thoroughly impressed. 

Google Duplex is a new technology for 

conducting natural conversations to carry 

out “real world” tasks over the phone. The 

technology is directed towards completing 

specific tasks, such as scheduling certain types 

of appointments. 

“For such tasks, the system makes the 

conversational experience as natural as possible, 

allowing people to speak normally, like they would 

to another person, without having to adapt to a 

machine,” Google said in a blog post. 

Here are five questions you could try 

answering—or 

questioning others. But 

please…see the demo 

once before trying out. 

1. Do you still have 

doubts on what is 

possible? 

Natural language 

processing has a long 

history—right from 

translating “spirit is 

willing, flesh is weak” 

in English to “vodka is good, meat is rotten” in 

Russian…A lot of what Pichai demonstrated on 

stage looked like what we have watched so far in 

sci-fi movies. 

While Pichai himself admitted it is a work in 

progress, does anyone have any doubt on the limits? 

2. Will the labor displacement happen sooner 

than you think? 

Unlike many other talks on how it could change 

human civilization, Pichai kept talking about how 

the technology can change business. And that is 

pretty clear. The question is not if, but when, will 

start replacing human beings at a scale that will 

impact employment—and economies of nations? 

For countries like India, celebrating their young 

population ‘resource’ in a service centric economy, 

what could it mean? 

3. How will ‘automated beings’ change society 

and culture? 

How will it feel to be served by virtual beings? 

What impact could it make on the way societies 

work? Will humans too be dehumanized? 

4. What if it is misused? 

Already, people have started discussing its 

wrongful application. With every new capability, 

a new set of alarming possibilities are presented. 

Duplex and its genre are no exception. Imagine 

what is possible… 

5. Is it time for some regulation? 

The ultimate question. Should it be regulated? 

(That is a no-brainer) Is it time to start the 

debate now? What should be regulated and with 

what objective(s)? 


23

Column 

Bringing IoT 

sensors to the farm 

The sensors we have today (whether video, 

hyperspectral or infrared) allow us to understand 

many of the conditions of plants in the field 

By Adam Drobot 


Column 

It all depends on how 

the cost can be reduced 

enough to match the 

economics of farming 

There’s a common misconception that 

farms are simple places. While that’s 

never particularly been the case, 

modern agriculture is impressively 

complex and technologically 

sophisticated, and is becoming more 

so with the introduction of a wide 

array of sensors. 

The sensors we have today (whether 

video, hyperspectral or infrared) 

allow us to understand many of the 

conditions of plants in the field. The 

sensors can be based on different 

platforms, from satellites and high 

altitude aircraft to smaller drones 

that are flown and controlled locally, 

to permanent sensors mounted on 

structures that overlook the field. 

The data from these sensors is used 

to understand the spatially-resolved 

field conditions and how the crop 

is progressing. Interpreting sensor 

data and the spatial distribution can 

be used to determine how the field 

should be managed to achieve the 

best yields, and where and when to 

harvest the crops. In terms of plants, 

miniaturized integrated sensors that 

are low-cost and can be placed on 

individual plants is one direction we 

could see. It all depends on how the 

cost can be reduced enough to match 

the economics of farming. 

Also, if we talk of the key 

technological advancements that 

would allow for the creation of 

cheap, miniature sensors, we need to 

mention the use of basic components 

from consumer electronics where 

large markets drive economies of 

scale. The best examples are cheap 

cameras that now cost a few dollars 

because of smartphone production 

volumes, accelerometers from 

MEMS technologies, and other 

developments that come from 

system-on-a-chip (SOC) design 

and manufacturing techniques. 

Satellites also play a huge role in 

assessing the condition of plants. 

Firstly, an increasing number of 

satellites use high resolution sensors 

– both optical and hyperspectral 

– to improve techniques for 

interpreting sounding data. There 

are also many more low Earth 

orbit (LOE) satellites, whose arrays 

provide much better coverage, 

both geographically and in field 

re-visit rates. The second role is as 

communications relays for ground 

sensors in sparsely-populated and 

under-resourced areas. 

Drones also have great potential – 

they’re just getting started. Because 

they can get right to where the 

action is, drones can be used to fly 

instruments that would not fit or 

work on satellites. An example is 

acoustic sensors used to identify 

pests and animals, data that’s not 

possible to gather from satellites. A 

drone can also pick up a soil or plant 

sample that a satellite cannot. 

The author is IEEE senior member 

and Chair of the IEEE Internet of 

Things Activities Board 


25

FACE OFF 

// SHOULD CIOs BE HIRED 

FROM BUSINESS? 

There are two kinds of organizations. 

One is where a user applies IT for 

business and the other where the user 

becomes the producer of IT products 

or services. In the case of former, the 

degree of business knowledge and 

technology knowledge is 70:30 whereas 

in the case of latter, the ratio of business 

acumen to technology is 40:60. 

Nevertheless, business knowledge is 

dominant in both the cases. 

Take for instance, in the 

manufacturing industry, IT is the 

tool to enable business processes 

and drive business targets. IT should 

align with business strategies and 

provide solutions to do business 

better and smarter. 

This thorough knowledge of 

business is only possible if the IT 

head is from the business side. 

Understanding organization culture, 

Quick View 

T G Dhandapani, says, 

thorough knowledge of business 

is only possible if IT head is hired 

from business 

user behavior, business 

requirements and 

effective solutioning 

for an IT deployment is 

possible if he/she is from 

business. Today it is not 

adequate if the CIO just 

responds to business 

requirements. He/she 

has to be at least six 

months ahead of his CXO 

peers when it comes to 

T G DHANDAPANI 

Advisor – Digital 

Transformation and 

Former Group CIO, TVS 

Motor and Sundaram 

Clayton Group 

planning and executing 

digital projects. He/she should be in a 

position to predict what they want six 

months later. Any requirements of 

a CXO that were required yesterday 

or they planned for solutions after 

they ask for isn't sufficient. They 

should be in a position to do shelf 

engineering and keep the solution 

ready before the business asks for it. 

CIOs, if from business can implement 

this successfully. Today IT is not 

confined to datacenters. The IT folk 

should rub shoulders with CXOs and 

dirty their palms in the shop floor. 

Vanilla CIOs, purely with technology 

backgrounds, will take more time to 

understand and implement solutions 

for business 

Understanding 

org culture, 

user behavior, 

biz requirements 

is only 

possible if he/ 

she is from 

business 


Face Off 

ARINDAM 

SINGHA ROY 

CIO, 

East India Udyog 

"A CIO should 

come from 

the heart 

of the IT 

community 

but must be 

business 

focused 

Any CXO position is a combination 

of expertise and added layers of 

“big picture thinking” ability and 

leadership. A CIO/CISO without a 

strong IT background is a COO, or 

a CEO maybe. The balanced C-level 

team requires various perspectives. 

For instance, possessing a technical 

perspective for a CIO/CISO is paramount. 

He/she should be able to 

articulate the IT position and vision. 

Strategic and business thinking 

is one side of the coin for a CIO/ 

CISO. However, in IT, he/she will 

serve as a ‘building with roof’ but 

without an IT base. 

If you hire a CIO/CISO without 

the requisite technical experience in 

critical and multi-headed responsibilities, 

IT is then managed by someone 

who isn't technology oriented, 

who then proves ineffective, open 

to vendor manipulation, and staff 

disrespect. He/she steadily starts 

acquiring a ‘herding cats' mentality 

on technology matters. 

I think what makes it complicated 

is the fact that IT is the only department 

that is both staff and line. For 

Quick View 

Arindam Singha Roy, says, 

IT experience is , sometimes, 

just enough 

instance, Finance is staff only while 

Sales is line only. But, the leader of IT 

is both a staff person (support) and 

often a line person (e.g. runs the bit 

factory). It is because of this unique 

role that he or she needs dual experience. 

The CIO/ needs to know what 

is right and wrong on projects, what 

works and doesn’t. In the end, it is the 

CIO that has to buy off on the recommendations 

of their reports. 

In conclusion, a CIO must come from 

the heart of the IT community, but must 

be business focused 


27

SECURITY 

Information 

sharing is key 

to ward off 

cyber threats 

As per reports, a layered security 

approach involves gathering various 

security solutions to collectively 

protect an organization’s data 

By CIO&Leader 

S 

haring information is an important factor in 

helping to defend against cyber threats, according 

to Akamai Technologies’ State of the Internet/Security: 

Carrier Insights Report for Spring 

2018. The report analyzes data from more than 

14 trillion DNS queries collected by Akamai 

between September 2017 and February 2018 

from communications service provider (CSP) 

networks around the world. 

For more than 19 years, Nominum, acquired by 

Akamai in 2017, has leveraged in-depth DNS data 

to improve overall protection against sophisti- 

cated cyberattacks, such as distributed denial of 

service (DDoS), ransomware, trojans, and botnets. 

Akamai’s Carrier Insight Report builds upon the 

Nominum expertise and highlights the effectiveness 

of DNS-based security that is enriched with 

data coming from other security layers. This layered 

security approach involves gathering various 

security solutions to collectively protect an organization’s 

data. 

“Siloed understanding of attacks against individual 

systems isn’t enough for defenders to prepare 

for today’s complicated threat landscape,” 


Insight 

said Yuriy Yuzifovich, Director of Data Science, 

Threat Intelligence, Akamai. “Communicating 

with varying platforms is critical when acquiring 

knowledge across teams, systems and data sets. 

We believe that the DNS queries that our service 

provides act as a strategic component to arming 

security teams with the proper data necessary for 

that big picture view of the threat landscape.” 

Tackling the Mirai Botnet: 

Collaboration in Action 

Collaboration between teams within Akamai 

played a crucial role in discovering Mirai command 

and control (C&C) domains to make future 

Mirai detection more comprehensive. The Akamai 

Security Intelligence and Response Team (SIRT) 

has been following Mirai since its inception, using 

honeypots to detect Mirai communications and 

identify its C&C servers. 

In late January 2018, Akamai’s SIRT and 

Nominum teams shared a list of over 500 suspicious 

Mirai C&C domains. The goal of this was 

to understand whether, if by using DNS data 

and artificial intelligence, this list of C&C could 

be augmented, and make future Mirai detection 

more comprehensive. Through several layers of 

analysis, the combined Akamai teams were able 

to augment the Mirai C&C dataset to discover a 

connection between Mirai botnets and distributors 

of the Petya ransomware. 

This collaborative analysis suggested an evolution 

of IoT botnets, from a nearly exclusive use 

case of launching DDoS attacks to more sophisticated 

activities such as ransomware distribution 

and crypto-mining. IoT botnets are difficult to 

detect because there are very few indicators of 

compromise for most users—and yet, the collaborative 

research by these teams created the 

Siloed understanding of 

attacks against individual 

systems isn't enough 

for defenders to prepare 

for today's complicated 

threat landscape 

chance to find and block dozens of new C&C 

domains to control the activity of the botnet. 

Javascript Cryptominers: A Shady 

Business Model 

The exponential rise in public consumption of 

cryptocurrency adoption has been reflected in 

a sharp, observable increase in the number of 

crypto-mining malware strains, and the number 

of devices infected with them. 

Akamai observed two distinct business models 

for large-scale crypto-mining. The first model 

uses infected devices’ processing power to mine 

cryptocurrency tokens. The second model uses 

code embedded into content sites that make 

devices that visit the site work for the cryptominer. 

Akamai conducted extensive analysis 

on this second business model, as it poses a new 

security challenge for users and website owners 

alike. After analyzing the cryptominer domains, 

Akamai was able to estimate the cost, in terms of 

both computer power and monetary gains, from 

this activity. An interesting implication of this 

research shows that cryptomining could become a 

viable alternative to ad revenue to fund websites. 

Changing Threats: Malware and 

Exploits Repurposed 

Cybersecurity is not a static industry. Researchers 

have observed hackers leveraging old techniques 

to reuse in today’s current digital landscape. Over 

the six months that Akamai collected this data, a 

few prominent malware campaigns and exploits 

show notable changes in their operating procedure, 

including: 

The Web Proxy Auto-Discovery (WPAD) protocol 

was discovered in use to expose Windows 

systems to Man-in-the-Middle attacks between 

November 24 and December 14, 2017. WPAD 

is meant to be used on protected networks (i.e. 

LANs) and leaves computers open to significant 

attacks when exposed to the Internet. 

Malware authors are branching out to the collection 

of social media logins in addition to financial 

information. Terdot, a branch of the Zeus botnet, 

creates a local proxy and enables attackers to perform 

cyber-espionage and promote fake news in 

the victim’s browser. 

The Lopai botnet is an example of how botnet 

authors are creating more flexible tools. This 

mobile malware mainly targets Android devices 

and uses a modular approach that allows owners 

to create updates with new capabilities. 


29

INSIGHT 

Mixing digital 

technologies 

A new World Economic Forum (WEF) research finds 

new technologies, deployed in combination, contribute 

to significantly higher productivity gains, when deployed 

individually. The research also identifies key enablers of 

maximizing return on digital investments 

By CIO&Leader 

he productivity increase due to investments in 

new digital technologies is significantly more 

when technologies are deployed in combination, 

finds a new research by the World Economic 

Forum (WEF). The finding is part of a broader 

project—Maximizing Returns on Digital Invest- 

Tments—by WEF’s Digital Transformation Initiative 

(DTI) to understand the relationship between 

new technology investment and productivity. 

The research found four key trends: 

The return on investment in new technologies 

is positive overall. The productivity increase 

is three times higher when technologies are 

deployed in combination. 


Insight 

The return on digital investments varies by 

industry, and industry leaders achieve a greater 

productivity increase from investments in 

new technology than followers. The leaders in 

a majority of industries tend to be larger companies 

by revenue. 

Asset-heavy industries realize more value 

from robotics; asset-light industries realize 

greater value from mobile/social media. 

While industry leaders realize higher overall 

return from robotics and mobile/social investments, 

followers have gained more from IoT 

and cognitive technologies. 

The WEF research identified three key drivers 

of digital investments: new efficiencies, enhanced 

customer experience and new business models. 

It concluded that new efficiencies are still the 

primary driver for large companies to invest in 

new technologies while investing in new business 

models is the most difficult and least frequently 

targeted of the three drivers. 

To read our report on the key imperatives, drivers 

and major trends in digital transformation in India, 

read Decoding Digital Transformation in India 

The research also identified five key enablers 

to maximize the return on digital investments 

emerged from the discussions with industry 

leaders. They are: 

Agile and digital-savvy leadership: Maintaining 

a strategic vision, purpose, skills, intent and 

alignment across management levels to ensure a 

nimble decision-making process on innovation 

Forward-looking skills agenda: Infusing a 

digital mindset in the workforce by making innovation 

the focus of training and hiring programs 

Ecosystem thinking: Collaborating within the 

value chain (e.g. with suppliers, distributors, customers) 

and outside (e.g. start-ups, academia) 

Data access and management: Driving competitiveness 

through strong data infrastructure and 

warehouse capability combined with the right 

analytics and communication tools 

Technology infrastructure readiness: Building 

the required technology infrastructure to 

WEF research has 

identified three key 

drivers: new efficiencies, 

enhanced customer 

experience and new 

business models 

ensure strong capabilities on cloud, cybersecurity 

and interoperability 

The project was launched to address the understanding 

gap that exists in new technologies’ 

impact on productivity. 

Some of the questions that it addressed are: 

How much value are companies getting from 

digital investments? 

How do returns on digital investments vary by 

company, industry and technology? 

How can companies maximize return from 

their digital investments? 

How can companies successfully execute on 

digital investment projects? 

The research considered four new technology 

areas: cognitive technologies including AI and Big 

Data; IoT/connected devices; Robotics encompassing 

design, construction, implementation and 

operation of robots; and Mobile/social media. 

The research combined quantitative and qualitative 

analyses of new technology investments. 

data from over 16,000 public companies across 14 

industries to estimate the productivity impact of 

investments in new technologies. The industries 

were automotive, aviation and travel, chemistry 

and advanced materials, consumer, electricity, 

financial services, healthcare, logistics, media, 

mining and metals, oil and gas, professional services, 

retail and telecommunications 


31

Insight 

CEOs priorities 

shifting to embrace 

digital business 

As per Gartner, growth, corporate strategies, IT and 

workforce issues continue to top CEO priorities in 2018 

By CIO&Leader 

Growth is amongst the top CEO business priorities 

in 2018 and 2019, according to a recent survey of 

CEOs and senior executives by Gartner. However, 

the survey revealed as simple, implemental 

growth becomes harder to achieve, CEOs 

are focusing on changing and upgrading the 

structure of their companies, including a deeper 

understanding of digital business. 

The Gartner 2018 CEO and Senior Business Executive 

Survey of 460 CEO and senior business executives 

in Q4, 2017 examined their business issues, as 

well as some areas of technology agenda impact. In 

total, 460 business leaders in organizations with 

more than USD 50 million in annual revenue were 

qualified and surveyed. 

IT remains a high priority coming in at the third 

position, and CEOs mention digital transformation, 

in particular (see Figure 1). Workforce has risen 

rapidly this year to become the fourth-biggest 

priority, up from seventh in 2017. The number of 


Insight 

CEO Top Business Priorities for 2018 and 2019 

Percentage of respondents, ranked by summary top three mentions 

(Simple) 

Growth 

40% 

33% 

Corporate 

(Structural Development) 

31% 

IT Related 

28% 23% 

Financial 

15% 15% 

Workforce 

Customer 

Product 

Improvements 

13% 10% 

Management 

Sales 

Cost 

Management 

9% 

9% 

Efficiency 

and 

Productivity 

Degree of 

increase from 

previous year 

Degree of 

decrease from 

previous year 

Source: Gartner 2018 

CEOs mentioning workforce in their top three 

priorities rose from 16% to 28%. When asked about 

the most significant internal constraints to growth, 

employee and talent issues were at the top. CEOs 

said a lack of talent and workforce capability is the 

biggest inhibitor of digital business progress. 

CEOs recognize the need for 

cultural change 

Culture change is a key aspect of digital 

transformation. The 2018 Gartner CIO Survey found 

CIOs agreed it was a very high-priority concern, 

but only 37% of CEOs said a significant or deep 

culture change is needed by 2020. However, when 

companies that have a digital initiative underway 

are compared with those that don’t, the proportion 

in need of culture change rose to 42%. 

Digital business matters to CEOs 

Survey respondents were asked whether they 

have a management initiative or transformation 

program to make their business more digital. The 

majority (62%) said they did. Of those organizations, 

54% said that their digital business objective is 

transformational while 46% said the objective of the 

initiative is optimization. 

In the background, CEOs’ use of the word “digital” 

has been steadily rising. When asked to describe 

their top five business priorities, the number of 

CEOs in the survey 

believe that a lack of 

talent and workforce 

capability is the biggest 

inhibitor of digital 

business progress 

respondents mentioning the word digital at least once 

has risen from 2.1% in the 2012 survey to 13.4% in 

2018. This positive attitude toward digital business 

is backed up by CEOs’ continuing intent to invest in 

IT. 61% of respondents intend to increase spending 

on IT in 2018, while 32% plan to make no changes to 

spending and only 7% foresee spending cuts. 

More CEOs see their companies as 

innovation pioneers 

The 2018 CEO survey showed that the percentage 

of respondents who think their company is an 

innovation pioneer has reached a high of 41% 

(up from 27% in 2013), with fast followers not far 

behind at 37% 


33

Insight 

Artificial intelligence 

sees big business 

As per Gartner, the growth will be 70% from 2017, 

totalling USD 1.2 trillion in 2018 

By CIO&Leader 

Global business value derived from artificial 

intelligence (AI) will total USD 1.2 trillion in 2018, 

a rise of 70% from 2017, according to Gartner. 

AI-derived business value will reach USD 3.9 

trillion in 2022. 

The three different sources of AI business value are: 

Customer experience: The positive or negative 

effects on indirect cost. Customer experience is a 

necessary precondition for widespread adoption 

of AI technology to both unlock its full potential 

and enable value. 

New revenue: Increasing sales of existing products 

and services, and/or creating new product or 

service opportunity beyond the existing situation. 

Cost reduction: Reduced costs incurred in producing 

and delivering those new or existing 

products and services. 

“AI promises to be the most disruptive class of 


Insight 

Forecast of Global AI-Derived Business Value (Billions of U.S. Dollars) 

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 

Business Value 692 1,175 1,901 2,649 3,346 3,923 

Growth (%) 70 62 39 26 17 

Source: Gartner (April 2018) 

technologies during the next 10 years 

due to advances in computational 

power, volume, velocity and variety of 

data, as well as advances in deep neural 

networks (DNNs),” said John-David 

Lovelock, research vice president at 

Gartner. “One of the biggest aggregate 

sources for AI-enhanced products 

and services acquired by enterprises 

between 2017 and 2022 will be niche 

solutions that address one need very 

well. Business executives will drive 

investment in these products, sourced 

from thousands of narrowly focused, 

specialist suppliers with specific 

AI-enhanced applications.” 

As per Gartner, the AI business value 

growth rate will be 70%, but it will 

slow down through 2022 (see Table 1). 

“In the early years of AI, customer 

experience (CX) is the primary 

source of derived business value, as 

organizations see value in using AI 

techniques to improve every customer 

interaction, with the goal of increasing 

customer growth and retention. CX is 

followed closely by cost reduction, as 

organizations look for ways to use AI to 

increase process efficiency to improve 

decision making and automate more 

tasks,” said Lovelock. “However, 

in 2021, new revenue will become 

the dominant source, as companies 

uncover business value in using AI 

to increase sales of existing products 

and services, as well as to discover 

opportunities for new products and 

services. Thus, in the long run, the 

business value of AI will be about new 

revenue possibilities.” 

Breaking out the global business 

value derived by AI type, decision 

support/augmentation (such as DNNs) 

will represent 36% of the global 

AI-derived business value in 2018. By 

2022, decision support/augmentation 

will have surpassed all other types of 

AI initiatives to account for 44% of 

global AI-derived business value. 

“DNNs allow organizations to 

perform data mining and pattern 

recognition across huge datasets 

not otherwise readily quantified 

or classified, creating tools that 

classify complex inputs that then 

feed traditional programming 

systems. This enables algorithms for 

decision support/augmentation to 

work directly with information that 

formerly required a human classifier,” 

said Lovelock. “Such capabilities 

have a huge impact on the ability of 

organizations to automate decision 

and interaction processes. This new 

level of automation reduces costs 

and risks, and enables, for example, 

increased revenue through better 

microtargeting, segmentation, 

marketing and selling.” 

Virtual agents allow corporate 

organizations to reduce labor costs 

as they take over simple requests 

and tasks from a call center, help 

desk and other service human 

agents, while handing over the more 

complex questions to their human 

counterparts. They can also provide 

uplift to revenue, as in the case of 

roboadvisors in financial services or 

upselling in call centers. As virtual 

employee assistants, virtual agents can 

help with calendaring, scheduling and 

other administrative tasks, freeing up 

employees’ time for higher value-add 

work and/or reducing the need for 

human assistants. Agents account 

for 46% of the global AI-derived 

business value in 2018 and 26% by 

2022, as other AI types mature and 

contribute to business value. 

Decision automation systems use 

AI to automate tasks or optimize 

business processes. They are 

particularly helpful in tasks such 

as translating voice to text and vice 

versa, processing handwritten 

forms or images, and classifying 

other rich data content not readily 

accessible to conventional systems. 

As unstructured data and ambiguity 

are the staple of the corporate 

world, decision automation — as it 

matures — will bring tremendous 

business value to organizations. For 

now, decision automation accounts 

for just 2% of the global AI-derived 

business value in 2018, but it will 

grow to 16% by 2022. 

Smart products account for 18% 

of global AI-derived business value 

in 2018, but will shrink to 14% by 

2022 as other DNN-based system 

types mature and overtake smart 

products in their contribution to 

business value. Smart products 

have AI embedded in them, usually 

in the form of cloud systems that 

can integrate data about the user's 

preferences from multiple systems 

and interactions. They learn about 

their users and their preferences 

to hyperpersonalize the experience 

and drive engagement 


35

Insight 

Facebook seeks a 

'friend' in blockchain; 

will it succeed? 

Facebook creates a dedicated team to explore blockchain 

potential and appoints Facebook Messenger head to lead 

the initiative 

By Shubhra Rishi 

ccording to news reports, Facebook executive David 

Marcus, who has been responsible for managing the 

company's standalone messaging app, Messenger, 

will head a new team dedicated to exploring the 

potential of blockchain technology. This team will 

comprise instagram executives including Insta- 

Agram's VP of Engineering, James Everingham and 

Instagram's VP of Product, Kevin Weil. Prior to joining 

Facebook, Marcus was CEO at PayPal. 

In lieu of the latest Cambridge Analytica controversy 

where the social network was in the line of 

fire for endangering data and privacy of its large 

user base, the company's move to explore blockchain 

has its pros and cons. 


Insight 

The Pros 

Firstly, a blockchain-based social media platform 

will provide a high degree of privacy and 

security for its users. Users will have more control 

over their information and say Facebook, 

will no longer be responsible for managing 

this data. There are a number of blockchainbased 

platformes such as, Steemit, Numa, Sola, 

Indorse, which are experimenting with blockchains 

and cryptocurrencies. 

Take for instance, Numa, which is like Twitter 

– "but with cutting edge distributed technologies, 

so no central entity owns your data," it says 

on its homepage. 

On Numa, you can create an account, message, 

follow, or favorite a piece of information, and this 

data gets stored on a distributed file sharing protocol 

(IPFS). On Numa, all your data is stored in a 

public, distributed way, unlike on a central entity 

such as Facebook, which makes it impossible for 

any entity to revoke your access to your data. 

Steemit, on the other hand, is a decentralized 

reward platform (a social network built on the 

Steem blockchain) meant for publishers/users 

to monetize content and grow their community. 

Steemit users can earn token-based compensation 

(cryptocurrencies) for their posts, pictures, music, 

and videos. Steemit is powered by Ethereum, a 

decentralized platform that runs smart contracts 

or "applications that run exactly as programmed 

without any possibility of downtime, censorship, 

fraud or third-party interference." 

Akasha is another decentralized platform 

built by Mihai Alisie, founder of Ethereum and 

Bitcoin Magazine. The platform has an interface 

like Twitter, can be used to can publish, share 

and vote for entries, similar to Medium and 

other modern publishing platforms -- with a 

marked difference that your content is actually 

published over a decentralized network rather 

than on Akasha's servers. Subscribes on Akasha 

can up-vote your content, where votes are 

bundled with micro transactions. 

There are several other social media platforms, 

such as onG.social, Indorse, The Merkle, and 

Sapien, among others, built on blockchain. All 

A blockchainbased 

social 

media platform 

will provide a high 

degree of privacy 

and security for its 

users 

the above blockchain-based social media platforms 

offer use cases in the following areas: 

Data integrity and security 

Better content control 

Earn money in the form of crypto currencies 

Freedom of speech 

Cons 

However, there are also cons that might serve as 

barriers to the above advantages the technology has 

to offer in ‘regulating’ social media in a way: 

The problem of fake news 

Crypto currency is still not an accepted form of 

payment in many countries 

Blockchain technology is still not scalable 

With Facebook announcing a new team now, the 

ground work for exploring blockchain for future 

use, must have began a long time ago. Even if it is 

on damage-control mode, it is a step in the right 

direction – targeted at improving data integrity 

and security of its users’ information. Moreover, it 

will be interesting to observe how the blockchain 

will combat the above-mentioned cons, which 

stand in the way of success of any blockchainbased 

social network 


37

Insight 

The dirty secrets of 

network firewalls 

As per a network study, 61% would like to see better 

perimeter security in their organization’s network firewall 

along with better threat visibility and better protection 

By CIO&Leader 


Insight 

M 

ajority of Indian IT managers have legal liabilities 

when it comes to unidentified traffic in their organizations, 

according to India findings of Sophos 

survey, The Dirty Secrets of Network Firewalls. 

In fact, nearly one in four globally cannot identify 

70% of their network traffic. The lack of visibility 

creates significant security challenges for today’s 

businesses and impacts effective network management. 

The survey polled more than 2,700 IT 

decision makers across mid-sized businesses in 

10 countries worldwide, including the US, Canada, 

Mexico, France, Germany, the UK, Australia, 

Japan, South Africa and India. 

Considering the debilitating impact cyberattacks 

can have on a business, it’s unsurprising 

that 90% of respondents agree that a lack of 

application visibility is a serious security concern. 

Without the ability to identify what’s running 

on their network, IT managers are blind to 

ransomware, unknown malware, data breaches 

and other advanced threats, as well as potentially 

malicious applications and rogue users. Network 

firewalls with signature-based detection are 

unable to provide adequate visibility into application 

traffic due to a variety of factors such as 

the increasing use of encryption, browser emulation, 

and advanced evasion techniques. 

“Controlling network traffic is an essential role 

of every firewall yet 61% IT managers can’t tell 

you how their bandwidth is being consumed,” 

said Sunil Sharma, Managing Director Sales at 

Sophos India & SAARC. “If you can’t see everything 

on your network, you can’t ever be confident 

that your organization is protected from threats. 

IT professionals have been ‘flying blind’ for too 

long and cybercriminals take advantage of this.” 

As per the survey, 61% would like to see better 

perimeter security in their organization’s network 

firewall along with better threat visibility 

and better protection. 

Network firewalls 

with signature-based 

detection are unable 

to provide adequate 

visibility into app 

traffic due to a 

number of factors 


39

Insight 

Organization’s firewall is the gateway between 

network and internet. Together with endpoint 

protection, it’s an integral pillar of security infrastructure. 

Despite the importance of its role in 

defenses, the survey revealed that firewalls are 

failing organizations when it comes to delivering 

the protection they need. On an average, Indian 

organizations face 26 infected machines a month; 

approximately 60% higher infected devices in 

comparison to the global average. 

“Ineffective firewalls are costing you time 

and money. On an average, organizations are 

spending 7 working days to remediate infected 

machines,” said Sharma. 

“A single network breach often leads to the compromise 

of multiple computers, so the faster you 

can stop the infection from spreading the more 

you limit the damage and time needed to clean it 

up,” Sharma further added. “Companies are looking 

for the kind of next-generation, integrated 

network and endpoint protection that can stop 

advanced threats and prevent an isolated incident 

from turning into a widespread outbreak. Sophisticated 

exploits, such as MimiKatz and Eternal- 

Blue reminded everyone that network protection 

is critical to endpoint security and vice versa. 

Only direct intelligence sharing between these 

two can reveal the true nature of who and what is 

operating on your network.” 

Sharma went onto explain that the findings highlighted 

the importance of ‘simplicity’ in all aspects of 

the security process; network, endpoint or server. 

“Reducing complexity is absolutely fundamental 

to ensuring data and device security; a fact reflected 

in the research. According to the data, 79% respondents 

have security risks from unwanted or unnecessary 

apps, and a further 60% are concerned by 

productivity loss due to unwanted ones. Unnecessary 

complexity compromises transparency for a 

network manager and the end user, and can lead to 

– not merely security concerns – but, even, liability 

and compliance issues. The concept of simplicity 

is central to Sophos, in the way our products are 

designed and in the counsel we provide. We believe 

that the simpler the security protocols are to implement, 

the more likely they are to be effective.” 

Organizations acknowledge the need for better 

protection, visibility and response. The survey 

revealed that 84% of IT managers polled want 

better protection from their current firewall. 99% 

want their firewall technology to automatically 

isolate infected computers, and 96% want endpoint 

and firewall protection from the same vendor if it 

improves detection rates and incident response. 

Security is Not the Only Risk to 

Businesses 

Following security risks, 60% organizations 

are concerned about loss of productivity from 

unproductive apps. Business productivity can be 

negatively impacted if IT is unable to prioritize 

bandwidth for critical applications. 

For industries that rely on custom software 

to meet specific business needs, an inability to 

prioritize these mission critical applications 

over less important traffic could be costly. 69% 

of IT professionals who had invested in custom 

applications admitted that their firewall could 

not identify the traffic and therefore were unable 

to maximize their return on investment. Lack of 

visibility also creates a blind spot for the potential 

transfer of illegal or inappropriate content 

on corporate networks, making companies vulnerable 

to litigation and compliance issues. 

“Organizations need a firewall that protects 

their investment in business-critical and custom 

applications by allowing employees to 

have prioritized access to the applications they 

need,” said Sharma. “Increasing network visibility 

requires a radically different approach. 

By enabling the firewall to receive information 

directly from the endpoint security, it can 

now positively identify all applications – even 

obscure or custom applications.” 


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