Techaisle Blog

Today's cybersecurity landscape is a complex maze, with a multitude of vendors contributing to a convoluted and intricate security stack. The evolution of security from traditional perimeter defenses around private data centers to a distributed network of branch offices, remote workers, and IoT devices has necessitated a radical shift in security strategies, with a focus on enforcement points across the network. At its core, security is a data challenge, where the sheer volume of data often hinders the identification of actionable insights, leading to an imbalanced signal-to-noise ratio and the prevalent issue of alert fatigue. Effective data connection across control points is crucial to transform low-level alerts into critical insights that demand immediate action.

Under the visionary leadership of Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Security and Collaboration, Cisco's security product portfolio has undergone a transformative evolution. This radical re-envisioning of security paradigms has significantly refined Cisco's security cloud solutions, streamlining the adoption process for an integrated security platform. In response to the complexities of distributed environments, Cisco introduced 'Hypershield,' a pioneering expansion of the hyper-distributed architecture concept tailored to meet the demands of hyper-distributed security. The strategic acquisition of Splunk has further fortified Cisco's capabilities, enabling it to manage the signal-to-noise ratio effectively. Leveraging Splunk's advanced data analytics, Cisco aims to mitigate alert fatigue by converting many low-level events into meaningful, actionable insights.

The Birth of the Cisco Security Cloud Platform

In June 2022, Cisco introduced the Cisco Security Cloud Platform at the RSA Conference, a visionary solution designed to streamline the complexity of managing disparate security tools. This platform offers a unified experience, ensuring secure connections for users and devices to applications and data, irrespective of location.

The platform's emphasis on openness provides a comprehensive suite for threat prevention, detection, response, and remediation at scale. At its core is a powerful firewall, enhanced with AI for superior analysis. Identity management is flawlessly integrated, allowing every Cisco security product to leverage AI-driven insights and user authentication.

Cisco addressed the challenge customers faced with the vast array of security products—approximately 30 products with over 1,000 variations—by significantly simplifying its portfolio. Customers now have a choice of three intuitive suites: User Protection, Cloud Protection, and Breach Protection. These suites are not merely bundled; they are fully integrated, facilitating seamless communication and improved functionality, making security management far more straightforward and efficient.

Tackling Hyper-Distributed Security with Cisco Hypershield

As an industry analyst, I am convinced that Cisco's recent strides in security innovation are nothing short of impressive. The 2023 launch of Cisco Multi-cloud Defense, Cisco XDR, Cisco Secure Access, and advanced firewall functionalities marked a year of significant progress. The introduction of Cisco AI Assistant was a testament to its commitment to continuous innovation. In 2024, Cisco took a giant leap by introducing Hypershield, a sophisticated, AI-enhanced, cloud-native security system set to redefine cybersecurity.

In an era of globalization, businesses often pursue economies of scale and standardized solutions. Zoho, a global software behemoth with Indian origins, is carving a distinctive path. It has embraced a unique business strategy known as “transnational localism.” This approach intertwines global connectivity and local grounding, fostering local economies while partaking in the exchange of knowledge and culture. Transnational localism, as defined by Zoho, is a decentralized strategy that harnesses the benefits of a global scale while maintaining deep roots in local communities. It transcends the conventional “think global, act local” mantra, offering a more nuanced and influential method to tackle today’s complexities. This strategy is implemented through a tripartite approach:

• Developing a Global Technology Stack: Zoho creates its software products suite, ensuring total control and adaptability.
• Empowering Local Teams: Zoho sets up regional offices staffed with local talent, enabling them to tailor solutions to specific market requirements.
• Prioritizing Local Communities: Zoho invests in local talent development, infrastructure, and social initiatives, nurturing a sense of collective responsibility and growth.

Transnational localism strikes a balance between global outreach and local engagement. It involves establishing offices in less affluent locations globally, injecting investment, expenditure, and job creation into these areas. The company stays globally connected, not just digitally, but also through a shared ethos and culture, while remaining locally anchored.

Zoho’s CEO, Sridhar Vembu, characterizes transnational localism as a strategy that sources talent from regions often neglected by other companies. These are typically areas experiencing talent emigration, leading to hollow communities. Zoho strives to reintroduce opportunities into these regions, commonly drained into urban centers.

Beyond the Numbers: Real-World Examples

Zoho’s dedication to transnational localism extends beyond mere theory. It has actualized this philosophy by setting up a global network of over 25 offices in rural areas. Many IT suppliers overlook these locations for opportunities compared to their metropolitan counterparts. For instance, Zoho has an office in McAllen, Texas, with nearly 150,000 residents within a metropolitan area housing over a million people.

Another notable instance is Tenkasi in India, where Zoho inaugurated its first rural office. Despite being a city of nearly 100,000 people, Tenkasi is considered rural compared to India’s major metropolitan areas. In Tenkasi, Zoho operates a remote farm and an elementary school, both flagship initiatives in its rural revival strategy.

Zoho demonstrates its commitment to social responsibility in several ways. It has invested in rural India through its "10,000 Schools" program, which bridges the digital divide by providing digital infrastructure and training to schools. Additionally, Zoho empowers local communities by establishing offices in smaller towns across the US and Europe, fostering diversity and creating local job opportunities. Finally, Zoho tailors its product suite to specific market needs, showcasing its commitment to global inclusivity by respecting cultural and regulatory contexts.

The Impact on Zoho's Business: A Multi-Faceted Success Story

Transnational localism has significantly influenced Zoho’s business, propelling its remarkable growth. By the end of 2021, Zoho had amassed 500,000 customers, over 70 million users, and 40,000 customers on Zoho One, a product launched in 2017. One of these customers had 32,000 employees utilizing Zoho One. Fast-forwarding to 2024, Zoho’s customer base has expanded to over 750,000, with over 100 million users across 150+ countries.

Focused on growth and committed to new solutions that expand business horizons – the SMB market is on the brink of a multi-year growth trajectory.

They are here - Techaisle's annual SMB, Core Midmarket and Upper Midmarket Top 10 IT Priorities, IT Challenges, and Business Issues infographics, 13th year of Techaisle tracking at a WW level, and is sought after by IT vendors, channel partners, and media. Techaisle surveyed nearly 5000 SMBs and Midmarket firms, quota sampled to ensure adequate coverage of four small businesses (1-9, 10-19, 20-49, and 50-99 employees), three core midmarket (100-249, 250-499, and 500-999 employees) and two upper midmarket (1000-2499, 2500-4999) segments. As a result, the data represents a robust and reliable sampling of the market segment for IT products and services.

Techaisle surveys thousands of small and midsized businesses (SMBs) to understand technology imperatives and directions. The annual survey establishes context by asking respondents to identify their top business goals, technology priorities, and IT challenges for the upcoming year.

Redefining the art of the possible

The SMB market is a study in contrasts: the tension between boundless aspiration and a constrained reality. However, data shows that a market that has mastered the cloud and is excited by AI will dedicate itself to growth in 2024.

In 2021, we predicted that AI would permeate small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and midmarket firms, not as an independent solution but as an integral feature within other products. As SMBs fully comprehend the inherent nature of AI, they will increasingly seek AI-powered solutions to prescribe actions that mitigate risks and enhance decision-making, business agility, and innovation proactively.

We also predicted that AI technology would evolve so rapidly that by the time SMBs become comfortable with data-driven decision-making, AI would be executing decisions that might be beyond the comprehension of business executives. The challenge with AI would shift from trusting data over intuition to trusting AI when insights into its decision-making process are not readily available in the cloud applications used by SMBs and midmarket firms. We expect this trend to continue into 2024.

After surveying over 3000 SMBs and midmarket firms, Techaisle has announced its top 10 SMB and midmarket predictions for 2024. There is intense market pressure on SMB and midmarket executives to deliver tangible progress towards – and benefits from – application innovation and digital business. At least some of this results from a worldwide fascination with Generative AI and its anticipated potential to transform nearly any function it might apply to. Gen-AI offers significant potential for SMBs and midmarket firms to enhance their operations and drive innovation. By leveraging this technology effectively, these businesses can improve efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction.

In 2024, SMBs and Midmarket business and technology leaders will maintain a practical perspective as they move into the digital future powered by AI. SMBs will invest in AI-infused, AI-embedded, tailor-made technology solutions to streamline operations and expand their customer base. To improve manageability, reduce complexity, and limit sprawl, pragmatism will overtake progressiveness. Technology choice and deployment complexity will create purchase inertia, empowering SMBs to seek suppliers capable of supporting a roadmap from the current state to a future-ready organization. SMBs will look for proof points in AI solutions that deliver tangible benefits within their environment. SMBs will adjust their own pricing strategies and implement cost-control measures. Labor shortages will prompt them to invest in employee training and retention initiatives to ensure smooth operations and efficiency. Additionally, SMBs will opt for proactive supply chain management and diversification strategies to minimize disruptions and exploit growth opportunities.

Here are Techaisle’s top 10 SMB and Midmarket predictions for 2024.