Vodafone Business is teaming with Accenture to deliver managed security services to SMEs and large corporate customers across Europe, that “do not have the experience, time or resources” to keep up with rapidly evolving threats, the partners said.
In response to the global pandemic more organisations are conducting business online and working to secure their supply chains and this shift has “highlighted security gaps”, said the pair.
The services will help businesses to plan for, detect, respond and recover from a cyber attack, and include risk assessment, testing systems and testing employee awareness, and monitoring, incident management and response. The services will leverage Accenture’s recent acquisition of Symantec’s Cyber Security Services business.
Accenture and Vodafone Business say they also intend to jointly invest in security innovation to help keep organisations safe as new threats emerge, including the establishment of an innovation lab focused on security solutions and intelligence for workplace, cloud, IoT and SD-WAN environments. Vodafone Business managed security services will launch later this year to SME and national corporate-sized businesses, initially in Italy and Spain, with the UK and Germany to follow.
Vinod Kumar (pictured), CEO of Vodafone Business, said: “We will leverage our combined capabilities and global experience to deliver modular security solutions, offering access to technologies that until now were only available to companies with large IT budgets. This alliance builds upon the Vodafone V-Hub service recently announced.”
Kelly Bissell, who leads Accenture Security globally, said: “The distinct nature of cybercrime makes it borderless and anonymous. Cyber criminals can come from anywhere and as they take advantage of the Covid-19 situation, they pose a significant threat to businesses of all sizes with costly consequences.
“This strategic relationship brings together two leading global players and will give Vodafone customers access to leading cyber security talent and industry expertise globally.”
Earlier this month, Vodafone said it would be helping its business customers and managed service partners to go green through its European network, that will be powered by 100% renewable electricity no later than July 2021. The operator has created its Green Gigabit Net for customers across 11 markets, that will grow sustainably using only power from wind, solar or hydro sources.
