Akamai Expands Leading Segmentation Solution to Hybrid Cloud Environments

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation is now accessible to public-cloud users initially via the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), a prominent cloud company specializing in online protection, has announced the extension of its top-tier segmentation solution, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, to hybrid cloud setups. This expansion aims to minimize attack surfaces and contain threats targeting cloud-native workloads. Network security experts can seamlessly oversee segmentation across their public cloud environments, benefiting from quicker policy deployment, unified network management across data centers, and reduced operational complexity — all through a unified interface. Initially, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation will be accessible for Microsoft Azure deployments via Azure Marketplace, with availability for Akamai Connected Cloud expected later this year.

According to a recent survey conducted by ClearPath Strategies on behalf of Akamai, 33% of IT decision-makers (ITDMs) plan to enhance their usage of distributed cloud services to bolster security and reliability. However, nearly half (48%) of ITDMs express concerns about inadequate or underdeveloped security tools for a distributed cloud environment, highlighting the necessity for enhanced security solutions to safeguard cloud workloads.

Despite the widespread adoption of public cloud strategies for innovation and efficiency gains, challenges persist. Leveraging Akamai Guardicore Segmentation in the cloud aids organizations in addressing issues such as limited visibility into application behavior, the necessity for diverse policies across cloud providers, and governance conflicts between DevOps and SecOps teams.

Pavel Gurvich, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Security at Akamai, emphasized, “Public and multi-cloud environments are integral to most organizations’ operations, but they lack inherent visibility and security controls needed for robust cloud protection. To ensure cloud security, security practitioners must have visibility into application, workload, and traffic flows within the environment.” He added, “Implementing a microsegmentation policy in the cloud provides comprehensive visibility and control across all cloud environments, simplifying security management and reducing reliance on multiple security solutions.”

Key Benefits of Akamai Guardicore Segmentation in the cloud include:

Comprehensive agentless cloud-native visibility and enforcement for visualizing cloud workloads and understanding application dependencies.
Hybrid enforcement engine leveraging multiple enforcement points for simplified policy definition and execution.
Integrated reputation analysis and threat intelligence firewall capabilities for enhanced detection and response to breaches.
Scalable and secure solution ensuring data integrity and automatic scaling within the cloud environment.