Service providers around the globe currently lack properly integrated security tools and management capabilities to fully meet customer needs for secure and reliable services, according to Ronald Varol, global solutions executive, next generation networks, IBM Telecom Industry.
'Increasingly, telcos need to look at their security requirements with a more integrated view,' said Varol. 'Telcos today have a multitude of point solutions but these are mostly not integrated and add to the growing management challenge and overall cost of ownership.'
Telcos today face two key challenges: how to secure their networks and systems as they migrate to new networks and roll out new services, and the need to be seen as a reliable and secure provider of services.
According to a 2006 Technology, Media, Telecommunications Security Survey by Deloitte, 'Half of the telecommunications firms surveyed do not feel confident they are protected by existing security measures.'
The survey also said most telcos see security risks in the future development of Wi-Fi networks, VoIP, WiMAX and 3G networks.
Varol told the SHOW DAILY that service providers know what tools can secure their own networks , but many lack requisite visibility on network management and security to help manage service delivery better.
'Having an integrated security platform will help telcos keep costs down while delivering more value to customers,' said Varol. To help address these needs, IBM has rolled out a suite of security hardware, software and services to meet the security requirements of large-scale IP carrier networks.
According to IBM, the Telecom Core Infrastructure Security Solution monitors and manages not only the health of network but the traffic itself, through a single, integrated system.
The security offering comprises: Tivoli Security Operations Manager for monitoring and correlation of security components such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems; technology from Narus that provides traffic monitoring; and Tivoli Netcool software that integrates these components together.
'We believe security represents a tremendous revenue opportunity for carriers and are well positioned to help them execute,' said Mike Hill, general manager, global telecommunications industry, IBM.
Varol said that telcos also face a need to build brand recognition around security capabilities as customers will only turn to providers that can deliver on agreed SLAs and deliver these services securely. Managed security services are seen as a key growth market for telcos as enterprises customers look to outsource non-core tasks to third parties.