Deloitte and Palo Alto Networks Form Cybersecurity Alliance for Digital Transformations

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and NEW YORK — Deloitte and Palo Alto Networks are working together to develop and offer integrated zero-trust and multicloud cybersecurity solutions to their “mutual” enterprise and government customers. 

The strategic alliance between the global consulting firm and cybersecurity company is intended to securely enable customers’ digital transformation initiatives, according to Palo Alto Networks in July. 

The joint solutions are currently available in the U.S. and delivered by Deloitte.

As part of their digital transformations and efforts to “stay innovative and agile” with distributed workforces, many clients are migrating to the cloud, Palo Alto Networks said. The move is creating a need to expand beyond “perimeter-based security models” to protect networks, devices, applications, and data.

Organizations are also adopting security solutions that provide “data-driven, identity-aware visibility across the attack surface.”

The alliance between the companies brings together Deloitte’s cyber risk consulting services, including risk and change management, and Palo Alto Networks’ platform cybersecurity capabilities. 

New York-based Deloitte ranks No. 1 in market share for global security consulting services in 2020, according to a report by Gartner. Santa Clara, California-based Palo Alto Networks has over 85,000 cybersecurity customers. 

Their initial focus is on the following sectors: critical infrastructure; financial services; health care; life sciences; telecommunications; media; and the public sector. 

The companies are aiming to enable customers to “protect their most important digital initiatives and realize the full value of their cybersecurity investments.”

See more: Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity Portfolio Review

Deloitte-Palo Alto Networks joint solutions 

Zero-trust enablement

• Deloitte: cyber assessment, strategy, design, configuration, and integration services 
• Palo Alto Networks: identity management to enhance context-aware policy decisions across on-premises, hybrid and private/public cloud environments 

Cloud security orchestration and automation

• Palo Alto Networks: Prisma Cloud, Cortex XSOAR — an extended security orchestration, automation and response platform
• Deloitte: cloud security controls framework and library of cloud security use cases
• Build automated preventive, detective, and corrective controls across cyber risk domains
• Embed security into fabric of cloud deployment
• Can help reduce customers’ cloud-risk windows from “minutes or hours to near-real time”

“Organization-wide digital transformation demands highly coordinated, strategic, and holistic change management to realize success,” said Kieran Norton, infrastructure solution leader and principal, Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory.

“Taking a proactive approach to cyber risk management by embedding security into the fabric of digital initiatives … enables that change in a risk-aware fashion, identifying and addressing security gaps early in the process instead of waiting for trouble to arise.”

Deloitte and Palo Alto Networks are “exceptionally equipped” to address customers’ “journeys” in zero trust and cloud adoption, said Prem Iyer, VP of ecosystems and global systems integrators, Palo Alto Networks. 

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