Palo Alto Networks Ignite Brings Technology Partner Program Updates, Innovations

IGNITE 2021 — Palo Alto Networks, at its Ignite ’21 conference, unveiled Technology Partner Program (TPP) updates and new innovations, including its Cortex eXtended Managed Detection and Response (XMDR) Specialization.

About 26,000 registrants from more than 100 countries are convening at this week’s virtual Palo Alto Networks Ignite.

TPP features 900 integrations across network and cloud security, as well as security operations. This includes integrations that are available in the Cortex XSOAR Marketplace.

Tana Rosenblatt is Palo Alto Networks’ vice president of technology partnerships. She said the new program enhancements provide a streamlined support structure. They also offer new resources and tools to help partners drive the adoption and integration of Palo Alto Networks into customers’ environments.

Palo Alto Networks has focused TPP solely on technical integrations it does with tech partners, she said.

Palo Alto Networks’ Tana Rosenblatt

“That said, the channel partners can take advantage of integrations to meet in the middle to create specialized offerings,” Rosenblatt said. “Examples of this include the Arrow-Palo Alto Networks-Nutanix campaign or the CloudHarmonics-Palo Alto Networks-Okta campaign, etc.”

XMDR Partner Specialization

The Cortex XMDR partner specialization combines Palo Alto Networks‘ Cortex XDR 3.0 solution with managed service offerings from more than 15 partners to improve customers’ security operations. The specialization is part of the NextWave Managed Service Program (MSP). Palo Alto Networks designed it to enable partners to capitalize on the growing customer need to detect, investigate and respond to cyber threats across their endpoint, network and cloud assets.

Also during Palo Alto Networks Ignite, the company unveiled its next-generation Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB). In addition, it announced Prisma Cloud 3.0, an integrated platform to secure the full application life cycle.

Lee Klarich is Palo Alto Networks’ chief product officer.

Palo Alto Networks’ Lee Klarich

“With the en masse shift to a hybrid workforce and rapid adoption of the cloud, the way work gets done has changed,” he said. “SaaS collaboration apps are becoming key to a productive hybrid workforce, but SaaS security has not caught up. With the introduction of our next-generation CASB, we’re the first to recognize and embrace this shift — and solve it.”

Prisma Cloud continues to push the industry forward with this next evolution of cloud security, Klarich said.

All of this is part of Palo Alto Networks’ broader focus on delivering consistent network security across the campus environments, data center, branch office and full remote workforce in a way that is consistent and enabling of the workforce, he said. And that workforce is increasingly working from anywhere.

Next War Will Be Cyber

Nikesh Arora is Palo Alto Networks’ CEO and chairman. He said cyberattacks can now be way bigger and more widespread than you could ever imagine.

Palo Alto Networks’ Nikesh Arora

“The next war is going to be cyber war,” he said. “You won’t actually see missiles flying across country. You’ll see countries being brought down by cyber activity.”

Palo Alto Networks‘ goal is to make sure “we’re tackling the next problem that’s going to come around the corner so you can go do what you need to get done while we focus on what’s next,” Arora said.

“We have 12,000 people around the world,” he said. “They’re constantly scanning, trying to figure out where the next attack’s going to come from. We’re constantly vigilant on behalf of our customers. And we’re trying to make sure that we are the evergreen cybersecurity company you can rely on in the future today to make sure that your tomorrow is safe with us today.”

Scroll through our slideshow above for more from Palo Alto Networks Ignite.