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In the digital age, almost everything we do is online. This has led to many businesses setting up websites as an interface to connect with potential clients. However, when creating a new web project, there are many web hosting options at play for you to consider. Each available option has different performance levels, price tags, and capabilities. We consider the suitability of web hosting options based on your specific needs – focusing mainly on the contrast between a dedicated server and a virtual private server. What is a Dedicated Server? A dedicated server works exactly as its name suggests – with dedication. This type of web hosting involves a physical server that places all its resources at your disposal entirely. The dedicated server design gives you full control and customization of the operating system and software used. It allows you to allocate security, storage, and networking capabilities as you see fit. Dedicated hosting gives users increased flexibility and enhanced performance – coupled with advanced and consistent security protocols to ensure maximum privacy and data safety. This form of web hosting is ideal for websites that experience high levels of network traffic and don’t mind paying a little extra for it. Dedicated servers can be seen as somewhat of a blunt opposite of shared servers or shared hosting. With a shared server host, your data and applications are hosted on a virtual server used by multiple people. This limits the control of bandwidth and management capabilities available to you due to the confined resources you are given to share with others – which is also what makes shared hosting servers a lot cheaper to invest in. While this might be compatible with most startup websites and smaller businesses, there is a middle ground for those who want a bit more control without leaning entirely toward dedicated server hosting. What is a Virtual Private Server (VPS)? A virtual private server can be thought of as the best of both worlds – the control and services of a dedicated server combined with the virtual setup of a shared server. In a VPS setting, the resources of the host server are still shared with other users but every user is given a set amount of resources to call their own. Using virtualization hypervisor technology, a VPS can easily host multiple servers while still sectioning them off within the created virtual space – giving each user their own set of toys to play with while they still sit in the same playpen, so to speak. The VPS option is also highly scalable by nature and can adapt to the user’s needs and be customized as they see fit.  You can explore more about Sangfor Hyperconverged Infrastructure to explore more about server virtualization. VPS Hosting vs. Dedicated Hosting When comparing the two sets of web hosting, it’s important to note that each client has a different set of needs that is specific to its respective hosting server. We’ll be comparing the dedicated server and VPS setup according to various criteria that will help your website’s performance: Resource Allocation Dedicated Server: Naturally, a dedicated server will come out on top when comparing the number of resources available as the entire server is within your full control. You are free to upgrade and install different services and software – all without sharing it with anyone else. VPS: A VPS relies on a set number of resources that are allocated by the physical host server and can be more limiting than a dedicated server. These resources, however, are entirely yours to use and can be scaled as you need. Cost Efficiency Dedicated Server: This is the pricier option in terms of web hosting. Setting up the physical hardware to support a dedicated server is expensive and requires maintenance and management that will also end up padding your bill’s bottom line. This option makes more sense for large companies that have the capital to invest in extensive web hosting capabilities for their data requirements. VPS: Virtual private servers will likely cost more than the regularly shared server option but is definitely a more affordable alternative to a dedicated server. Due to the shared nature of the hardware used with a VPS, the costs to maintain the host server are also shared – reducing its price significantly. Performance Dedicated Server: A dedicated server provides the best solution if your website is reliant on rapid loading and peak performance at all times. It can handle high amounts of network traffic and has unlimited RAM, storage, and general performance capacity. Think of it as a bus that slows down as more people need to make a stop. With a dedicated host, the bus is reserved entirely for you and goes as fast as you need it to without any stops. VPS: With its reliance on the main server, a VPS will reach optimum performance levels but not as high as a dedicated server due to its resource sharing – or, to continue the analogy, due to more people using the bus. Security Dedicated Server: This is the safer option in terms of security – especially for websites that hold critical user information and data. A dedicated server is not impenetrable but its isolated nature allows it to be reinforced by advanced security and puts it at a lower risk of a cyber-attack than a shared VPS is. VPS: A large risk point when considering any form of shared web hosting is its security. This is especially true for e-commerce websites that require account details and personal information to process payments. While a VPS setup isolates your website – securing it from threats to other websites on the same server - an attack on the server itself, or a Denial-of-Service attack will ultimately impact your website as well. This makes it a slightly less secure option than a dedicated server. Configuration Dedicated Server: Dedicated servers give you full control over your server, yet they tend to be a lot more time-consuming and complicated in terms of management and maintenance. It becomes a lot easier when opting for a managed version of a dedicated server – which allows expert technicians to maintain your server to the best of their abilities. Again, this option is best suited to large-scale enterprises with dedicated IT teams to navigate and maintain these issues. VPS: A VPS gives you limited control over the server however, its virtual nature means that it can be up and running whenever you are. This allows you to configure your server as you need to with a lot more ease in a much shorter span of time. However, to the layman, a VPS infrastructure can a bit tedious to implement which is why it can also be chosen as a managed service – allowing you to enjoy its benefits, without handling its admin entirely. Flexibility Dedicated Server: The flexibility of a privately owned server gives you the maximum amount of control and elasticity. Sudden spikes in network traffic or business growth can be seamlessly adapted without compromising performance levels. While both dedicated and VPS solutions give you root access to customize settings, a dedicated web host gives you free rein on any or all changes made. VPS: As said before, a VPS solution is highly customizable in its own right as well – not to the level of a dedicated server, but enough to effortlessly adjust to peak network traffic and application installations as needed. Consider an online store having a Black Friday sale, with a VPS you can easily adjust your processing capacity to meet the needs of a fluctuating market on that specific day and then simply place it back to its regular setting when the day is over. Scalability Dedicated Server: A dedicated server has no limit in terms of scalability - which is why it makes the perfect choice for large companies that garner large amounts of network traffic. VPS: A VPS structure is highly modular and allows your business to grow at a more paced-out level. The resources at hand can be adjusted as your business expands, allowing you to use only what you need at the time that you need it. However, this web hosting option will eventually reach a limit to its reach – unlike the dedicated server. Which One Should You Use? As mentioned before, when considering a web hosting solution, it’s important to first understand and establish exactly where your company is and what it is capable of. It’s also good to remember that your web host is not set in stone and you may choose to migrate your network accordingly at any time in the future. Your company’s needs are vital in choosing a web host and so is a realistic approach to its network traffic capabilities. Investing in a dedicated server when you have a small business is nonsensical as you’ll be underutilizing most of its capabilities for a ridiculous price. Custom dedicated servers are suited to large enterprises that experience huge amounts of network traffic – processing multiple transactions and large data files daily. If you cannot provide or outsource the expertise to maintain and operate a dedicated server, you probably cannot be choosing it as a web hosting option. Dedicated servers also cost a lot of money because you need to arrange data centers to keep everything safe and secure. Enterprises are also using HCI (hyperconverged infrastructure) that helps them to reduce 80% of cost. Alternatively, a virtual private server (VPS) is outfitted for almost anything a step below a large corporate function. This option is perfect for beginner websites and small-to-medium-sized enterprises. Its scalable nature allows your web hosting resources to grow as your business does - without overshooting your target market or breaking the bank. It is also adept at hosting or creating gaming servers and offers individuals and smaller businesses enhanced flexibility. More people tend to move towards VPS for these reasons – especially a cloud-based model of it. Cloud computing has revolutionized the data industry and created a flexible, convenient, and secure option for your web hosting needs. Sangfor’s Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Choosing your web hosting server is a stressful event for anyone, that’s why Sangfor Technologies prides itself in being a leading provider of cloud-based solutions and cybersecurity services that will grant you peace of mind when making these choices. The Sangfor Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) has been recognized by Gartner as a server virtualization platform of choice. It provides an innovative 3rd-generation cloud computing architecture that converges compute, storage, networking, and security into a single software stack. The simplified 1-stop software-defined data center solution is tailored to business-critical applications and enables extensive backup capabilities and data protection. The platform boasts easy operation and quick installation for business-critical applications while being able to integrate with any commodity servers commercially available in the market. Read more about the Hyper-Converged Infrastructure here in the Sangfor HCI Brochure. Additionally, Sangfor’s Managed Cloud Service provides a new approach to public and private cloud. Providing a globally distributed data center with the convenience and flexibility of a public cloud, with the security, control, and professional service of a private cloud while relying mostly on self-developed compute and cybersecurity technologies. Leveraging Sangfor’s Managed Cloud Services allows organizations to focus on digital transformation while creating more business value. Lastly, Sangfor’s Cloud Platform is a reliable and seamless automated cloud computing platform that reduces the complexity of cloud data center construction and management through standardized and process-oriented functioning. For more information on Sangfor’s cyber security and cloud computing solutions, visit www.sangfor.com.   Contact Us for Business Inquiry

Digital transformation is the key to a more efficient future for data and computing, yet many companies are still straggling behind in the height of this revolution. In 2021, IBM’s Global Technology Services division launched a study showing that 60% percent of companies surveyed indicated that their IT modernization program was not yet ready for the future. Introducing your business into the new age requires an advanced skillset and tools that do not shy away from innovation. Enterprises that lean towards digital transformation will showcase higher returns on investments, a more productive workforce, and deliver more effectively across all areas. Issues Arising in the Digital Transformation While achieving digital transformation sets up a list of attractive goals for most companies, the road can be rocky at times. There are multiple reasons that companies may balk in the face of a full digital transformation and we’ve listed some of the main ones here: Legacy Architecture: The use of old and outdated technology holds back the tide of digital transformation by making it impossible to adopt newer software and infrastructure. Most companies choose to maintain their archaic setup for fear of needing to adapt to something complex, modern, and expensive. Unfortunately, this hinders the progress of the organization’s IT capabilities and even leaves it open to cybersecurity threats from sophisticated malware.     Organizational Silos: The compartmentalization of a workforce is defined as having groups of experts separated by department, specialization, or location. These tend to form an obstacle to digital transformation and a goal-orientated thought process by restricting innovative thinking and team building which lead to advancement.   Expenses Involved: Most enterprises choose not to implement advanced IT solutions for fear of the costs they may incur – for both the installation and maintenance of the expansion. This can be an unfortunate truth for smaller to medium-sized organizations, especially after the setbacks of the pandemic. However, the costs of digital transformation should be seen as a strategic investment for an enterprise that will ultimately benefit the company. Resistance to Change: Enterprises that employ a risk-averse business culture suffer from being resistant to original ideas and the enhancement of existing infrastructure. The adage “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” cannot be applied to an industry that truly thrives when it’s constantly adapting and improving. Digital transformation can only take place in an environment that cultivates innovative thought and a willingness to change. Resource Scarcity: The resources to facilitate a digital transformation may also be an obstacle for most businesses. The global microchip shortage still poses a roadblock to advancements in many industries and the strain on supply chains can slow down the process of elevating your IT infrastructure.  Cybersecurity Risks: Any change in the IT infrastructure of an enterprise will unfortunately leave your network vulnerable to a cyber-attack. The adoption of a new framework can sometimes leave gaps in the company’s understanding of the software they installed and increase the threat to your cybersecurity. Insufficient training and understanding will lead to errors and present as weak spots to criminals. The Looming Digital Skill Gap: As leaps and bounds in technology seemingly happen overnight, the sudden need to be as digitally literate to survive also presents itself as a barrier to digital transformation. As with the legacy architecture, people prefer to stay within the limits of what they know and feel comfortable with – which ultimately leads to a workforce that lacks the skillset to accommodate an effective digital transformation.  While overcoming these obstacles may seem daunting, the right professional and dedicated tools will make the entire process much easier. How Managed Cloud Services benefit Digital Transformation? Digital transformation gears your company towards an IT infrastructure that is effective and efficient through the use of the cloud. Cloud computing has always been viewed skeptically based on concerns for security and a general lack of information available – with managed cloud infrastructure being somewhat of an uncertain topic to most enterprises.  However, with the adoption of cloud infrastructure growing rapidly across industries, companies need to apply themselves to navigate the facts about pushing toward digital transformation. According to a report, the global cloud computing market size is expected to grow from $445.3 billion in 2021 to $947.3 billion by 2026 - with the total cloud infrastructure spending in China at 66% with US$19 billion in 2020, up from US$11.5 billion in 2019.   When moving your company to the cloud, it’s in your best interests to consider a managed cloud service provider as your first choice. A managed cloud service provides a globally distributed data center through Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service. This service includes migration, configuration, optimization, security, and maintenance of the infrastructure – all while allowing the most secure network for your data to be processed.   Think of a managed cloud service as a hotel room that cleans, fixes, stocks, and secures itself. You have full control over it and can use it however you see fit - all without worrying about the dull specifics. These are some of the advantages of choosing a managed cloud platform to kickstart your digital transformation: Expert Management: A managed cloud has the benefit of being controlled and maintained by experts in this field. This helps when just starting your digital transformation as the process can seem daunting and complex. With a managed infrastructure, your company enjoys all the advantages of being virtually adept while still being under the guidance and management of a professional cloud computing vendor.   Less Expenditure: Naturally, when choosing to outsource your infrastructure with a managed platform, the costs involved with expanding existing physical servers or investing in entirely new ones become unnecessary. Added to that are the maintenance and repair expenses required combined with the staff needed to oversee and operate the infrastructure which can also be quite steep. With a managed service, the price tag is much lower and suited to small or medium enterprises looking to begin their digital transformation.   Heightened Cybersecurity: When investing in a managed cloud service, the products and platforms you use are built with extra layers of cybersecurity to ensure that your data and network are efficiently protected at all times. The expert management also ensures that any threats to your network are caught well before any damage can be done.   Scalability: For a startup business, the idea of investing a large amount into digital transformation can be scary when you don’t know where your business may go in the future. Managed cloud services provide a fully scalable infrastructure to ensure that you never have less than you need or more than you can afford.   Active Disaster Recovery: Managed cloud services ensure that your network is secured with active disaster recovery options that will ensure business continuity and data safety in the event of a disaster.    Consistent Support: Having a managed cloud platform ensures that you have 24/7 support and services at hand for your infrastructure. This improves customer confidence and allows your business team to focus on reaching your set out goals without halting operations for repairs.   These are just a few of the perfectly sound reasons to start off your digital transformation with a managed cloud service - especially for small to medium-sized businesses who are just entering the cloud computing market. Enterprises and Start-Ups are adapting Hybrid Cloud  The cloud debate has always been tirelessly argued – whether private or public cloud adoption should be given more reverence. We believe that the most integrated solution would be the hybrid cloud model.  By definition, it is a blend of both the public and private cloud platforms – providing a unified and flexible computing model. The combination of cloud computing designs allows companies to choose the optimal cloud computing environment for each workload and navigate between services as required. The hybrid platform provides a seamless and controlled solution with increased scalability as needed, heightened security, and streamlined migration between systems. Hybrid cloud is quickly becoming the solution of choice for most enterprises interested in ease of management, longevity, and efficiency.  Watch the BrightTalk webinar A Deep Dive into Sangfor Hybrid Cloud to fully understand how it provides enterprises with a single point of control for managing infrastructure and applications through solving data gravity and compliance issues and delivering a consistent, high-performance, and seamless experience for both consumers and operators of cloud-delivered applications and services. Sangfor’s Hybrid Cloud is an end-to-end cloud solution powered by Next-Generation Converged Digital Infrastructure (NG-CDI) and enables flexibility in the application partition or workload placement design to optimize cloud adoption value. As far as a managed cloud service provider is concerned, Sangfor Technologies has consistently shown how a leading vendor in cloud computing can revolutionize the way companies view digital transformation by making the entire process seamless, secure, and easy to maintain. Sangfor’s Managed Cloud Services and Other Products Sangfor offers a trusted cloud adoption framework that is focused on offering a safe, reliable, and efficient platform to speed up your company’s digital transformation Sangfor’s Managed Cloud Services provides a globally distributed data center with the convenience and flexibility of a public cloud, with the security, control, and professional service of a private cloud - making it the best cloud service approach for most small and medium-sized enterprises. It also provides users with distributed Cloud DC and dedicated data security, full-stack security protection, and a new security responsibilities model - as well as proactive & professional 1-on-1 expert services. Download the Sangfor Managed Cloud Services brochure here to read more about the game-changing technology. Additionally, Sangfor’s Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) enters the field as an innovative 3rd generation platform that converges compute, storage, networking, and security on a single software stack - providing a simplified 1-stop software-defined data center solution tailored for business-critical applications. The platform also provides backup and extensive data protection.  Finally, Sangfor’s Disaster Recovery Management (DRM) offers a comprehensive disaster recovery solution between Sangfor Hyper-Converged Infrastructure and Managed Cloud Services that includes an active-passive disaster recovery solution and active-active stretched cluster solutions to protect business continuity on demand.  Watch this Sangfor Webinar on how to Make Enterprise-Grade Disaster Recovery a Reality with Sangfor Managed Cloud to discover how you can leverage Sangfor Managed Cloud Services maintain your company’s Disaster Recovery, protect critical data, scale as required, and conduct regular disaster recovery simulations to ensure effectiveness. Apart from simply providing effective cloud computing technology, Sangfor’s Managed Cloud Services also integrates advanced Sangfor cybersecurity products to ensure that your company’s digital transformation happens with only the best security in place. The Sangfor Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is used in conjunction with Endpoint Security to identify malicious files at both the network level and endpoints. The advanced firewall is a security device designed to inspect network and application traffic for threats, secure the network environment from intrusion, and bring in security intelligence from outside the network. Anything that the on-premises features cannot analyze is automatically sent to the cloud-based Neural-X sandbox for isolation and critical inspection. For more information on Sangfor’s cyber security and cloud computing solutions, visit www.sangfor.com.   Contact Us for Business Inquiry

The modern age of computing has brought about various improvements in how we communicate, store, and share data. The cloud has become an essential part of the information age and enhanced our ability to connect while simplifying the means to. However, like most technologies at the forefront of our era, cloud computing has vulnerabilities that malicious agents might look to exploit for their benefit. The hesitation of most companies to make the transition to the cloud has stemmed from a general security concern – storing data in this intangible entity could feel uncertain. However, with the adoption of cloud infrastructure growing rapidly across industries, companies must understand the security challenges they may face in the cloud transition. According to a report, the global cloud computing market size is expected to grow from  USD 545.8 billion in 2022 to  USD 1240.9 billion by 2027 with the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.9% during the forecast period - Gartner has predicted that 75% of cloud security failures by the year 2023 will be the result of inadequate management of identities, access, and privileges - up from 50% in 2020. Several factors are driving these cloud security breakdowns and we’ve rounded up the top 12 to help you navigate the cloud more efficiently. Enterprise Cloud Security Threats Organizations need to be aware of the potential security challenges they might encounter when adopting an enterprise cloud infrastructure. Some of the most common security issues with enterprise cloud computing may include: 1. Security System Misconfiguration A security system misconfiguration arises when essential security settings are either not implemented or implemented with errors. Cloud misconfigurations are specific errors, glitches, or gaps in your cloud environment that may leave your company exposed to potential risks – either in the form of data breaches, malware, or ransomware threats. The most common misconfigurations in cloud computing involve: Exposing unencrypted data on the internet without any required authentication in place. Giving the public access to storage buckets. Allowing all network users to access cloud-stored data. The storing of encryption passwords and keys in open repositories. The misconfiguration of a cloud security system is the leading cause of most cloud breaches and can be attributed to at least 3 main factors – firstly, in their efforts to make data more accessible and easier to share through the cloud, companies may encounter difficulty discerning who should have authorized access to data stores. Secondly, the use of multi-cloud infrastructures – with separate vendor security protocols, allows space for oversight and misconfigurations to occur. Finally, the use of inadequate cloud platforms with waning security measures may lead to a misconfiguration. 2. Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks are designed to shut down a network and make it inaccessible to its intended users by flooding the targeted system with traffic or sending it information that triggers a crash. Most companies use the cloud to store and run critical applications and a successful DoS attack can compromise the network’s data - which can then be leveraged against the company for monetary gain. The interruption of the cloud network’s ability to function during this type of attack can result in mass revenue loss and damage to a company’s brand. A responsible cloud security vendor will ensure enhanced cloud security measures to reduce the impact of a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack. 3. Data Loss Due to Cyber-attacks According to Statista 2021, 64% of respondents named data loss as their biggest cloud security concern and it’s not difficult to see why. The cloud is known most for its ability to store large amounts of data for companies without the hassle of on-site infrastructure or servers. Despite this forerunning feature, data breaches still stand to undercut the integrity of an organization’s cloud infrastructure. Cloud platforms make accessibility an important feature of cloud architecture to allow users to share and access data remotely with ease - which hackers may exploit to their advantage. Data breaches involve the accessing of sensitive data to be stolen, copied, or leaked to external parties. These breaches may have nefarious outcomes, yet their means are often accidental – through human error or ineffective cybersecurity practices. Nealy 45% of the data breaches in 2022 occurred within the cloud, according to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach report – where organizations with a hybrid cloud model achieved a lower average data breach cost of US$3.80 million—compared to organizations with a public or private cloud model. Functional and tested disaster recovery capabilities must be installed within your cloud platform to ensure data efficiency.  4. Lack of Security at Access Control Points A cloud infrastructure works outside of the physical parameters of an organization to make remote access achievable for employees and customers, alike. This feature has become increasingly attractive since the pandemic and the use of remote working models. An access control point is the part of your security plan that stops intruders from entering the premises and verifies the access of people entering the facility – usually the entrance and exit perimeters of the physical area. With the use of cloud-based systems, the access control points of an organization don’t always fall within their physical access – making it easier for cyber-criminals to infiltrate the system, sometimes even without the organization’s awareness. Cloud vendors are responsible for ensuring that the servers that provide cloud computing capabilities are secured at all access control points.  5. Inadequate Threat Notifications and Alerts When a cyber-attack occurs, it’s crucial to have a system in place that will notify you immediately and alert your security infrastructure of any potential breach. This is enhanced when using cloud-based software as the instantaneous nature of the cyber-threats that target cloud technology needs to be met with an equally, if not more, rapid notification system for its mitigation.  Cloud platforms that ensure proactive searches for potential threats and alert organizations in real time of their dangers are more effective in keeping security in place. 6. Unsecured Interfaces or APIs The term “interface” refers to a form of communication, leading to the understanding that an Application Programming Interface (API) is a software intermediary that allows two separate applications to communicate.  In cloud applications, APIs can be used to access different platforms and efficiently manage their security. They can be used to define the possible features and functions of the app or service. Public clouds are specifically based on their automated and self-servicing capabilities, making APIs inherently necessary to run them.  The use of APIs in the cloud computing sector has drastically improved migration and connectivity, however, they do pose a cybersecurity risk when they are left unprotected. An API that is left without adequate security provides an entry point for unauthorized access into the network where any amount of damage can be wrought. 7. Hijacking of Accounts Account hijacking in cloud computing refers to gaining control of a cloud-based employee account. The credentials of a compromised user can exploit an entire system and use fraudulent accounts to impersonate personnel of authority and access sensitive information.   Cloud infrastructure makes it much more difficult to identify an account that has been hijacked and mitigate its access to the database before any damage can be done or information can be exfiltrated. The use of weak passwords, poor cyber hygiene practices, and lacking cybersecurity defenses from cloud platforms only enables this threat - exacerbating the impact of phishing attacks and data breaches. 8. Lack of Visibility Security for cloud-based software has an unfortunate limitation in terms of visibility – where physical premises can use measures that ensure access is limited and areas are restricted, cloud resources are off-premises and do not guarantee that the infrastructure can be secured at all times. Cloud vendors should focus on the constant and consistent monitoring of the cloud infrastructure to ensure that no malicious agents are found in areas prohibited and that the company always has access to its entire network.  9. External Sharing of Data Cloud computing has revolutionized the way we can share and collaborate on files – making data accessible and simplifying how resources are connected. This has especially proven useful during the age of remote working.  Unfortunately, this external accessibility can also be a major security hazard for your cloud network. The difficulty lies in the ability to share a link to resources and access to several databases with so much ease that the security of that resource is then compromised. In a rush to make cloud sharing more convenient and innovative, we’ve exposed flaws in the infrastructure that can be exploited. 10. Malicious Insiders When we consider malicious agents, we often presume they’d come from the outside and try to pry into the mainframe, but the personnel we employ are not impervious to a criminal rationale. Insider threats are most commonly known as those agents within an organization that may accidentally or intentionally exploit their position and authorization to allow third-party access into a network. The detection of a malicious insider in cloud-based software is even more difficult due to the lack of infrastructure control and heightened accessibility.  A malicious insider can be anyone within the company who has information and is privy to the security protocols in place. The 4 main categories of insider threats boil down to sabotage, fraud, intellectual property theft, and espionage. However, these threats are not always “malicious” but can also be the result of negligent behaviors.  11. Non-person Identities  These days, the cyber threats we face are becoming even more advanced, sometimes even past our species. Non-person identities can refer to anything from virtual machines to serverless functions to compute. These bots can act intelligently and replaces user identities.  They can be exploited and serve as entryways into cloud networks if they are given excessive permissions to databases. Organizations should employ solutions that can identify these non-person identities and alert security teams if they begin to act suspiciously.   12. Oversaturation of Tools With the growing need for cloud technologies, companies are quick to cover all bases when it comes to securing their cloud environment as much as possible. However, the adage of too many cooks spoiling the broth holds here as the overuse of multiple security systems on a network can sometimes in itself become a security risk. Your cloud infrastructure is meant to simplify your operations and its security should not complicate that.  An overwhelmed cloud security base can become too complex and difficult to maintain and monitor – allowing smaller incidents to slip through and cause damage to your network despite the excessive protection in place.  While the cloud is moving us into the future, it’s not difficult to see why people might be cautious before taking that next step. Concerns When Using Enterprise Cloud There are 4 main concerns that people still maintain when considering the shift to enterprise cloud computing: 1. Data Loss or Leakage While the cloud has made data so much more accessible and easier to store, the risk of breach has also significantly risen. Sensitive data files and system information are the main targets in a cyber-attack and access to either could easily capsize an entire organization. Data breaches are easily the most prominent concern when considering an enterprise cloud service and the cloud platform you use should be able to mitigate those worries effectively. 2. Data Privacy and Confidentiality The second most common concern would be data privacy. The cloud often comes across as an elusive concept – intangible and somehow keeping all our data safe somewhere far away. It’s a natural fear that the platforms we use might be able to access this data or it may somehow be exposed to the public in any way.  For most companies, the confidentiality of many users relies on cloud infrastructure, and a failure in these security measures could result in data breaches and sensitive information being leaked online or companies being held for ransom to gain back their client’s information. This has been proven in numerous cyber-attacks that targeted client information - from the Shangri-La Data Breach Incident to the Nikkei Group’s Singapore headquarters attack, both in May of this year. 3. Incident Response InsuranceBee has revealed that 83% of small and medium-sized businesses are not financially prepared to recover from a cyber-attack, while 91% of small businesses have not purchased cyber liability insurance. Companies rely heavily on their incident response strategies to pull them through after the impact of a cyber-attack, but those resources are not always easily accessible – especially for smaller businesses that simply cannot afford most cloud security options available today.  Cloud infrastructure has inherently limited visibility and even those who do employ cybersecurity measures are still concerned that they might not be able to do enough to mitigate the threat of cloud breach. 4. Legal and Regulatory Compliance As with all things, rules and regulations apply to keep us safe. Data protection regulations - like those from the PCI DSS and HIPAA - have set policies that require companies to limit access and regulation of sensitive information that may be used against individuals. These include credit card details, healthcare records, and many more. With cloud adoption, the enforcement of these regulations has become a slight issue with the limited amount of visibility and control organizations retain over this information. Evidence of these limitations can be seen in the growing number of cyber-attacks in healthcare sectors in the past few years. Regulations concerning cloud-based data also touch on the location of data files. This means that data that is held in servers outside of your country will be liable to the laws of that country and their accessibility regulations.  While the cloud has forever changed the way we operate and connect, it holds its risks. Cloud computing is an advanced technology that requires an innovative security system in place to work effectively. Sangfor Technologies provides all that and so much more. Sangfor’s Cloud and Security Solutions  Sangfor offers a cloud adoption framework that is focused on practical preparations, such as strategic alignment, avoiding common mistakes, minimizing vendor lock-in, and identifying cost issues. These advanced cloud infrastructure solutions include:   The Sangfor Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) is an innovative 3rd generation platform that converges computing, storage, networking, and security on a single software stack - providing a simplified 1-stop software-defined data center solution tailored for business-critical applications. Sangfor’s Cloud Platform is a reliable and seamless automated cloud computing platform that reduces the complexity of cloud data center construction and management through standardized and process-oriented functioning. Managed Cloud Service provides a globally distributed data center with the convenience and flexibility of a public cloud, with the security, control, and professional service of a private cloud. Sangfor Hybrid Cloud is an end-to-end cloud solution powered by Next Generation Converged Digital Infrastructure (NG-CDI) and enables flexibility in the application partition or workload placement design to optimize cloud adoption value. Sangfor’s Disaster Recovery Management (DRM) offers a comprehensive disaster recovery solution between Sangfor HCI and MCS which includes an active-passive disaster recovery solution and an active-active stretched cluster solution to protect business continuity on demand. Sangfor provides all the ease and convenience of an innovative cloud platform combined with the highest levels of security for your data with advanced security features and SD-WAN capabilities.  Striving to provide pioneering and versatile cybersecurity solutions for your company to ensure the protection of your cloud computing platform, Sangfor offers a  list of innovative products and services including: Anti-Ransomware: Sangfor NGAF (next generation firewall), Sangfor Endpoint Secure, Sangfor IAG (Secure web gateway), and Sangfor Cyber Command (NDR) integrate as part of Sangfor’s Anti-Ransomware solution. With security deployed at the perimeter, endpoint, and network, Sangfor’s Anti-Ransomware is a holistic solution that breaks every step of the ransomware kill chain. XDDR: Sangfor XDDR - Extended Detection Defense and Response is a framework that goes beyond traditional XDR by implementing a real integrated security solution, providing a holistic response to malware infections and APT breaches across the entire organization’s network, with ease of management, operation, and maintenance. Incident Response: Sangfor’s Incident Response service is geared towards flexible, fast, and effective elimination and prevention of cyber-attacks. The focus of incident response is locating and eradicating threats while implementing active disaster recovery and providing tailored analysis to help safeguard your company from future cyber-attacks. Sangfor strives to provide intelligent and advanced cloud computing solutions combined with cybersecurity measures to improve protection and enhance the integrity of your IT infrastructure. For more information on Sangfor’s cyber security and cloud computing solutions, visit www.sangfor.com.   Contact Us for Business Inquiry

On October 31, Gartner® published Competitive Landscape: Chinese HCI Large, Specialist and Crossover Vendors[1], which provides insight into the Chinese hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) market and Competitive Profiles of several HCI vendors, including Sangfor. The following article provides a brief overview of the Chinese HCI market and explores how Sangfor continues to demonstrate technical prowess and market foresight to meet the evolving market dynamics and demands. Overview of the HCI Market in China “On the demand side, China’s HCI market has entered the early stage of mainstream adoption. Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) as well as large enterprises all use HCI as a building block of their data center infrastructure. Compared to the global market’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14%, China’s hyperconverged integrated system (HCIS) (appliance) market is expected to witness the same or even higher growth, from a market of $1.8 billion in 2021 to 2025 of about 3 billion market.” Gartner estimates that “the top five vendors accounted for more than three-quarters of total market revenue in 2021.” How Sangfor Continues to Lead in HCI Sangfor entered its HCI business in 2011 in the early days of the technology’s rise to become an established player in the HCI market. A recent IDC Tracker report[2] ranks Sangfor as the 3rd largest HCI vendor in China in Q2 2022 based on market share. Over the last decade, Sangfor HCI has served over 13,000 customers worldwide and undergone at least one major upgrade every year. This year, we released our most powerful ever HCI, v6.8.0, to help customers evolve their business with next-generation infrastructure. So how does Sangfor continue to lead at the forefront of the HCI market? Let’s explore in greater detail how Sangfor’s HCI solution and services fit the current competitive situation and trends of the HCI market.  Addressing More Business-Critical Workloads The Gartner report notes that “HCI is perceived as an important part of the modern data center and a stepping stone to the private cloud.” It lists the following trends that are driving the evolution of HCI’s capabilities to support a broader range of workloads: 1. Beyond the core capability of computing and storage, HCI continues to evolve to provide full infrastructure capabilities including containers, networking, security, infrastructure management and cloud management. Sangfor’s Thoughts: By consolidating compute, storage, network, and security into a single software stack, Sangfor HCI helps organizations save at least 70% on the total cost of ownership (TCO) and 90% on power, cooling, and space requirements compared to traditional 3-tier data centers.   As a leading cyber security and cloud computing vendor, Sangfor was the first HCI vendor to build native security into its HCI system. While other HCI vendors have followed suit, Sangfor is one of only a few vendors that leverage proprietary security technologies in HCI as opposed to third-party tools, ensuring seamless integration and compatibility. A built-in web application firewall (WAF) protects against web attacks. The virtualized version of our next-generation firewall, vNGAF, monitors and filters north-south traffic, while a distributed firewall protects east-west traffic. Integrating security reduces the need for deploying additional security components, saving costs and reducing operational complexity. Using the Cloud Security Center, customers can conveniently manage various aspects of the HCI infrastructure in one location, including asset identification, vulnerability management, and correlation with other security devices.   2. To support mission-critical workloads, HCI vendors need to improve reliability, availability and serviceability (RAS) capabilities and optimize performance for specific applications, such as Oracle and SAP (HANA). Sangfor’s Thoughts: Due to business continuity requirements, organizations may be reluctant to stop IT production for upgrades, patching, and migration. The consequence of this kind of mindset is outdated and vulnerable systems, which then leads to frustrated employees with limited IT functionality or, even worse, disastrous cyber-attacks. With Sangfor HCI, organizations can enjoy continuous technology refreshment with the three “hot” capabilities of hot upgrade, hot patching, and hot migration. These ensure that upgrading, patching, and migrating have little to no impact on business operations. For example, in an environment of 1,000 concurrent virtual machines (VM) running Oracle database, the I/O wait time is less than 2 seconds during the migration process to achieve virtually no business impact. In terms of performance, in a three-node HCI cluster environment based on NVMe SSD and 25GB NIC, the 4K random read speed peaked at 1.017 million IOPS, which is capable of hosting critical applications like databases.    3. Edge use cases continue to emerge and place diverse demands on HCI, such as a smaller footprint (two-node solution), container management and the ability to scale to the public cloud. Sangfor’s Thoughts: As today’s enterprises add additional office locations, they are also adding expensive hardware and support challenges for IT. ROBOs typically lack the physical space and power resources that traditional data centers need. In most cases, there is no qualified IT staff on-site to manage separate storage and compute resources at the branch. These constraints hurt business productivity and, ultimately, business results.  Sangfor Nano Cloud is a lightweight software-defined data center (SDDC) solution perfect for edge and ROBO use cases. Built with a minimum of only two HCI nodes, Sangfor Nano Cloud delivers a small data center footprint yet high performance. The implementation of Sangfor Nano Cloud can help organizations significantly reduce IT infrastructure cost, complexity, and the need for specialized personnel in remote offices, providing them with effortless operations and flexible scalability. Sangfor Nano Cloud is also ideal for small to mid-sized enterprises to begin their SDDC journey. Fitted with different feature packages that can be chosen based on your specific needs, from the consolidation of data centers and the rollout of virtualized workloads and applications to the formation of hybrid cloud architecture – Nano Cloud aims to provide a cost-effective, simplified, and secure IT infrastructure for SMBs. Addressing the Needs of Large Enterprises The Gartner report observes that “as more large-scale deployments occur, HCI is increasingly being adopted by large enterprises. This means HCI vendors must diversify their go-to-market strategies to accommodate the different buying behaviors of larger enterprises.” These include: 1. Support a software-only delivery model, as purchasing hardware and software separately is a common practice in large enterprises for large-scale deployment. Sangfor’s Thoughts: Sangfor HCI can be deployed as a hyperconverged appliance or as software installed on third-party servers. Sangfor’s HCI software is hardware agnostic and compatible with over 100 commodity servers on the market for flexible deployment (the most of any HCI software currently available), including those of major server vendors such as Dell, Lenovo, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).   2. Build a direct sales team focusing on HCI. This can be a dedicated HCI sales team, or it can be an HCI sales target for the current team. Sangfor’s Thoughts: Sangfor has an extensive partner network in countries across the world, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Singapore, Pakistan, UAE, and Italy. This allows Sangfor to provide highly localized support to ensure a positive customer experience. With local market expertise and speaking the local language, dedicated HCI partners offer customers personalized services, from project consulting to design to implementation to after-sales. Sangfor also provides local technical support to ensure that customers receive speedy assistance for any issues they may encounter. Regional warehouses also mean that supplies and spare parts are available on short notice.  Learn More about Sangfor Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) Reach out to us for an inquiry to discover what Sangfor HCI can do for your business. Visit the HCI product page to learn more about its advantages, features and capabilities, use cases, success stories, and more. Source: [1] Gartner Inc., Competitive Landscape: Chinese HCI Large, Specialist and Crossover Vendors, by Uko Tian, Kevin Ji, Evan Zeng, published October 31, 2022 [2] IDC PRC Quarterly Software-defined Storage and Hyperconverged System Tracker, published October 14, 2022 Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Gartner is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Continuing to make waves in ICT and smart security, Ooredoo has signed a Memorandum of Collaboration with Sangfor Technologies, a leading global vendor of IT infrastructure solutions. As partners, the companies plan to expand Ooredoo’s B2B portfolio, especially in the fields of cloud computing, infrastructure, and network security. It’s the latest partnership for Ooredoo as it strives to serve its customers’ evolving technology needs and drive nationwide digital transformation in support of Oman’s 2040 Vision. Saied Al Lawati, Director of Business Marketing and ICT Solutions at Ooredoo, said, “We continue to team up with pioneering companies to promote inclusive access to digital services and resources, as well as develop innovative solutions to improve our customers’ experience. Our partnership with Sangfor Technologies is one more step towards our goal of building the suitable ICT infrastructure for the development of safer, smarter and more successful businesses in Oman.”   Farhan Mannan Khan, Country manager Middle east and Pakistan at Sangfor Technologies, added, “As part of our commitment to helping organisations worldwide thrive in today’s challenging tech-centric climate, we have a network of partnerships with leading tech-minded organisations that spans the globe. We look forward to working closely with Ooredoo to bring new solutions and services to the Omani market that have the potential to benefit a wide range of sectors, including government, finance, education, manufacturing, healthcare, and more.” Complementing its core offerings, Ooredoo’s expanding portfolio of ICT solutions are elevating businesses’ technology infrastructure and supporting them on their digital transformation. Capitalising on its seamless network and customer-centric approach, the company’s tailored solutions are shaped to transform businesses of all sizes to help them achieve growth and contribute to Oman’s development. Source: https://www.ooredoo.om/AboutOoredoo/Media/PressReleases/DetailPressRelease/tabid/2375/ArticleId/5068/Ooredoo-Continues-to-Drive-Digital-Transformation-with-Sangfor-Technologies-Partnership.aspx

Sangfor Technologies and Western Digital Join Hands to Break Ground in Enterprise Storage On August 12, 2022, Sangfor Technologies and digital storage giant, Western Digital, convened in Chongqing, China to hold in-depth talks on market dynamics and opportunities. Both companies brought forth their respective expertise and experience with the view of joining forces. After the successful meeting, Sangfor Technologies and Western Digital jointly announced a strategic partnership agreement that aims to achieve mutual business goals and break ground in the field of enterprise storage. Image courtesy of Western Digital Since its establishment in 1970, Western Digital has been at the forefront of game-changing digital storage. By being on the cusp of innovation and pushing the boundaries of technology, Western Digital continuously produces more powerful and innovative data storage solutions. This is perfectly in line with Sangfor’s unwavering commitment to constant innovation. Founded in 2000, Sangfor Technologies is a leading global technology company specializing in enterprise-grade cyber security, cloud computing, IT infrastructure, and IoT products and services. With a corporate mission to "Make Digital Transformation Simpler and Secure", Sangfor aspires to lay the groundwork for digital transformation for organizations across all industries. The strategic partnership agreement between Sangfor Technologies and Western Digital is an affirmation of our unremitting efforts to innovate and meet the world’s ever-growing digital transformation needs. In this partnership, both companies will leverage their respective expertise to engage in technical cooperation. It promises to streamline the optimization and evolution of enterprise storage systems to better meet not only current enterprise storage needs but also the future exponential growth in storage demand. Value Propositions (1) The integration of Western Digital’s enterprise SDD with Sangfor Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) and Distributed Storage promises to enhance the overall performance, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of application hosting and Sangfor’s cloud solutions, such as Sangfor Hybrid Cloud, Managed Cloud Services, and Disaster Recovery (DR). (2) Both companies will cooperate to produce enterprise storage solutions that better align with the precise needs of specific industries, including enterprise, healthcare, government, education, and energy. (3) Both companies will join hands to provide customers with more efficient technical support and higher quality service. Image courtesy of Western Digital “Sangfor is confident that the signing of the strategic partnership agreement is the birth of a fruitful alliance,” says Kaden Zhang, President of Sangfor International Market.  “We believe that through continuous cooperation, the partnership between Sangfor Technologies and Western Digital will propel both companies into a business ecosystem of mutual benefit.” About Western Digital Founded in 1970, Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is an American global provider of data storage solutions, headquartered in San Jose, California. It designs, manufactures, and sells data technology products, including enterprise storage, data center systems, and enterprise cloud storage services. Western Digital sells its products under the G-Technology, SanDisk, and WD brands to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, dealers, resellers, and retailers. Visit www.westerndigital.com to learn more about Western Digital’s full range of products. About Sangfor Technologies Sangfor Technologies is an APAC-based, leading global vendor specializing in Cyber Security, Cloud Computing, and IT Infrastructure. Founded in 2000 and publicly listed since 2018 (STOCK CODE: 300454.SZ), Sangfor employs 9,500 employees, operates 60 offices, and serves more than 100,000 customers worldwide, many of them Fortune Global 500 companies, governmental institutions, universities, and schools. Visit us at www.sangfor.com to learn more about Sangfor’s solutions and let Sangfor make Your Digital Transformation Simpler and Secure.