IBM’s Technology Lifecycle Services (TLS) has bolstered its support offerings by incorporating Cisco’s Secure Firewall and Hybrid Mesh Firewall into its service menu. This development allows IBM to provide enhanced technical services for both virtual and physical firewalls.
The Cisco Secure Firewall is a key component of the Hybrid Mesh Firewall system, offering features such as deep packet inspection, intrusion prevention, malware and threat detection, as well as zero-trust segmentation. Similarly, the Hybrid Mesh Firewall provides a distributed security fabric and is designed to integrate with the network for advanced protection across different environments, utilizing AI for application safeguarding.
Recently, Cisco introduced a Mesh Policy Engine that empowers customers to establish a single intent-based policy, applicable to both Cisco and third-party firewalls. This policy enforcement is managed through Cisco’s Security Cloud Control platform.
With these new support services, IBM TLS can manage the complete lifecycle of Cisco firewalls, which encompasses planning, designing, purchasing, installing, uninstalling, and offering ongoing support. This initiative aims to help clients streamline their core or AI infrastructure, as explained by Atul Dhall, Vice President of Product Management and Global Solution Design for TLS.
Dhall emphasized the significance of virtual firewalls in providing flexible and scalable protection, especially as organizations transition workloads to the cloud. He noted that these virtual solutions integrate smoothly with cloud-native tools, enhance management visibility, and simplify operations across complex infrastructures.
This collaboration with Cisco is not new; in 2024, IBM TLS extended its support to include Cisco’s software-defined networking solutions and released the IBM Network Health Check service for Cisco networking. This service aims to optimize infrastructure, expedite hardware support, and identify crucial areas needing attention.
Besides Cisco, IBM TLS collaborates with several other vendors, including Juniper, F5, Fortinet, Checkpoint, and Palo Alto, as they compete with various service providers like HPE and Cognizant in the market.
