Treating network security as an add-on or bolt-on is the wrong approach, because it should be part of the architecture, according to Steve Mullaney (pictured), president and chief executive officer of Aviatrix.

By integrating network security into the architecture’s fabric, Aviatrix Systems Inc. eliminates the notion of security being a checkpoint that can be pinpointed, because it should be everywhere. Therefore, the cloud makes this a reality based on the agility rendered, Mullaney added.

“So what happens is you should do security everywhere; the place to do it is at every single point in the network that you can make a decision, and you actually embed it into the network,” he stated. “So when you’re making a decision of does that traffic need to go somewhere or not, you’re doing a little bit of security everywhere. So it looks like a giant firewall effectively, but it’s actually distributed in software through every single point in a network. It’s kind of a mesh.”

Mullaney spoke with theCUBE industry analyst Dave Vellante at AWS re:Inforce, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how Aviatrix enhances network security in the cloud by ensuring it’s everywhere. (* Disclosure below.)

Cloud is (kind of) recession-proof

Since the recession might continue biting hard, the skills gap is anticipated to widen. Nevertheless, the cloud will help fill the void, according to Mullaney.

“Now with the recession, you think you’re gonna be able to add more people, nope,” he explained. “You’re gonna have less people. You have to put the intelligence in the software, not in your people. I don’t want to say cloud is recession proof, but it kind of is.”

As a cloud networking company, Aviatrix treats network security like air, because it should be everywhere, according to Mullaney. Therefore, security is architecturally placed.

“You shouldn’t be able to point to network security,” he noted. “It’s like, can you point to the network? It’s everywhere. Point to air, it’s everywhere.”

The lift-and-shift mentality is not the correct route to take regarding network security in the cloud. As a result, safety should be incorporated into the framework, according to Mullaney.

“Network security should be integrated in the fabric, and that wasn’t done on-prem,” he said. “They take their firewalls; they take all the things that they currently do and try to do that in the cloud. It’s not really the right way to do it.”

Aviatrix will accelerate the multicloud concept by acting as a stepping stone toward integrating network security in different clouds. Multicloud will emerge based on the presence of various industry clouds, according to Mullaney.

“Networking and network security is that bottom layer that Aviatrix helps once that gets all handled,” he pointed out. “The app people are gonna say, ‘So there’s no friction. Maybe I can use autonomous database here; I can use that service and put it all into one app’ … it’s a multicloud app; doesn’t exist today.” 

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS re:Inforce event:

(* Disclosure: Aviatrix Systems Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Aviatrix nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE