LANCOM Systems and Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity will in future operate jointly under the name Rohde & Schwarz Networks and Cybersecurity. The new unit is intended to bring network infrastructure and cybersecurity more closely together, with a particular focus on enterprises, public authorities and operators of critical infrastructure. Digital sovereignty and highly secure data transmission are key strategic priorities.

Rohde & Schwarz is reorganising its secure networking business by bringing together LANCOM Systems and Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity. LANCOM has been wholly owned by the Munich-based technology group since 2018. Following around 15 months of preparation, systems, processes and organisational structures have now been consolidated.

According to co-managing director Robert Mallinson, the move reflects the way the portfolios of the two businesses have developed over recent years. Their respective offerings have expanded significantly and increasingly begun to overlap.

Under the name Rohde & Schwarz Networks and Cybersecurity, the group will offer a broader portfolio combining networking technology and security solutions. This includes routers, WLAN and switching systems, as well as firewalls and technologies for Layer 2 and Layer 3 encryption. Applications with particularly high security requirements are also expected to benefit from technologies such as post-quantum encryption and customer-specific cryptographic solutions.

The company sees financial services, government organisations and critical infrastructure among the key areas of application.

Secure networks as the foundation of critical processes

Today’s requirements for networks extend far beyond the reliable transmission of data. In transport systems, government networks or financial transactions, organisations must ensure that information cannot be manipulated or accessed by unauthorised parties.

Rohde & Schwarz Networks and Cybersecurity therefore regards network infrastructure as an integral part of an overall security architecture rather than as an isolated communications layer.

This approach is also becoming increasingly relevant for connected products within the wider Rohde & Schwarz Group. Software-defined test and measurement equipment, remote maintenance applications and digital services all require secure access, protected network components and firewall technologies.

At the same time, the new unit can draw on the group’s manufacturing capabilities. Products can therefore be qualified for demanding environments, including critical infrastructure and maritime applications where increased resistance to temperature fluctuations, mechanical stress and other harsh operating conditions may be required.

Organisation aligned more closely with customer use cases

The internal structure is also being realigned. Rather than focusing primarily on individual product categories, Rohde & Schwarz Networks and Cybersecurity intends to organise its activities more closely around specific customer applications.

Four segments have been defined: Corporate Network Solutions, Public Network Solutions, Defense Network Solutions and solutions for critical infrastructure.

The corporate segment addresses customers including retailers, financial institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises. Public Network Solutions focuses on public administrations, while the defence segment targets applications in security- and defence-related environments.

The company sees network technology as a particularly important foundation for security systems in critical infrastructure. Video surveillance systems, electronic access control and alarm technologies are increasingly IP-based and therefore depend on secure communications.

By combining networking and cybersecurity expertise, Rohde & Schwarz aims to enable customers to approach these infrastructures more comprehensively and treat them as integrated systems.

Digital sovereignty becomes a purchasing criterion

Digital sovereignty is a central element of the new strategy. According to Mallinson, customers are increasingly asking for European technology or IT and security solutions over which they can retain greater independent control.

The objective, he stresses, is not to exclude international technologies as a matter of principle. Instead, organisations are seeking to reduce critical dependencies and maintain control over essential parts of their digital infrastructure.

In Mallinson’s view, digital sovereignty must therefore be considered on several levels. Network hardware is only one part of the equation. Applications, operating systems, cloud infrastructure and the location and conditions under which data is stored are equally important.

Encryption can also play an important role. Data can, for example, be encrypted before it is transferred to a cloud environment. This makes it possible to integrate cloud services into security concepts designed to provide a greater degree of sovereignty and control.

The new unit also uses the term “Made in Germany” with some caution. According to Mallinson, Rohde & Schwarz Networks and Cybersecurity continues to develop most of its hardware and software in Germany, while individual components or products may originate from ODM manufacturing in Asia.

For this reason, the company increasingly uses the term “Engineered in Germany”. Beyond technical quality, Mallinson identifies trust, close customer relationships and the ability to respond quickly to problems as important competitive advantages.

Security requirements influence technology choices

According to the company, the growing focus on digital sovereignty is also beginning to affect purchasing decisions. Customers no longer necessarily regard every technically available feature as essential.

Instead, they are assessing more carefully whether additional functionality is really required for a particular application or whether security, product quality and manageable technological dependencies should take priority. Mallinson says this development is particularly visible among medium-sized and family-owned companies.

Rohde & Schwarz also intends to promote the issue at European level through the Sovereignty Alliance for European Network Technology, or SAFENet, launched in June.

The initiative aims to increase the visibility of European capabilities and alternatives in network technology. Mallinson sees the response to the alliance as an indication that companies and public institutions are paying much greater attention to technological dependencies than they did only a few years ago.

Channel partners remain central to the sales strategy

Despite the organisational restructuring, indirect sales will remain an important part of the business model.

LANCOM has traditionally operated entirely through partners, while Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity has also used direct sales in certain areas. Under the new structure, the majority of business is expected to continue to be handled through regional IT partners and large systems integrators.

Direct sales will mainly be retained for specific situations, such as classified projects or projects subject to particular export-control or dual-use requirements.

The unit is also growing in terms of headcount. All employees from both organisations have been retained. According to the company, the combined workforce will increase from around 450 to approximately 550 employees.

Further growth is planned, not least because demand for qualified specialists in networking and cybersecurity remains high.

Post-quantum cryptography gains importance

From a technology perspective, Rohde & Schwarz Networks and Cybersecurity expects post-quantum cryptography to become an increasingly urgent issue.

One of the key concerns is the so-called “harvest now, decrypt later” threat. Encrypted information can already be intercepted and stored today with the intention of decrypting it at a later stage once sufficiently powerful technologies become available.

Organisations handling data that must remain confidential for many years therefore need to start addressing quantum-resistant encryption methods at an early stage.

Artificial intelligence is another area expected to affect cybersecurity. Mallinson sees vulnerability management in particular as an increasingly dynamic contest between defenders and attackers. Automated AI agents and the growing importance of digital identities are also likely to create new security requirements for IT infrastructures.

The combination of LANCOM Systems and Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity therefore reflects a broader development in the security industry: network infrastructure, encryption, identity management and cybersecurity are increasingly being treated not as separate disciplines, but as interconnected components of a single security architecture.