Sameer Shaikh, CISO and Head of Industry Relations at Galaxkey talks about the cybersecurity market and the launch of new offerings in the Middle East. He further stated that the company has already started engaging with new partners and is looking to expand its partner base in the region
How would you describe the data protection market in the Middle East and what role do you play in this market?
We know the Middle East is a significant hub for cyber activities, including state-sponsored data breaches and financially driven ransomware attacks. As a result, cyber security and especially data protection are major concerns in the region.
The recent regulatory changes also demonstrate an increasing focus on data protection and privacy, with Zero Trust Architecture and encryption amongst the forefront strategies. We foresee this market to only grow.
Galaxkey stands out as a pioneer in the data protection domain, offering a comprehensive security suite covering email, files, folders, signed documents, and instant messaging, setting it apart from other providers in the market.
Which new products are you planning to introduce in the Middle Eastern markets?
Our existing offerings cover email protection, file/folder encryption and secure transfers, document signing etc all get new features every quarter.
Recently we have launched Galaxkey Enterprise, the on-prem hosting of data and encryption key with no cloud connection.
While many providers have brought their hosting instances in the region, our Galakey Enterprise offering takes it one step ahead. Any corporate can host all their data and encryption keys on-prem – completely meeting the “no-cloud-connection” demand. This model is already being used in the region by some customers including a large Defense Procurement Authority and a Central Bank.
Besides, Galaxkey Enterprise we are all geared to launch two new offerings in the last quarter that will have a major impact on the Middle East market:
1. Arabic interface
In addition to English, our customers can benefit from an Arabic interface for the portal making it easier for local adoption.
2. Encrypted secure and on-prem Instant Messaging (IM) – LockChat
With IM swiftly moving C2C to B2C and also B2B markets, customers are looking for secure ways to communicate on IM. LockChat product gives encrypted, corporate-controlled, locally hosted and auditable IM for Enterprises.
Let me elaborate – do you remember, how many times you have shared your Emirates IDs, car registration cards or medical reports with insurance agents on the public conventional IM? Along with security, this can cause privacy headaches to corporates. LockChat introduces a game changing approach in this regard. The possibilities are immense.
What kind of partners do you seek to work with?
While there is a wide variety of partners in the market, we have seen our success mostly with partners where our vision aligns on disrupting this data protection and compliance domain with innovative approaches. For example, partners who are:
- Focused on playing in niche technologies rather than run-of-the-mill
- Ready to embrace new approaches to market (e.g., using Galaxkey on-prem model to implement MSS solution meeting data-residency out-of-box)
And of course, their existing good reputation and references in the market is key.
What message would you like to give to channel partners, especially those who would like to join your channel network?
Our key message is that the cost of being insecure is growing, evident from the growth of ransomware and stringent compliance regulations. Hence the market requires innovative solutions like Galaxkey, offering the most comprehensive protection coverage across common data stores. Adding Galaxkey to your product profile will significantly enhance your offering and profitability.
For our partners, Galaxkey offers many benefits including:
- Recurring and growing annual revenue through the subscription model
- Higher margins
- Good incentive plans for individual performers and companies
- Established enablement programs including trainings and NFR software
- Good references in market to build upon
I invite the channel partners to join this journey of introducing innovative security solutions to the region. Please reach out to us and explore how we can benefit the regional market and grow together.
Can you please elaborate on your partnership with IDC Technologies?
IDC Technologies is a leader in supporting global enterprises, offering IT services from resource augmentation to complete digital transformations through IDC Digital. I have witnessed the journey of IDC Digital from onset and impressed by their growth up the value chain.
Many IDC Digital leadership members and I have had interesting conversations over cyber market strategies, going back to our days at our alma mater, Emirates Airline and Group. I’m delighted that they’ve embarked on their cyber leadership journey with Galaxkey. IDC Technologies will be able to further stitch into their customer fabric by now also addressing their cyber challenges with a niche technology, and Galaxkey will gain access to serve their strong customer ecosystem.
What are your plans for the region and what kind of growth are you expecting in the current year?
As you can see from above, we are steadily introducing features aimed primarily for the Middle East, further showcasing our commitment to the region. With such exciting enhancements, we are confident of growing on our existing customer base. We are on track to reach 150% of our 2022 business by Sep 2023 and targeting doubling by Dec 2023.
The key to take the message about these unique benefits deeper into the market is having a focused partner base. We have already onboarded 6 new regional partners this year and in active conversations with few more.
