Over several decades Sophos have secured 100 million users in 150 countries and businesses across different verticals. Its security solutions are backed by leading testing labs and have proven effective in rigorous conditions, says Sunil Sharma, VP Sales, India & SAARC, Sophos.
Q. In what ways did the year 2015 react for Sophos?
A. This year Sophos became the largest software IPO on the London Stock Exchange. Our successful listing represents a true team effort across all disciplines of the company. Sophos is growing at a double digit pace, and with newer technology developments like the launch of Security Heartbeat, we believe we can continue to outgrow the pace of our core markets.
Q. Can you honestly tell why should consumers or partners trust the brand Sophos?
A. Our solutions are trusted by consumers across the world. Over several decades we have secured 100 million users in 150 countries and businesses across different verticals. Our security solutions are backed by leading testing labs and have proven effective in rigorous conditions. With several patents and innovations like Security Heartbeat, we are committed to make security simple for users. While simplifying security is a major goal, we have taken this philosophy to all aspects of business improving customer satisfaction and partner engagement.
Q. Is your company working on Govt projects under the Digital India program?
A. Digital India program recognizes the growing criticality of cyber security, information security and other related challenges. The initiative understands that the success of this program hinges on how security practices are enabled, regulated and promoted. A digitally empowered society and knowledge economy can’t thrive unless it is underpinned by a robust security framework. In the light of growing attacks that target digital infrastructure of banks, large financial and manufacturing organisations and other industries, Digital India initiative aims to develop skills and expertise, to promote special forces like NASSCOM’s Cybersecurity Task Force. As government’s trusted partner in Network and IT security solutions, we have signed up with NIC / NICSI / DGS&D and are committed to extend all kind of support in this direction making significant contributions with multiple projects.
Q. What kind of regulatory changes should happen to improve the business ecosystem in the country?
A. I think there already exists good momentum in this direction, however, the need of the hour is to sustain this awareness and promote it through various measures, which includes educating customers and the workforce. Such initiatives should also receive willing support from the private sector and technology innovators. Collaborative measures such as roadshows, workshops, discussion forums and centres of excellence established at regional level shall catalyse a more favourable situation and shall arm SMEs with required know-how, resources and best-practices to achieve great business efficiencies.
Q. How does the channel help you to reach out to your potential customers? What's your channel strength?
A. As a 100% channel driven company we have 1000+ channel partners working on ground in India and SAARC. This extended network allows us to reach out to Tier II & III cities with ease. It is important to mention here that our partners form the primary interface with our customers and understand unique business challenges and security needs for customers across verticals. Feedback and observations from partners help us evolve our offerings to meet changing customer needs. Over a period of years, we have made significant investments in our channel partners, transitioning them from product-centric selling to solutions-driven approach. Our partner programs provide the requisite resources and know how to our partners to confidently pitch our products and solutions to customers.
Q. What are your assurance for providing excellent service support to your customer?
A. We have a strong pre-sales team on ground which plays a crucial role in understanding customer requirements. They are the ones who tackle technical queries and handle POCs to help customers get accustomed to our solutions in the initial phases. We understand that in our business, clients need to be 100% sure that they will get desired support in time as they cannot afford losses due to connectivity and security issues. We are aware that how these bottlenecks impact business continuity. To this end, we have a dedicated ISO 20000 certified post sales customer support that enables 24/7/365 assistance over multiple channels.
Q. What's your roadmap or strategy for the year 2016?
A. We are in the advanced stages of aligning our channel with newer sales and revenue opportunities with an extended portfolio as in addition to network security they now have access to Sophos endpoint solutions. For customers, it means better security coming from a single vendor; for partners there are tremendous upselling and cross selling opportunities. Additionally, we want to establish Sophos as a leading brand in India. We will also be looking forward to strengthen our partner program via training and certifications.
Q. What are your current revenue? What are your projection for the year 2016?
Sophos global revenue for FY15 was $476 million. We have seen year on year growth in FY16, and in November announced our half-year results with year on year reported billings growth of 12.8%.
