It's fair to say that the past year has been a bit difficult for Kaspersky. The cybersecurity giant has been the subject of numerous investigations after the United States continued to accuse the Russian government of using its products for state-sanctioned espionage activities. Kaspersky now wants to return to the market and win back the trust of customers around the world.
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"The last 18 months have been difficult for Kaspersky in the UK and around the world, but as we know now and forever, these claims are totally baseless and unwarranted," said Chris Connell, the new UK boss. Kingdom and Ireland Kaspersky tells us. Connell joined Kaspersky in March after 15 years with Ingram Micro, a hardware company, and wants to share in the company's struggle after a year in crisis. "If I look at the UK for Kaspersky, we've somehow lost touch," he said, "we have to take our partnerships to the next level." Connell's immediate priority is to restart Kaspersky's channel performance, especially for former clients who have been forced to leave the company as a result of the US charges. "We are already seen as a great brand with advanced technology, and now we have an opportunity to really stand out," he said. "And the fact that now that we're going through this geopolitical business and we're coming around the corner, we're going to start making an impact to get that market share." Connell also hopes to strengthen his staff, noting that people now want to return to work for Kaspersky, and that hiring in the enterprise and SMB sales sectors is another immediate business objective. "People know that our technology is great and now we want to be part of the Kaspersky story," he said. "As a team, we really need to learn by listening to our partners and by listening to our customers in the business world. Understand the needs, understand what's going on, and decide which products to focus on and the strategy we develop to work together." Connell wants that Kaspersky becomes a "trusted advisor" to its customers and partners, both old and new. "We're actually going to listen to what keeps those guys from sleeping at night," he says, "by looking at what they need to do to protect themselves or their organizations, and take a different approach from the way we've evolved. the past" "It's our responsibility to educate companies that it's not just about protecting their infrastructure, meaning their servers or their network...we're trying to educate them. in a positive way, to not be afraid to admit that you have to change ". "I strongly believe that once we get in the door and talk about our technologies with these people, Kaspersky will continue to gain market share."
(Image: © Image Credit: Pixabay) The work ahead may be tough, but Connell says he and his team are ready to get it done. Although he's not the number one sales force right now, he says Kaspersky's technology can be the differentiating factor. However, given the scale of the products offered by the company, there is a need to be more focused and oriented, as UK customers are often more knowledgeable about the services they require. "If, as an organization, we try to do 20 different things in our strategy, the chances of succeeding with one of them are slim, because you won't be able to spend as much time as you want." You need it to focus," says Connell. "As an organization we simply need to learn from what we can learn from other parts of the world and adapt to how we serve the UK market." Although he admits he doesn't expect any disruption from Brexit, Connell admits that Kaspersky needs a stronger message in the UK to improve its image. The company continues to lobby the Global Transparency Initiative to show its work is open and legitimate, and Connell hopes to meet with the UK government soon." Our organization is changing the way we work in the UK," he said. "We haven't done as hard work as we should have in the last 12 months. "The UK remains an extremely important market for us and always will be... the opportunity in the UK is huge."
The new Kaspersky brand logo leaves the lab (Image credit: Kaspersky) (Image: © Kaspersky) It's clear that Connell and Kaspersky have big plans for the UK market, but it's sad that their commercial success depends on the fact that cybercriminals will spread and continue to develop new cyber threats. And despite recent statistics from Kaspersky that half or organizations have reported a cyberattack in 2019, Connell is optimistic about the current threat landscape. "I would say it's a lot better than what you did 18 or 24 months ago," he says. "Obviously, they're not designed to protect you in the future." And that's where companies like us have to step in to re-educate the educator." "I think it's one of the most compelling things for me: This market is going to get bigger and bigger as the world moves with smart technologies," he says. "And from my point of view, I joined a great organization with a great reputation for great products. Great researchers for a great team, a team of motivated people, passionate about what they are doing and, for me, the journey is like that. "