Data Resolve Technologies was started by group of IIT Kharagpur Alumni. DSCI, in conversation with Dhruv Khanna, CEO and Director at Data Resolve Technologies, finds out what is it that makes Indian security product companies such as Data Resolve, to establish itself as one of the key players in the Cyber Security market. An emerging player in the area of Cyber Security and Cyber Intelligence, the organization is headquartered in Delhi NCR with sales presence in Mumbai and Kolkata.
Dhruv Khanna, CEO & Director, Data Resolve Technologies
Q) Industry growth is expected to stay robust in the high double digits over the next few years and that’s partly due to the fact that the security market is less prone to budget cutbacks, particularly in the era of open networks and institutional ‘spying’. What’s your take on this?
Indian cyber security product companies are noticeably going through a transition. While in the last 3-5 years, growth was somewhat static, of late, 8-10 companies are visibly growing. I believe that from a start-up’s standpoint, the growth process has already begun, as substantiated through increased customer acquisitions, and enhanced visibility through industry bodies such as DSCI which has played a key role in leveraging companies in this domain through accolades.
I feel the IT spending cut is more notional, since most organisations comprehend the fact that cyber security is a necessity, and not having the right controls in place could be detrimental.
Our problem, however, is unique in the sense that we fall in a domain of information security, which in itself houses multiple domains. However this domain is reality, and the need of today. Hence, its security is pivotal. For us every client is a potential customer, so the challenge is how we can better penetrate into the larger market. As we grow rapidly, and are just about a year old from the market standpoint, we have already witnessed significant growth on a quarter-to-quarter basis, and that will undoubtedly continue into the future.
Q) What do you feel are the core strengths of the Indian cyber security product (CSP) market?
Globally, the market has seen a paradigm shift. The level of trust in product capabilities and credibility of India-based cyber security product organisations has been increasing and it is precisely for this reason why large companies and brands are more accepting of an Indian Cyber Security Product Company. In a large way, this can be accredited to DSCI, since the association adds to the credibility factor. Added to that is the ‘Make in India’ initiative, which boosts confidence and emotion, to make it all work for our benefit. With the recent Cyber Security Task Force setup, there is greater hope that the cyber security product companies will achieve higher growth.
Q) As an organization in the domain of CSPs, what are the kind of opportunities you envision for yourself in the Indian market?
From the domain standpoint, there is a large domestic market for us to serve. We have customers across verticals. If I look at the enterprise market, for example, Data Resolve has consumers in almost 15+ domains which utilize our technology. Facts and indicators confirm that market is transforming as organizations are increasingly offering cloud services, digital marketing services, content and data management services, so within the enterprise segment, opportunities are growing big time.
In my view, the missing element is with regards to the government sector. There are a lot of prerequisites which can hamper the ‘Make in India’ initiative, unless these are neutralized. Since there is a large market potential for cyber security product companies to venture into, certain areas in the initiative need to be improved upon for it to flourish. With the CSTF recommendations coming in force, I believe this dimension would get addressed in big way and deliver “Make in India” concept.
Q) How do you see your products as adding value to the current market landscape in terms of features and support?
I think simplicity is the first part. Large companies and research forums have increasingly made information security a highly complex issue, whereas I feel it has to be the easiest for any CISO to deal with effectively. While building our core product and architecture to support clients, we kept agile architecture approach in mind ensuring flexibility in the delivery system.
We’re one of the early adopters of delivering security from cloud platform, added an advantage over international cyber security players.
With simplicity and innovative architecture we continuously help International and Indian based clients to achieve ROI better with quick wins.
Also, we aren’t just a DLP company – what we have built is around certain factors which makes work easier for our client including employee forensics, monitoring, behaviour analysis and analytics. Data Resolve is uniquely positioned as an Insider Threat Management platform, rather than DLP. This aspect has not only helped us to uniquely position as an organization, but also greatly helped us to grow and penetrate faster in the market vis-à-vis competition.
Q) How does providing customized solutions as per industry requirements, enhance your market penetration?
Today, 70% of our customers are on a co-creation model. If you step into the customer’s shoes, the challenge you face in today’s scenario is lack of single solution that will meet all your needs and requirements. Indian market conditions are different from global conditions and thus, to cater to the same security providers should do the researches for Indian needs. Customers want solutions to meet real challenges faced by them. This is where we play a differentiating role by emphasizing on co-creation model in our projects.
.Q) Data Resolve got listed in the book, “The Game Changers: 20 Extraordinary Success Stories of Entrepreneurs from IIT Kharagpur”. How do you think have university-based incubators have benefited start-ups in India?
I believe innovation comes from the ground, and strong support is required from the research side. In fact, when an individual or a group of individuals are incubating a company from campus, there is a support system in place consisting of research, academia and alumni. While funding comes at a later stage, these three factors play an important role in providing inputs in order to create something different. One cannot be at the incubation stage and approach larger companies for support – thus, this initial, necessary support comes from a lot of groundwork done at university-based incubators. At the university level you iron out a lot of product related challenges as it’s supported by a research ecosystem and there is a strong trend followed in the incubators where government grants are coming to campuses to promote new ideas / innovations. We have seen incubators delivering great companies and that is substantiated by awards given by NASSCOM under Emerge 50, where few of the shortlisted companies are incubated from universities.
The next stage: moving on to approaching larger investors
I think it’s a matter of time. Once incubated in a prestigious institution, it’s a boost, since the first hurdle is already crossed. With government funding, as an institutional incubator you already crossed first-level mind-set of the investor you approached. However, it entirely depends on the Company’s growth and the juncture at which it needs the funding. It is always fruitful when the need for funding emanates from an incubator, as compared to the direct approach to investors.
Q) What are your views on the funding ecosystem in India, given that Data Resolve was incubated at and funded by Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy (SRIC) at IIT, Kharagpur? What are the kind of challenges you’ve faced from investors?
I feel it is growing in a big way. Many initiatives including NASSCOM Product Council has helped establishing the Indian software product ecosystem as a world class source of high value & innovative products and services. Besides this, entrepreneurship in the field has also kicked-off. While earlier people weren’t keen on it, today the risk is well-qualified because of the existence of a strong ecosystem. As the ecosystem strengthens and the number of organizations increase, funding prospects will eventually improve.
Q) Both the enterprise industry and government are expected to be significant buyer solutions. Insofar, what has been your experience when engaging with the enterprise industry and in what ways has engagement with the government been different?
I think both the enterprise and government segments have to articulate their product capabilities.
For the first segment, i.e. the Industry, the process is comparatively easier, since it’s driven by different set of individuals with clearly defined business requirements with clear expectations around deliverables. It’s also unlike MNCs, since they would follow global standards and if that’s the case then it becomes limiting for an Indian product company to fit into the global standards, unless the MNC has a local buying criteria as well.
The second segment comprises of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which as of today, are the biggest buyers for us in terms of flexibility, meeting local requirements and providing customized view in terms of co-creation. Co-creation is helping start-ups to grow in a big way as here we are solving business specific problem by customizing product, this is a big differentiator and drivers for start-ups when it comes to client acquisition and client delight.
The Government, as the third segment, I believe is working towards creating a certain criteria for security product companies like us to be able to participate in the Make in India initiative, which should provide concrete solutions, especially with the recent Cyber Security Task Force (CSTF) in place. CSTF is going to change the dimension and outlook for product companies specifically, they are going to empower product companies to work closely with government and execute “Make in India” story, this helps to create strong innovation where product is getting tested on the ground at a bigger and complex scale within government boundaries. Thus, this model is going to provide global access to India companies and also empower product companies by attracting right talent pool, creating employment and building niche skills.
Q) Data Resolve won the “Emerging Information Security Product Company” award at the DSCI-NASSCOM Annual Information Security Summit 2014. How has Data Resolves’ engagement with DSCI benefited your organization?
It’s helped us three-fold. Firstly, the existent of customer comfort and trust originating from the fact that we have been honored by DSCI, greatly helps. Secondly, there is enhanced investor visibility. DSCI, being a NASSCOM body and us being their Corporate Members, certain parameters are already qualified for, and our association with DSCI only enhances visibility, both for the current board and future investors. Lastly, there are plenty opportunities for co-creation with DSCI in the market. Associating with DSCI in customer training initiatives has been greatly valued. Hence, there is a lot of benefit in the three areas of the customer, investor and co-creation, which has been visible in the last few months since we got the award.