Business Showcase : Sophos

By @SimonCocking interview with Dermot Hayden.

Describe the company – the elevator pitch …

IT security products have become as complex as the networks they’re trying to secure. At Sophos we know that the solution to complexity is not more complexity. We tackle security challenges with clarity and confidence, knowing that simple security is better security.

More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos to offer end-to-end protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing complete, enterprise-grade security solutions that are simple to deploy, manage and use, and deliver one of the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning security solutions covering endpoint, mobile, server, encryption, web, email, Wi-Fi, and UTM/next-generation firewall, all backed by SophosLabs — a global threat analysis center which provides real-time cloud-enabled security intelligence.

Our products allow you to secure every endpoint of your network, from laptops to virtual desktops and servers, to web and email traffic and mobile devices. What’s more, securing these devices is made possible through products that fit your precise needs. We ensure your network’s security by providing the one thing no one else can: Simplicity.

How are you different?

Sophos is a next-generation security company that has stayed at the forefront of the industry by understanding the threat landscape, changing business needs and customer challenges.  Rapid growth of complex, coordinated threats is outpacing the ability of many organisations to protect themselves. Point products can stop individual elements of an attack, but they don’t work together to protect your data, devices, and network from sophisticated, coordinated cyber attacks.

At the same time, overstretched IT departments struggle to respond fast enough to these threats. That’s why Sophos developed Synchronised Security.

Synchronised Security is a one of a kind, best of breed security system that enables your defenses to be as coordinated as the attacks they protect against. It combines an intuitive security platform with award-winning products that actively work together to block advanced threats to give you unparalleled protection.

Why will the (Intercept X) do well?

Ransomware is the number one malware attack affecting organisations today. It encrypts your files and holds them hostage until the ransom is paid, causing massive disruption to business productivity. Combatting ransomware is a huge challenge for IT departments. IT professionals know that there is no single equation that stops all attacks, so we developed Intercept X to combine several techniques for faster identification and response that are coordinated to better support IT professionals without the need for specialised security staff

Intercept X is a core component of Sophos’ synchronised security strategy. Using big data analytics along with our deep understanding of threat patterns, attack vectors and criminal motivations, we designed Intercept X from the ground up to recognise malicious behaviours and stop potential attacks much sooner in the kill-chain, without the need for updates or signatures. It includes an advanced anti-ransomware feature that can detect previously unknown ransomware within seconds – one of the only products like this on the market.

Where are you based?

Sophos is headquartered in Abingdon, Oxford United Kingdom and we have an Irish office at the Airport Business Park in Cork.

When was the company launched?

Sophos was founded in 1985

What have been your biggest wins to date?

While our area of focus is primarily the mid-market we have a huge range of customers ranging in size from 5 to 50,000 users across all industry sectors in Ireland with an especially strong footprint in central and local government. Thing is, our customers tend to be a security conscious lot so don’t like their names mentioned but one comes to mind as a great example of what we do best. The customer bought Sophos Endpoint protection a number of years back and at the time had mobile device management, email filtering, web protection and encryption from other point product vendors as they believed in ‘diversity’. They recently brought us in and said they were finding multiple vendors too difficult and costly to manage so wanted to consolidate. They now have Sophos products under a single Sophos subscription license in place across all these areas and I think it’s a great example of how attitudes are changing and businesses are favouring integrated intelligent security over the point product approach of the past!

What type of people (market segment) are you trying to attract to your product?

Most other security vendors focus on selling to teams of IT security experts at the world’s largest organisations – the Global 2000.  But we aren’t like other security vendors. At Sophos we focus on the other 60 million organisations worldwide (small and mid-market enterprises and pragmatic enterprises of any size) that require the same level of security, but that also require smarter, simpler solutions that IT administrators can deploy

Tell us about your team?

The team in Ireland consists of myself as Country Manager, a Channel Account Manager, Pre Sales Engineer and Marketing Executive; with all of us fully focused on helping our local distributor and wide range of resellers protect our customers across the country.

 What are your long term plans for your product/company?

Sophos is doing something that has never been done in the IT security market:  we are succeeding at being a leading provider of both end user security and network security.  And we’re now leading a new wave of security innovation with our Synchronised security strategy, that for the first time allows endpoint and network security products to actively and continuously share threat intelligence with each other to more effectively protect against today’s sophisticated threats, in a manageable way.

What are your favourite tech gadgets?

My Samsung Galaxy A3 (whoever thought we would become so reliant on these things!) and my Sonos music system, which is managed via my Galaxy and simply the most used and useful tech I’ve ever spent money on!

 What tech gadgets do you wish you could use to help you?

A self-driving car would be great and while my 12 year old is already fretting that he will never get to drive a ‘real car’ when he grows up, I don’t think he has anything to worry about anytime soon! Just think, catching up on your emails on the way home from meetings rather than when you get there of an evening tired and hungry!

How do people get in touch with you?

I’m available at Dermot.hayden@sophos.com or my colleague Sophie.corrigan@sophos.com or for more information go to www.sophos.com

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie or on Twitter: @SimonCocking