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Cybersecurity Not an Expense but an Investment

Óscar Rodríguez - Secnesys
Director General

STORY INLINE POST

Andrea Villar By Andrea Villar | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 10/28/2020 - 16:26

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Q: Apart from information security, you also offer digital transformation strategy design. How does this complement your solutions?

A: Now, more than ever, digital transformation is a reality all over the world. This process has gained momentum due to the health and economic crises we are experiencing. The COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest promoter of the digital transformation and at Secnesys we had already been preparing for weeks knowing that this was going to happen. Although there is greater adoption of technology, many companies are leaving security aside as they see it as an expense rather than an investment.

To overcome this obstacle, we offer a highly specialized consultancy service that outlines the short and long-term benefits of cybersecurity to clients. During this process, we have noted that many of the conversations we had focused on the areas of IT. This meant that there was no specialized area that could show the benefits of going through a digital transformation accompanied by an area of security. When we visited companies, we realized that cybersecurity was seen as an operational expense because the security area was in charge of the IT department. When we see that the security area reports directly to general management or to a financial area, we can tell that it is a more mature company and that it sees security as part of its business model. Having people who understand the customers' business is an advantage of Secnesys to take cybersecurity investments to the next level. At Secnesys, we work to be security enablers during the digital transformation of a company, helping it to become more efficient and to grow in the market.  

 

Q: What do your business continuity strategies entail?

A: These are services that last year represented a significant revenue for Secnesys. These strategies have to do with being able to understand clearly what are the jewels in the crown of the business and what are the challenges we face when we reach a company. Unfortunately, the vision of an IT manager is not the same as that of business managers. This causes disconnection and a lack of communication on what is really important to the company. For example, if IT areas are in charge of cybersecurity, it is common to have schemes and links to protect the infrastructure and services that they consider important for the continuity of certain operations. However, for business owners, the priorities are totally different. While one area of the company is confident that the most important area to protect is Customer Relationship Management (CRM), for another it may be the logistics network. As we observed this discordance, we realized that there were many efforts that involved money and effort but were protecting something that was not important to the business. 

Companies today have had to reinvent themselves in mid-air to survive. As a result, we have changed our paradigms completely and business continuity issues need to respond to these dynamic changes. Companies can no longer sit back and think about long-term continuity. They have to be completely flexible and adaptable. Suddenly, we had to send our entire labor force to work from home and we were facing a great deal of uncertainty. Many companies and sectors that are being directly affected, such as the entertainment and restaurant industries, have had to reinvent themselves to be able to survive. This reinvention leads to an agile adaptation of continuity plans. 

 

Q: You have a network of alliances with software providers. What role do they play in your services?

A: When Secnesys was founded, we knew it was imperative to be discerning in selecting the brands we were going to work with. Our strategy was not focused on offering the product with the lowest price but a product from manufacturers that had a consolidated position in the market and were leaders in the industry, such as Check Point, Cyberark, Imperva, Infoblox, amongst others. This objective represented major challenges since these companies also want the channels that distribute their products to have the engineering capacity to complete projects with large investments. Companies of this caliber are also looking for a fully trained sales force and a high sales quota. We knew that all these requirements would demand an extra effort from us but it would be beneficial to our business at the end of the day. This plan was a success and today our engineering network is expert in many of the brands we handle. Check Point, for instance, has eight engineers certified as masters in Mexico and six of them work at Secnesys. Moreover, our engineering force was named the best in Latin America in 2019.  

 

Q: In 2018, you opened a second office in Mexico City. How has this expanded your client base?

A: The decision to open an office in Mexico City has been one of the best we have ever made. In doing so, there were several challenges. The main one was to find the people with the technical capacity to work there. However, when we put the team together, through their leadership they formed a very specialized group and began to replicate the strategy that we had with the brands in our portfolio. Later, due to the close relationship with these brands, we started to close deals. In the city, we already work with large global corporations in the financial sector, food and beverages, among others. 

One of the most relevant aspects of opening these offices was undoubtedly the sum of talent in the company. This has enhanced Secnesys’ capabilities. It would be naïve to say that the business depends only on the managers. Our opening in Mexico gave us the opportunity to incorporate talent into our base of collaborators and that in turn has captured a market even greater than what we had in Monterrey.

 

 

Secnesys is a Monterrey-based company that offers consulting and solutions for information security and digital transformation. In 2018, the company opened a second office in Mexico City

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