Mario Giachino, 43 years old, entered the field of computer science in 1983. With a steady professional growth, in 1993 he started working as a consultant and in 1995 he launched one of the first Internet Service and Application Providers in Italy, MultiWire S.r.l., for which he currently serves as CEO and technical director. With MultiWire, he immediately began his collaboration with Tiny Software, from which Kerio acquired the products still developed and marketed today.
What is the state of the Italian market and what are the prospects? Based on our experience, the prospects for the security market in Italy can only be positive; in fact, there is still a large segment of the market that is even in need of education. As a counterpart, a great commitment is required from dealers and resellers specifically in this regard: the potential customer needs security but does not know it; whoever can highlight the risks they are exposed to at any moment has practically closed a sale. It must also be said that the security market in Italy is heavily polluted by the poor interpretation of an excellent law. I am referring to law 196/2003 on security. Swarms of consultants and hardware and software resellers have taken advantage of this to charge companies exorbitant sums for drafting documents which, as one can easily imagine, on their own provide no protection, neglecting the main aspect: the security of information systems and, therefore, the information itself.What is the relationship between consumers and this market? Often the consumer is comparable to that motorcyclist who puts on a helmet because it is mandatory, but then does not fasten it, and as soon as he is sure no police officers are nearby, takes the opportunity to take a ride without it. However, it is almost always enough to let the potential customer experience firsthand the risks they are running and, above all, the costs they are already bearing due to improper security management. When the potential customer becomes aware of this, they have already turned into a client.What is Kerio’s vision? Kerio is committed to the development and distribution of products for the secure management of information, starting with protection through Kerio WinRoute Firewall, and extending to secure management with Kerio MailServer. The certainty of information is the foundation of any form of business (and, if you will, even of life itself). We must be certain of what we know and must know everything we need. For example, with MailServer, Kerio not only ensures that sent information reaches its destination but also that expected information can reach us and is not lost among thousands of other unsolicited messages; it allows access to information only to those entitled but always and with any suitable device; with WinRoute Firewall it completes the picture, guaranteeing all the checks that must be performed before any data packet moves to and from the local network.Who is your typical customer? Potentially, anyone who needs to manage information over a network, so today we can say just about anyone; in reality, we target businesses that manage their informational assets on a network. From a network of just two computers connected to the Internet to geographically distributed networks composed of thousands of workstations, everyone can integrate Kerio products to provide the necessary security for their information.Who are your competitors? There are not many names, but the differences are often vast, sometimes in terms of quality, other times in terms of convenience. Often customers tend to compare our products with other completely different and non-comparable ones. For example: comparing Kerio WinRoute Firewall with a hardware firewall is a gross mistake: there are no hardware firewalls that allow management as complete and integrated with the existing network system as the Kerio product, unless one decides to accept very high costs, especially from the manageability point of view. The best product is worthless if it cannot be fully used by its user.What does Kerio offer more than the competitors present in Italy, why choose you? It is difficult to answer this question briefly without falling into clichĂ©s. Obviously, it depends on what we are comparing our products with. Generally speaking, Kerio has been working for years, as I have said, on the development of products for the secure management of information. The level of security achieved is excellent, as evidenced by various recognitions and certifications obtained. But that is not enough. Kerio products are also characterized by manageability and ease of use, which allows the network administrator to always intervene promptly, in a targeted way and securely.What are the sector’s latest developments? Regarding the Firewall, I would say the news, although not unexpected, lies in the huge increase in attempts to attack any type of network-connected workstation: not just viruses anymore, but all kinds of programs unleashed in the indiscriminate search for open ports, unguarded data, and available machines. The traffic generated by these programs alone has a very high cost; and when their attacks succeed… Kerio WinRoute Firewall is increasingly proving its robustness and even if it is not news to us, for some this is a novelty. For MailServer, instead, the innovations are substantial: with the new version of Kerio MailServer, simple communication has been enriched with interoperability, thanks to integration with personal systems such as cell phones and PDAs, among those who have access to messages, events, contacts, and activities. Obviously in full security, even in the event of loss or theft of the device.How was the last year and what are your future objectives? The last year was characterized by focusing all of Kerio’s efforts on the two products that have become the very symbol of the company: Kerio MailServer and Kerio WinRoute Firewall. The choice has undoubtedly paid off; in fact, sales in Italy have strongly grown and those who already used Kerio products renewed their trust by purchasing subscriptions that entitle them to updates. Like any company, Kerio’s primary objective is to increase business volume, and in Italy we intend to achieve this by working on educating users about security.
Pubblicato in Guides & Tutorials
Be the first to comment