EDITOR ’ S COMMENT
VIVEK GUPTA , CO-FOUNDER AND COO , CYBERKNIGHT
Our key business priorities as we enter 2021 are gaining market share and expanding our coverage in the Middle East .
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the economy , global health and social systems . From emptying office spaces to disbanding the workforce , many businesses have suffered during this pandemic .
However , the remote work environment has also led to a surge in unseen threats in the IT Security space . Threat actors are prying on potential victims to deploy cyberattacks on home and corporate networks .
For us , being a start-up in the cybersecurity space , our mission is to secure and protect our customers ! Therefore , it was crucial for us to engage even more with our partners and customers during these unprecedented times to boost their confidence as cybercrime only gets worse .
Our key business priorities as we enter 2021 are gaining market share and expanding our coverage in the Middle East , as it is one of the most targeted regions in the world for cybercrime .
We will be working even harder to acquire new customers by helping them simplify incident response while achieving compliance and certainly focus on retaining existing customers by supporting them through this challenging period by being a trusted advisor alongside our network of strategic partners .
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic , another high business priority , is to ensure that our operations remain as cost-efficient as possible since there has been tremendous pressure on costs ; with many orders delayed in procurement disrupting forecasting linearity and falling customer budgets minimising profitability , therefore cost control is vital to effective management and future prosperity of our business .
As a start-up , it is undeniable that we were shocked when faced with such an obstacle in our first year of operation , but although momentarily winded ( we are human after all ), we managed to keep morale and confidence high . Like the global sentiment , we are getting
tired of the drawn-out pandemic , tired of the lack of physical interaction with customers , colleagues and friends and tired of managing business under such immense pressure .
We have managed to survive this phase by not only retaining and motivating our team , but we have continued to fulfil the investment commitments of our business plan by adding workforce throughout the crisis to effectively address our customers ’ needs across the region .
As 2021 approaches and since uncertainty remains high , decision making will continue to be challenging with several questions still awaiting answers :
• When will we see COVID-Exit ?
• Shall we start thinking about a non- COVID environment already ?
• Do we know enough about the future to plan , or is there still too much uncertainty ?
• How , at this point , should we plan the company ’ s future ?
Clearly , businesses will continue to be shaken by the effects of further waves of Coronavirus and potential re-introduction of lockdowns , so it is crucial that we learn from our experiences in 2020 ; not only how to sustain , but also how to build a profitable business in 2021 and until the end of pandemic . •
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 34
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