Double-digit growth in annual recurring revenue highlights accelerated transition to a subscription business model and continued success as Veeam embraces Act II of its company evolution

Veeam® Software, the leader in Backup solutions that deliver Cloud Data Management™, today announced results from Q2 2019.Having recentlyexceeded $1 billion in annual bookings, joining an elite group of software leaders, Veeam’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) increased 26 percent year-over-year (YoY) in Q2 2019, a testament to the success of a unique subscription pricing model introduced earlier this year for all new Veeam products, including new Veeam Availability Suite™ 9.5 Update 4. Hailed as one of the most important releases in Veeam company history, Veeam Availability Suite U4 is approaching 350,000 downloadssince its release in January.

“As we continue to heavily invest in our R&D, sales and marketing, and partner ecosystem, we’re seeing increased adoption of Veeam’s Subscription licensing among our customers across all regions worldwide,” said Ratmir Timashev, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President (EVP) of Sales & Marketing. “Each geography reported growth, which shows that, and as we move into Act II of our evolution — the Hybrid Cloud — it’s an exciting time to be at Veeam. Seventy-two percent of organizations are looking to embrace Cloud Data Management[1]and are transitioning to cloud strategies. We’re excited to support their journey and meet data expectations as the No. 1 player in Cloud Data Management.”

“Collaboration with strategic technology partners has never been stronger or in higher demand,” Timashev continued. “We expect to make additional partner announcements in 2H 2019 to further feed the demand of our partners to combine Veeam backup and data protection software with industry-leading hardware, storage and hyperconverged solutions. Our new “with Veeam” program, which is receiving overwhelming positive response, is just one strategy of how Veeam will innovate and collaborate with its technology partners to deliver a combined hardware plus software solution to enhance customer choice and flexibility.”

Customer, Product and Partner Highlights

• Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365, the fastest growing product in Veeam history, reported 270 percent ARR growth YoY. Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365has now been downloaded by more than 75,000 organizations, representing over 8 million user mailboxes. Veeam released version 3 of the product in early Q2,further solidifying the company’s dominance in the Microsoft Office 365 backupmarket, providing businesses with 30x faster backup, improved security and enhanced customer visibility and analytics.
• With more than 355,000 customers worldwide, new Veeam customers includeMake-A-Wish Foundation, Mundo Cuervo, Porsche Informatik, Vancouver Canucks, ABM, Ferrari Agroindustria, Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG, Premier Bank and Ducks Unlimited Canada.

• The Veeam Cloud & Service Provider (VCSP) program has more than 23,500 partners with 4,100 of those also qualified to provide Cloud Backup & DRaaS using Veeam Cloud Connect.

• Veeam technology alliance resell agreements with Hewlett Packard Enterprise(HPE), Cisco, NetApp and Lenovo reported 327 percent total transaction growth YoY and 123 percent YoY bookings growth, together completing the overall data management story for global alliance resell partners.
• Veeam was awarded the HPE 2019 Global Technology Partner of the Year, recognized for excellent financial performance, innovative solutions, and driving meaningful business results for shared customers.
• Veeam announced the new “with Veeam”program in Q2, partnering with premier enterprise storage vendors to provide customers with comprehensive secondary storage solutions that combine Veeam software with industry-leading storage and HCI infrastructure hardware and management stacks. Solutions have already been announced with ExaGridand Nutanixwith availability planned for 2H 2019.

[1]2019 Veeam Cloud Data Management Report

To empower Middle East businesses to mitigate the financial and reputational impact of cyber-attacks, Help AG, the region’s leading cybersecurity solutions, services and consultancy provider, today unveiled its new Critical Services Integrity Monitoring (CSIM) service. An ‘add-on’ to the company’s Managed Detection and Response (MDR) offering, this new addition delivers 24×7 monitoring of DNS records, SSL certificates and website landing pages, thereby protecting customers against service unavailability, and the interception and manipulation of sensitive digital communications. Marking a significant value addition for its customers, the company announced that this service will be extended to all its existing MSS clients.

“The unfortunate reality for organizations today is that cyber-attacks are inevitable and can result from a multitude of reasons,” explained Stephan Berner, CEO at Help AG. “Our new CSIM service enables businesses to trust vital elements of their websites and online environments to our expertly qualified team who work around the clock to monitor and address those critical issues and incidents that can so easily go undetected. This means that our customers can stay a step ahead of any incident.”

As with all Help AG Managed Security Services, the new Critical Services Integrity Monitoring offering is delivered through the company’s Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) which leverages best-of-breed security products from industry leading vendors that include Splunk, Vectra, Demisto, Palo Alto Networks and Carbon Black. By using these tools and integrating them within CSOC workflows, Help AG’s CSIM service provides:

• Detection of suspicious changes to SSL Certificates:If a public-facing website has a certificate that has been changed or expired, it could enable hackers to take over that system, allowing them to intercept communications or tamper with sensitive data. This service protects against this by monitoring SSL certificates and flagging changes.
• Website Front Page Monitoring:By constantly testing key website parameters including time for DNS response, time to load first byte, and total download time, Help AG could rapidly identify issues such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, or service unavailability.
• Monitoring of DNS Records:82% of companies have experienced a DNS attack, with the average cost impact estimated at $1.07 million[1]. By detecting malicious changes to DNS records, Help AG can help organizations avoid exploitation that could otherwise result in data leaks, phishing and other attacks.

The unveiling of its CSIM service is in line with Help AG’s redesign and rationalization of its MSS portfolio. This has been strategically undertaken to streamline services and allow easy future expansion. The company’s MSS offering today consists of six services – Managed Detection and Response, Managed Security Controls, Endpoint Detection and Response, Managed Vulnerability Assessment, Managed Threat Intelligence and MSS Add-ons.

Commenting on the evolution of the company’s security services portfolio, Berner said, “Since the establishment of our Managed Security Service division, we have been fine-tuning our offering to pre-empt and meet the needs of the market. Rather than just implementing security platforms, we are helping businesses really optimize their security investments to address their most critical threats – all without the cumbersome overheads of having to recruit, train and retain qualified cybersecurity professionals.”

[1]https://www.cbronline.com/news/ncsc-dns-warning

by Fabrice Jogand-Coulomb, Senior Product Marketing Manager and Mobile Security Expert at HID Global.

Today, a small number of citizens around the world are lucky enough to use digital IDs thanks to a handful of governments that have put these programs in place. For many others, digital ID is just around the corner. Nevertheless, the decision to go for a digital ID program implicates many decisions that a government must make during the process. An example of one such vital decision is where the data of the citizens will be stored.

For example, a fraudster with access to another person’s digital ID might use it to purchase certain goods, receive certain services or perform a financial transaction. So, if this hacker manages to get access to an even larger set of citizens’ data, a huge amount of damage can be done in a very short amount of time.

Therefore, every government has to think about how to create the most secure operating environment for digital IDs. It has economic consequences, but it can also determine a country’s international reputation (think of the Aadhaar data breach scandal in India) or have an impact on the relationship citizens have with their government. It should be in every country’s best interest to store their citizens’ data in the safest place possible according to its purpose and legal framework.

In general, there are two storage options that a government should consider when making its decision. Let me introduce briefly each option and provide a risk evaluation:

Scenario 1. Everything in one place – the central database

In this first scenario, all citizens’ data is stored in one single place—typically in an internet-facing database. Any system where information is verified over the internet, and where the verification system already has the information to match against, is considered an internet-facing database. For the verification, the digital ID is retrieved from the database through the internet and checked with the information of the ID holder. For countries with a national register, and therefore a central database in place, such a scenario might appear attractive.

Running all verifications through a constantly high-performing system can be quite expensive. And, there is the topic of data privacy to consider—as one single government entity manages this database, it will be able to see all incoming requests. This will also be the case when verification capabilities will be given to the private sector. Therefore, every time a person purchases alcohol or accesses an age-restricted service with his or her digital ID, the ID will be verified and will become visible to the government entity. Even if the identity of the person remains unknown, some aspects will be revealed, such as the IP address or the number of verifications.

Risk evaluation
A central database with constant access to the internet would be an excellent target for hackers, and it is not a question of “if,” but “when” they would succeed in accessing the data. In that case, the private sector would also suffer the consequences, as they would not be able to continue verification.

Scenario 2. Each citizen owns his or her data – the citizen’s phone as data storage

In the second scenario, the smartphone becomes the only place of storage for the digital ID. In this case, the data on the phone can be updated from time-to-time, over the air. The frequency can be defined by the government itself.

The digital ID does not require any internet connection to be verified, which makes it less of a risk for hackers. Hackers would need to access an individual’s phone to retrieve the data. The damage that could be done is limited to an individual person, rather than millions of citizens. Furthermore, as verification can be done purely offline or peer-to-peer, operation costs can be better controlled.

Risk evaluation
The phone itself can remain a target for hackers, as it is managed and used in an uncontrolled environment. In cases where the phone gets stolen or lost, the digital ID needs to be retrievable from the phone and the digital ID re-issued on a new phone. The fact that the mobile app is remotely provisioned through the internet can also be considered a minor security risk. Fortunately, there are solutions to overcome that risk.

Multi-factor authentication is the key to better security

In addition to considering the safest place to store data, there is another side to the security story—the amount of information that is being verified in order to ensure that the digital ID holder is the legitimate ID holder. This can be done through various methods: a fingerprint and an iris scan, a fingerprint and a palm print, a fingerprint and the digital ID holder’s name, or a fingerprint and a password. This is what the industry calls multi-factor authentication.

But while more authentication means more security, this may impact other things. If extensive verification for identity, age and multiple other factors is conducted every time a person wants to buy a bottle of beer from a kiosk, this could seriously influence the business of the kiosk and the citizen’s user experience. Multi-factor authentication only makes sense in highly sensitive environments.

The verification needs of the private sector vary depending on economic and social responsibilities

The location of data storage is not only a concern for governments that want to take great care of citizens’ data, it is also an important issue when governments think about expanding digital identity solutions to the private sector by equipping it with verification capabilities. In this case, governments need to consider the different verification needs of the private sector.