Pax8 Roadshow Special - Gene Kim

1 00:00:05,599 - > 00:00:08,160 SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Partnerships Unraveled, the 2 00:00:08,160 - > 00:00:11,039 podcast where we dive deep into mysteries and secrets of 3 00:00:11,039 - > 00:00:12,400 partnerships on the channel. 4 00:00:12,560 - > 00:00:15,359 I'm coming at you from PacSite Beyond, and I'm happy to sit 5 00:00:15,359 - > 00:00:17,519 down with Gene Kim from Absolute Security. 6 00:00:17,679 - > 00:00:18,800 Gene, how are you today? 7 00:00:19,039 - > 00:00:20,160 SPEAKER_01: I'm very well, thank you. 8 00:00:20,480 - > 00:00:20,960 SPEAKER_00: Amazing. 9 00:00:21,039 - > 00:00:23,039 Well, this is going to be a bit of a short form podcast. 10 00:00:23,280 - > 00:00:24,719 We get to the meat very quickly. 11 00:00:24,879 - > 00:00:26,960 First of all, could you give us a quick introduction about 12 00:00:26,960 - > 00:00:27,920 yourself and your background? 13 00:00:28,239 - > 00:00:28,480 SPEAKER_01: Sure. 14 00:00:28,800 - > 00:00:31,760 My name is Gene Kim, Vice President of the Managed Service 15 00:00:31,760 - > 00:00:34,079 Provider Program at Absolute Security. 16 00:00:34,240 - > 00:00:37,359 I spent most of my career working in the channel, helping 17 00:00:37,359 - > 00:00:40,560 partners develop go-to-market strategies and driving value for 18 00:00:40,560 - > 00:00:41,759 their end customers. 19 00:00:42,000 - > 00:00:46,320 And I really love the channel and have uh a special 20 00:00:46,560 - > 00:00:50,719 relationship because of my background as a service provider 21 00:00:50,719 - > 00:00:52,799 and a reseller in a previous life. 22 00:00:52,960 - > 00:00:56,960 And so I intimately know the struggles and the trials that 23 00:00:56,960 - > 00:01:01,200 partners go through and like to say that I'm able to apply many 24 00:01:01,200 - > 00:01:04,400 of those learnings into the program that we've developed and 25 00:01:04,400 - > 00:01:06,079 our go-to-market motion. 26 00:01:06,400 - > 00:01:10,319 I think that MSP sit in a strategic area of the business, 27 00:01:10,400 - > 00:01:13,680 uh, at the intersection of technology and trying to drive 28 00:01:13,680 - > 00:01:15,519 business outcomes for their customers. 29 00:01:15,680 - > 00:01:18,879 And so it's incredibly important to me that they're armed with 30 00:01:18,879 - > 00:01:21,920 the appropriate capabilities and absolute security. 31 00:01:22,079 - > 00:01:25,599 We think we're bringing that with our focus on resilience, 32 00:01:25,920 - > 00:01:30,640 not just typical cybersecurity, but the ability for MSPs to 33 00:01:30,640 - > 00:01:35,120 ensure that they are helping their customers meet the overall 34 00:01:35,120 - > 00:01:37,760 objectives in terms of delivering services, which is 35 00:01:37,760 - > 00:01:40,400 ultimately business continuity and business outcomes. 36 00:01:40,640 - > 00:01:42,000 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, that makes a lot of sense. 37 00:01:42,079 - > 00:01:44,239 And I think I hear some very interesting things here. 38 00:01:44,319 - > 00:01:47,120 Like on the one hand, obviously you're talking about having the 39 00:01:47,120 - > 00:01:49,920 solution that fits what outcome these companies are trying to 40 00:01:49,920 - > 00:01:50,239 achieve. 41 00:01:50,400 - > 00:01:52,719 But on the other hand, you you've seen both sides of the 42 00:01:52,719 - > 00:01:53,040 coin. 43 00:01:53,200 - > 00:01:55,439 So you can actually immerse yourself into what they're 44 00:01:55,439 - > 00:01:55,840 looking for. 45 00:01:55,920 - > 00:01:58,079 So I think that's a really a big value add. 46 00:01:58,239 - > 00:02:02,480 Um, talking about Absolutes MSP motion, you're basically 47 00:02:02,480 - > 00:02:05,120 building it from the ground up, which sounds like a pretty 48 00:02:05,120 - > 00:02:06,400 fascinating endeavor. 49 00:02:06,560 - > 00:02:09,520 Um, what would you identify as your biggest challenges and your 50 00:02:09,520 - > 00:02:11,280 biggest wins in this process so far? 51 00:02:11,680 - > 00:02:14,159 SPEAKER_01: I think that it certainly is exciting to be able 52 00:02:14,159 - > 00:02:15,840 to build a program from the ground up. 53 00:02:16,000 - > 00:02:19,120 We have a long-standing background in enterprise 54 00:02:19,120 - > 00:02:19,919 technology. 55 00:02:20,319 - > 00:02:23,599 Uh, and so we're very well known in the largest enterprises in 56 00:02:23,599 - > 00:02:24,159 the world. 57 00:02:24,319 - > 00:02:30,080 Uh, 40% of the Fortune 500 use us, um, 80% of the top airlines, 58 00:02:30,240 - > 00:02:33,280 almost 100% of the largest state and local governments in the 59 00:02:33,280 - > 00:02:33,919 country use us. 60 00:02:34,400 - > 00:02:37,120 And that's for a very good reason because if our technology 61 00:02:37,120 - > 00:02:40,319 is proven at an enterprise class strength, and we're bringing 62 00:02:40,319 - > 00:02:43,360 this capability into the managed service provider community. 63 00:02:43,599 - > 00:02:47,360 The biggest challenge to your point is the lack of awareness 64 00:02:47,360 - > 00:02:50,800 and the and the knowledge of our capabilities in this market. 65 00:02:50,960 - > 00:02:55,759 And so we've uh embarked on uh many initiatives to raise that 66 00:02:55,759 - > 00:02:59,199 high level of awareness uh in terms of capability and the 67 00:02:59,199 - > 00:03:00,639 business value that we drive. 68 00:03:00,800 - > 00:03:04,159 And then that coupled with uh the go-to-market motion, the 69 00:03:04,319 - > 00:03:07,680 street level engagement that we have, I think uh is 70 00:03:07,680 - > 00:03:10,719 significantly increasing that visibility that we have and 71 00:03:10,719 - > 00:03:12,240 understanding of our value proposition. 72 00:03:12,479 - > 00:03:12,719 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 73 00:03:12,800 - > 00:03:16,080 Well, I I thought I find it so fascinating because um you talk 74 00:03:16,080 - > 00:03:19,919 about awareness and visibility, even though uh your software is 75 00:03:19,919 - > 00:03:23,360 on hundreds of millions of devices, but obviously mostly 76 00:03:23,599 - > 00:03:24,560 mostly enterprise. 77 00:03:24,639 - > 00:03:27,120 So, what's the trick to then, besides the visibility area, 78 00:03:27,280 - > 00:03:29,919 move into that MSP uh motion at scale? 79 00:03:30,240 - > 00:03:32,800 SPEAKER_01: Well, you're absolutely correct in that 80 00:03:32,800 - > 00:03:37,439 Absolute over the last 30 years has worked with strategic OEM 81 00:03:37,439 - > 00:03:41,680 partners to be embedded in the BIOS and the firmware over 600 82 00:03:41,680 - > 00:03:44,319 million devices that are already deployed in the world. 83 00:03:44,560 - > 00:03:48,080 So all the devices that MSPs are currently deploying in their 84 00:03:48,080 - > 00:03:52,400 fleets from Dell, Lenovo, HP, and 25 other manufacturers have 85 00:03:52,400 - > 00:03:55,520 our technology built in as a standard component, right? 86 00:03:55,680 - > 00:03:58,879 And it's just about activating that and utilizing that to its 87 00:03:58,879 - > 00:04:01,039 potential that it's all about. 88 00:04:01,280 - > 00:04:05,759 So for us, you know, that awareness uh is absolutely key 89 00:04:05,919 - > 00:04:10,560 in the knowledge uh of the capabilities that we have around 90 00:04:10,560 - > 00:04:14,000 how we can enhance the value of their go-to-market motion, most, 91 00:04:14,240 - > 00:04:17,680 but most importantly, drive down their service delivery costs and 92 00:04:17,680 - > 00:04:20,879 ultimately protect their customers in a way that they 93 00:04:20,879 - > 00:04:24,800 haven't thought of before, which is that that outcome oriented 94 00:04:24,800 - > 00:04:28,480 toward business continuity, because it's not a question of 95 00:04:28,480 - > 00:04:30,560 if something's gonna happen eventually, right? 96 00:04:30,639 - > 00:04:33,680 Because cybersecurity is all about prevention and risk 97 00:04:33,680 - > 00:04:34,319 mitigation. 98 00:04:34,720 - > 00:04:38,879 Uh, but I think we've all seen with the acceleration of AI 99 00:04:38,879 - > 00:04:42,240 adoption and especially with that actors, uh, and what 100 00:04:42,240 - > 00:04:45,920 they're doing with it, it's not a question of if, it's a 101 00:04:45,920 - > 00:04:49,759 question of when, and when that does occur, and customers don't 102 00:04:49,759 - > 00:04:52,879 ask how much malware has been draw uh you know blocked or how 103 00:04:52,879 - > 00:04:55,600 many email attachments were you know flagged. 104 00:04:55,759 - > 00:05:00,879 It's all about what they're going to do to get that business 105 00:05:00,879 - > 00:05:03,040 back up and running as soon as possible, right? 106 00:05:03,120 - > 00:05:06,560 It's the when will you have me back up and operational? 107 00:05:06,639 - > 00:05:09,759 And that's the question that MSP sub partner with Absolute can 108 00:05:09,759 - > 00:05:11,199 answer succinctly and directly. 109 00:05:11,519 - > 00:05:13,199 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's a great question to be able to 110 00:05:13,199 - > 00:05:13,519 answer. 111 00:05:13,600 - > 00:05:17,040 And I think uh uh like dovetailing from that, um, 112 00:05:17,279 - > 00:05:20,560 you've mentioned that Absolute has some unique capabilities in 113 00:05:20,560 - > 00:05:21,680 the in the AI era. 114 00:05:21,839 - > 00:05:22,879 Can you speak to that a little bit? 115 00:05:23,040 - > 00:05:25,600 What are you doing with AI and against AI in that sense? 116 00:05:26,319 - > 00:05:26,639 Sure. 117 00:05:26,959 - > 00:05:31,439 SPEAKER_01: So with AI, the the notion of automation and 118 00:05:31,439 - > 00:05:35,600 orchestration and being able to use that chat layer to uh 119 00:05:35,600 - > 00:05:41,040 interface across a variety of different tools is dependent on 120 00:05:41,040 - > 00:05:44,160 the notion that those tools are up and available. 121 00:05:44,399 - > 00:05:47,279 Because we are tethered within the hardware and we make 122 00:05:47,279 - > 00:05:51,120 applications resilient at a scale that hasn't existed 123 00:05:51,120 - > 00:05:55,120 previously, i.e., we're gonna make the tools that MSPs use day 124 00:05:55,120 - > 00:05:58,800 in, day out, their RMM, their EDR, their encryption, their 125 00:05:58,800 - > 00:06:01,199 backup services, all resilient. 126 00:06:01,360 - > 00:06:05,199 So automated self-healing, automated reinstallation, 127 00:06:05,680 - > 00:06:10,399 because we know and we're not guessing that agent drift 128 00:06:10,720 - > 00:06:11,199 happens. 129 00:06:11,439 - > 00:06:11,600 Right. 130 00:06:11,759 - > 00:06:14,800 And when those tools aren't available for managed service 131 00:06:14,800 - > 00:06:19,199 providers to use uh at scale with it utilizing their AI 132 00:06:19,199 - > 00:06:23,839 strategy as that chat layer, it the entire framework breaks, 133 00:06:23,920 - > 00:06:24,160 right? 134 00:06:24,240 - > 00:06:27,839 And so we see ourselves as a foundational component of any 135 00:06:27,839 - > 00:06:31,920 MSP's AI strategy because we're the enabler of the capabilities 136 00:06:31,920 - > 00:06:35,279 of the tools that they're gonna leverage as they implement AI 137 00:06:35,279 - > 00:06:37,360 within their businesses and in their customers' businesses. 138 00:06:37,680 - > 00:06:40,720 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that that answer fits in so well in 139 00:06:40,720 - > 00:06:43,600 the whole managed intelligence provider concept that obviously, 140 00:06:43,680 - > 00:06:46,560 you know, PAX8 has been pushing hard and it makes a lot of 141 00:06:46,560 - > 00:06:46,879 sense. 142 00:06:47,120 - > 00:06:51,759 Um, so when you look at what you offer and the evolution of MSPs 143 00:06:51,759 - > 00:06:55,199 to managed intelligence providers, um, how do you 144 00:06:55,199 - > 00:06:58,959 envision MIPs in an ideal world and what do you need to do to 145 00:06:58,959 - > 00:06:59,600 get there? 146 00:06:59,920 - > 00:07:04,160 SPEAKER_01: I think that first uh the evolution is the likely 147 00:07:04,160 - > 00:07:09,040 next stage of delivering managed services into being uh managed 148 00:07:09,040 - > 00:07:10,399 intelligence providers, right? 149 00:07:10,639 - > 00:07:14,000 MIPs ultimately are going to take all the information and 150 00:07:14,000 - > 00:07:17,199 focus on the business outcomes and focus on the automation, 151 00:07:17,360 - > 00:07:20,879 orchestration, and really the self-running of these systems so 152 00:07:20,879 - > 00:07:24,160 that MSPs can deliver a higher level of service in other 153 00:07:24,160 - > 00:07:25,600 value-added areas. 154 00:07:25,759 - > 00:07:30,079 And so it's essential that that core foundational layer of 155 00:07:30,079 - > 00:07:34,319 technologies that they're using are always up and running and 156 00:07:34,319 - > 00:07:34,959 are resilient. 157 00:07:35,120 - > 00:07:37,839 And that's what Absolute brings to the table, not just in the 158 00:07:37,839 - > 00:07:42,000 context of ensuring the tools are available, but also that in 159 00:07:42,319 - > 00:07:46,959 a downtime scenario, in some sort of cyber incident or, you 160 00:07:46,959 - > 00:07:49,439 know, God forbid what happened a few years ago with a crowd 161 00:07:49,519 - > 00:07:52,560 strike incident, that organizations can recover very 162 00:07:52,800 - > 00:07:56,319 quickly and they have that capability within their tool set 163 00:07:56,639 - > 00:08:00,000 to see across your entire stack, right? 164 00:08:00,079 - > 00:08:03,279 And this goes to the MIP orientation, right? 165 00:08:03,439 - > 00:08:07,279 So the intelligent to see what's broken or what's not, ideally, 166 00:08:07,439 - > 00:08:09,600 it's all fixed automatically, yeah, right. 167 00:08:09,759 - > 00:08:12,319 And then to be able to deliver the services around that. 168 00:08:12,480 - > 00:08:15,600 So for me, it's about understanding the data 169 00:08:15,600 - > 00:08:18,560 governance, you know, what systems are being affected and 170 00:08:18,560 - > 00:08:22,319 having all of that information tied into an intelligence 171 00:08:22,319 - > 00:08:26,079 platform that service providers can leverage to amplify the 172 00:08:26,079 - > 00:08:28,879 value that they're driving and lower their overall service 173 00:08:28,879 - > 00:08:29,600 delivery costs. 174 00:08:29,839 - > 00:08:31,680 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. 175 00:08:31,759 - > 00:08:35,279 And the one challenge I see there is that for MSPs, it also 176 00:08:35,279 - > 00:08:37,919 means almost a step change in thinking and propositioning, 177 00:08:38,000 - > 00:08:38,240 right? 178 00:08:38,399 - > 00:08:41,440 Because if you're talking about business continuity and end 179 00:08:41,440 - > 00:08:45,120 customer outcomes, there's a different narrative around this 180 00:08:45,120 - > 00:08:47,039 than normal MSP solutions, right? 181 00:08:47,120 - > 00:08:50,480 So how do you empower MSPs to drive that message home as 182 00:08:50,480 - > 00:08:52,960 opposed to just talking about features and functions all the 183 00:08:52,960 - > 00:08:53,120 time? 184 00:08:53,440 - > 00:08:56,240 SPEAKER_01: I I think ultimately it comes down to this business 185 00:08:56,240 - > 00:09:00,159 discussion that MSPs aren't typically having with their end 186 00:09:00,159 - > 00:09:00,960 customers. 187 00:09:01,200 - > 00:09:07,200 Um what I'll cite as an example is what is the end effect to a 188 00:09:07,200 - > 00:09:10,960 customer when there is an outage on a particular device or set of 189 00:09:10,960 - > 00:09:11,440 devices? 190 00:09:11,600 - > 00:09:12,879 What's the impact to the business? 191 00:09:13,039 - > 00:09:15,919 And then they'd be able to quantify that in pure dollar 192 00:09:16,080 - > 00:09:16,799 terms, right? 193 00:09:16,879 - > 00:09:20,559 And so for many organizations, an outage might mean going out 194 00:09:20,559 - > 00:09:21,039 of business. 195 00:09:21,120 - > 00:09:24,320 It's certainly an existential threat for many organizations if 196 00:09:24,320 - > 00:09:26,799 there is an outage, especially in the small to medium business 197 00:09:26,799 - > 00:09:27,679 size category. 198 00:09:27,840 - > 00:09:32,240 But for those organizations that want to position themselves, 199 00:09:32,480 - > 00:09:36,159 understanding the downstream impacts of an outage and how you 200 00:09:36,159 - > 00:09:39,600 can help be a true business partner to ensure that those 201 00:09:39,600 - > 00:09:43,679 outcomes are on a positive basis, um, is the way that 202 00:09:43,679 - > 00:09:48,080 organizations, as far as I believe, MSPs will differentiate 203 00:09:48,080 - > 00:09:52,000 themselves and capture much more mind share in business for those 204 00:09:52,000 - > 00:09:53,919 security-minded organizations. 205 00:09:54,399 - > 00:09:54,720 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 206 00:09:54,879 - > 00:09:58,000 And I I think it's actually a really interesting hook for MSPs 207 00:09:58,000 - > 00:09:58,240 as well. 208 00:09:58,320 - > 00:10:01,519 I mean, I I come from the process industry, and all the 209 00:10:01,519 - > 00:10:04,159 discussions I had were about downtime. 210 00:10:04,240 - > 00:10:07,200 It was, hey, how much is our solution going to save you if 211 00:10:07,200 - > 00:10:08,000 you're down for an hour? 212 00:10:08,080 - > 00:10:08,799 What does that cost you? 213 00:10:08,879 - > 00:10:11,440 It cost me$2 million on a chemical facility, right? 214 00:10:11,600 - > 00:10:12,720 To be down in an hour. 215 00:10:12,879 - > 00:10:16,000 And a solution that pulls that down to 30 minutes or 10 minutes 216 00:10:16,080 - > 00:10:18,960 or five minutes or whatever using these AI tools can make a 217 00:10:18,960 - > 00:10:21,519 massive difference, not just in business continuity, but also 218 00:10:21,519 - > 00:10:22,559 just in money gained. 219 00:10:22,720 - > 00:10:22,960 Exactly. 220 00:10:23,200 - > 00:10:25,679 Um, and I think that's just a fascinating proposition. 221 00:10:25,840 - > 00:10:29,679 Um, Jean, do you have any final thoughts or comments that you 222 00:10:29,679 - > 00:10:32,000 want to share with the audience today at PEX IBS? 223 00:10:32,480 - > 00:10:35,360 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that uh the orientation around 224 00:10:35,360 - > 00:10:37,759 cybersecurity will not be changing, right? 225 00:10:37,840 - > 00:10:40,639 That is an essential component of the stack and the service 226 00:10:40,639 - > 00:10:43,519 offerings that that MSBs are providing. 227 00:10:43,759 - > 00:10:46,960 But if you add on the story around or resilience and the 228 00:10:46,960 - > 00:10:50,240 capabilities and value associated with that, I think 229 00:10:50,240 - > 00:10:53,360 that that uptake level within their customer base and the 230 00:10:53,360 - > 00:10:55,519 ability for them to differentiate their organization 231 00:10:55,519 - > 00:10:59,200 and capture new business will be vastly accelerated. 232 00:10:59,279 - > 00:10:59,440 Right. 233 00:10:59,600 - > 00:11:04,480 And so focusing on both sides of both prevention and recovery and 234 00:11:04,480 - > 00:11:06,960 resilience is a winning formula for them. 235 00:11:07,120 - > 00:11:11,440 Uh at absolute, the partner program is very geared toward 236 00:11:11,600 - > 00:11:12,480 service providers. 237 00:11:12,559 - > 00:11:15,679 We've learned a lot over the last year as we put this program 238 00:11:15,840 - > 00:11:21,039 together uh with no contracts, with consumption-based billing. 239 00:11:21,120 - > 00:11:25,759 Uh, we've designed it so that it maps to the economics of the uh 240 00:11:25,759 - > 00:11:27,759 of MSPs and how they go to market. 241 00:11:28,000 - > 00:11:30,480 I think we have an amazing program and looking forward to 242 00:11:30,480 - > 00:11:32,080 engaging with everyone here at CACSA. 243 00:11:32,559 - > 00:11:32,960 SPEAKER_00: Fantastic. 244 00:11:34,080 - > 00:11:35,840 Gene Kim, Absolute Security. 245 00:11:35,919 - > 00:11:37,200 Thank you so much for being here. 246 00:11:37,279 - > 00:11:39,440 And uh yeah, looking forward to what you get up to next. 247 00:11:39,679 - > 00:11:40,799 SPEAKER_01: All right, thank you for having me. 248 00:11:41,039 - > 00:11:41,360 Awesome. 249 00:11:41,440 - > 00:11:41,679 Thank you.