CIO Influence Interview with Kelly Ahuja, CEO, Versa Networks

Kelly Ahuja, CEO, Versa Networks talks about some latest AI-powered transformations and impacts in this chat with CIO Influence:

Welcome, Kelly, to our CIO Influence Interview Series! Please share a brief overview of your role at Versa Networks and your journey in B2B SaaS.

Thank you for the invitation to be part of your illustrious series. I am the CEO of Versa Networks, a leader in AI-powered Universal SASE, and have been in this role since Oct. 2016. When I first joined Versa, we had less than 80 employees and I could count the number of customers on my fingertips. I was brought in by the board of directors to help scale the business, the sweet spot being to engage with businesses that are undergoing a market transition with disruptive technology. The Versa journey has been incredible, and I am honored to be part of the team. The innovations we have driven and brought to market have enabled us to capture a key role in digital transformation influenced by AI, Cloud, hybrid work, and IoT. The platform we have built is powering the foundations of many enterprises and service providers globally, and we have a rapidly growing business. Our customers love the way we partner with them, engage, innovate, execute, and deliver.

Also Read: How Digital Twins Benefit Modern Manufacturing Processes

Versa Networks just collaborated with Tata Communications to offer SASE solutions that promise enhanced security and network performance. How do you align this partnership’s goals with Versa Networks’ broader strategies in cloud computing and cybersecurity?

We have been collaborating with Tata Communications for several years. Our initial relationship was for Managed SD-WAN services, and we have been very successful in jointly growing the business. We have now expanded that partnership to SASE. Here is the context behind the what and why:

• Cloud, hybrid work and IoT have dissolved the traditional network perimeter, as now everything is directly connected to the Internet and security needs to be distributed to every edge. Advancements in AI have increased the volume and sophistication of attacks, as noted earlier. Adversaries can penetrate the infrastructure through any edge of every network.
• The cost and complexity of traditional castle and moat approaches having multiple network and security stacks of point products no longer work. SASE has emerged as a market category but has multiple approaches. While many enterprises prefer to make their own decisions about technology, deployment, and operations, a larger number of them prefer to buy a managed service.
• At Versa, we pioneered the convergence of security in the network and have always offered choices to enterprises. We engage directly with those that prefer a “Do-it-Yourself” model through our SaaS service or on-premises deployment to preserve sovereignty. We also partner with service providers and managed service providers to deliver managed services.
• Tata has been a great partner and is well suited to deliver SASE managed services to enterprises, since it gives Tata the flexibility to build a sovereign infrastructure and deliver managed SASE services that combine their world-class network along with the Versa Universal SASE platform deployed in their PoPs globally.
• The combination of using Tata’s network with the Versa Universal SASE platform delivers a differentiated offering, since many other SASE services do not offer a traffic engineered middle-mile or use SD-WAN all the way to the device/agent. Moreover, our AI-powered platform delivers threat detection, data protection, network optimization, and operations to deliver the best user-to-application experience – securely connecting everything everywhere to any application anywhere.

Can you discuss the significance of AI in enhancing Versa Networks’ SASE solutions and how you foresee AI continuing to transform cybersecurity practices?

AI is having a profound impact and will drive tremendous productivity gains for business of all sizes. Forrester has stated, “With the rapid advancement of AI and connected technologies, security has become more critical than ever as AI helps the black hats as much as the white ones…The future belongs to those with the foresight and will to invest in security now. As AI capabilities expand, so do the potential vulnerabilities that malicious actors can exploit.” As the industry has seen, AI has dramatically increased the volume and sophistication of attacks by adversaries. Deep Instinct’s fourth edition report states that 75% of security professionals have witnessed an increase in cyberattacks this year, and 85% were powered by generative AI. Legacy approaches like rule-based intrusion detection and prevention systems have proven ineffective to detect threats, conduct forensic analysis, and remediate quickly with resources that are already stretched to the limit. You need to detect and remediate in near real-time. The only way to fight AI is with AI.

For Versa, AI is not a new concept. We have been building AI/ML in our platform for many years and use it for threat detection, data protection, network optimization, and operations. Unlike other SASE platforms, we make these capabilities available at every edge (Cloud, WAN, LAN) to detect threats in near real-time and accelerate remediation.

Versa Networks operates both on-premises and in the cloud. What are the top challenges and opportunities this dual approach presents, especially in a hybrid working environment?

For hybrid work where employees are either remote or at the office/on-premises, the current architecture is built in fragments where islands of disconnected policies and policy enforcements can create security gaps. Most of the current commercial SASE offerings deliver zero trust for remote workers only, and leave the on-premises work as a disconnected island for the enterprise to secure with different technology.

To fortify the enterprise with a consistent comply-to-connect, no matter if the user is remote or at the office, requires a different approach. Versa’s AI-powered SASE platform delivers zero trust policy in any cloud, as well as on-premises, by having the ability to extend the same software to an enterprise WAN or LAN edge. As a result, a unified policy and zero trust policy enforcement can be extended to any edge providing a consistent framework for hybrid work, while operations can be simplified through automation and end-to-end visibility.

Also Read: How Security Leaders Can Embrace a Long-Term Approach to Managing External Pressures

As you noted in your question, Versa’s AI-powered Universal SASE is offered in multiple ways:

1. Versa hosted: As a SaaS service from Versa cloud (Shared)
2. SP/MSP hosted: As a SaaS service from our SP/MSP partner cloud (Private)
3. Customer hosted: As a On-Premises solution (Sovereign)

How is Versa Networks fostering skill development and technological acumen, particularly in areas like AI and cybersecurity, within the company and across the industry?

We continually hire the best talent and invest in developing their skills on new technologies. Since our early days, Versa hires top talent in networking and security, as well as new college grads who we mentor to expand their skills. We encourage our teams to innovate with a purpose to deliver vital business outcomes for our customers. Our engineers are constantly engaged with customers and see the results of their hard work in action and through continual feedback. This is why our attrition rate is low, because our engineers appreciate this about Versa’s culture.

Additionally, we share our domain knowledge by actively participating in and supporting industry forums (example: MEF), Versa Academy, Versatility (Versa’s annual user conference that is open to all), and communities where customers and prospects discuss their challenges and successes.

Also Read: Top 5 Must-Know AI Use Cases in Cybersecurity: For CIOs

With rapid advancements in technology such as AI, quantum computing, and blockchain, what steps does Versa Networks take to stay ahead in the competitive industry?

Innovation has always been part of our culture. Versa has great talent that monitors market and technology trends. We constantly engage with customers, partners, and industry experts to leverage new technologies that can help solve problems. The most important thing is that we prioritize investing in new advancements and encourage our teams to innovate.

Finally, what leadership principles should aspiring leaders rely on to cultivate a culture of innovation and collaboration?

The culture of any organization is set by the leaders.  As a leader, you cannot become complacent and must always be on the lookout for what disruptions may help or hinder, creating success or failure. To remain relevant, leaders and their organizations need an open mindset. Leaders must encourage employees to learn new skills, stay abreast of technology advancements, and constantly look for what can help the company and customers do things better, faster, cheaper.

Thank you Kelly for sharing your Insights!

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