By Kamalika Jayathilaka | Photography Rumesh Perera
Sunil Sharma, Vice President – Sales, India and SAARC of Elitecore Technologies during a recent visit to Sri Lanka, expressed the significance of information security in a day and age where personal details as well as financial transactions materialise online. Cyberoam, which specialises in network security is a subsidiary of Elitecore Technologies and has partnered with Avian Technologies in Sri Lanka. Through a mutually beneficial relationship that has been established between the two, they aspire to provide the best of network security to Sri Lankan consumers.
“We have formed Avian Technologies to bridge the gap between what is in the global market and what is needed in the country to fulfill IT needs. We believe in new technology and products that challenge us. Based on our research Cyberoam is a revolutionary product,” explained Ranil Francisco, Director – Avian Technologies.
Avian Group was incorporated in 2006 by Ranil Francisco and Buddhika Liyanage with just three employees which has grown to 100 plus employees at present. Today, Avian has diversified interest in apparels and leisure sectors with a clear vision of being different. “Avian has earned a very high reputation and recognition in the industry as an emerging organisation that offers unmatched post and pre-sales services with a very skilled, dedicated and committed team of young and dynamic professionals offering the best products and services,” stated Ranil Francisco.
Avian represents Cyberoam, Kaspersky and KingSoft office as the sole distributor for Sri Lanka and Maldives whilst penetrating the market place with products such as Dell, HP and IT security solutions with 24×7 technical and sales support. Avian has stepped into leisure with its first Boutique Villa in Nuwara Eliya under the brand name “Avian Breeze” and in apparels they develop thier own brand of sports attire under the brand name Y&Y.
“It Is Not Easy But At The Same Time We Have Taken On This Task. I Am Very Proud To Be Associated With Information Security Because We Are Protecting Data. It Is A Business As Well As A Noble Cause.”
Ranil Francisco, Director – Avian Technologies
Elitecore Technology is the holding company that focuses on two aspects mainly telecom practice and network security handled by Cyberoam.
The company was founded in December 1999 by Hemal Patel who is the designated CEO. “Hemal Patel established this company with ten employees; today we have 850 employees and our reach is worldwide covering more than 125 companies,” explained Sunil Sharma.
Even though the success of Elitecore Technologies is greatly attributed to the fact that Hemal Patel is a technocrat, the dedication on the part of its staff has also been essential. “They are loyal and they kept working with perseverance to develop the software and the hardware to make a successful firewall,” stated Sharma. Elitecore Technology essentially provides – Unified Threat Management (UTM), which consists of a firewall, IPS, anti virus, anti spam, content filtering, and bundles management.
In today’s context information security is vital as the investment to set up the necessary infrastructure has been considerable. “Why? because, we want to have information available just at a click of a button.That is the whole objective. You want to have your CV, information and data accessible with a click of a button,” explained Sunil Sharma while further adding that this same data and information is not always secure. “Then all the money you have spent is wasted. Therefore, information security is vital in the the next five years.”
With globalisation it is evident that many transactions occur online, and e-commerce is essential in this fast developing world. More and more Sri Lankan companies are offering their services online as a result of which money transactions need to occur. “There are now advanced persistent threats. In this context obviously criminals do not loot you on the road but they will loot you on the net by hacking into your account. They are trying to be faster than us and we are trying to be faster than them. It is a story between the police and the thief,” explained Sunil Sharma. The teams at Elitecore Technologies consist of 350 researchers working out of India to analyse and find solutions for these issues. Sharma further added, “it is not easy but we have taken on this task. I am very proud to be associated with information security because we are protecting data. It is a business as well as a noble cause.”
Sharma elaborated that in Sri Lanka, especially in Colombo, the people are IT savvy and are aware of the importance of information security. “People are very curious and inquisitive. This proves that the people want to learn, which is a very good sign. It is a sign of prosperity in my opinion.”
Speaking about Elitecore Technologies’ relationship with Avian Technologies in Sri Lanka, Sharma stated that though the partnership has been in existence for the past four years, as a dedicated person had not been appointed to look after this particular market there was less focus. “Since joining Cyberoam I have assigned a specific person to overlook the market in Sri Lanka so that there is a special focus. We are investing money, by virtue of training with partners. CCNS, PMCCNS are two certifications that we have conducted here.” He further stated that they have also conducted programmes for the end customers. “The market in Sri Lanka is huge. In the past Cyberoam could not capitalise on the market because there was no particular focus but today we have the focus. I have had meetings with various customers and partners and the people are positive about our product and quality.”
“If You Look At Avian Technologies, We Have Formed This Company To Bridge The Gap Between What Is Available In The Global Market With What Is Needed In The Country To Fulfill IT Needs. We Believe In New Technology And Products That Challenge Us. Based On Our Research Cyberoam Is A Revolutionary Product.”
Sunil Sharma ventured to express that Avian Technologies in Sri Lanka also has a dedicated person assigned for Cyberoam and employees who are certified on Cyberoam products. “It is a joint strategy where we are doing the marketing events, awareness and brand awareness programmes to both the customers and partners,” he added.
Avian Technologies is the distributor of Cyberoam in Sri Lanka and are responsible for proving Cyberoam based solutions. They market the products to resellers and the resellers in turn to the customers.
The purpose of Sharma’s visit to Sri Lanka has been to network with large telecom customers and SI partners and also stimulate a more geographical coverage, by virtue of account planning and formulate a strategy to cover the market. He further added, “Avian Technologies have different divisions, and information technology in particular is being handled by a very senior person. Ranil Francisco himself gives a good amount of time and focus on this business. We are very satisfied with Avian Technologies as a distributor.”
Cyberoam market in the South Asian region encompassing the SAARC countries comes under the purview of Sunil Sharma. “I would say Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the two markets where we have a special focus on apart from India.” Future plans for Sri Lanka include the launch of a new series of products. “We are covering the entire market; the home, SME, and corporate and enterprise class,” explained Sunil Sharma on a concluding note.
