
RAJESH CHHABRA,
GENERAL MANAGER, INDIA &
SOUTH ASIA, ACRONIS
”Cybersecurity is no
longer just a concern
for CISOs and CIOs—
it’s a business-
critical issue that can
make or break an organization.”
Wi-Fi, and personal devices, increasing the attack
surface.
Acronis is committed to raising awareness
through focused educational initiatives. We
conduct workshops, share insights on the latest
ransomware trends, and provide real-world case
studies. Additionally, our Security Awareness
Training solution helps businesses and MSPs
educate employees cost-eectively.
Budget constraints often limit a
company’s ability to implement
robust security training. How is Acronis
addressing this challenge?
Budget limitations should not be an obstacle
to cybersecurity. Acronis provides an aord-
able, user-based pricing model for our Security
Awareness Training. is makes it accessible to
businesses of all sizes. Our goal is to ensure that
companies can strengthen their security posture
without nancial strain.
By investing in security awareness, businesses
can prevent costly breaches and protect their data
proactively.
this aspect, regions like India are still evolving. In
India, a hybrid model—leveraging both MSPs and
SIs—works well.
Currently, a signicant portion of our revenue
in India comes from the MSP channel, but
we remain committed to the SI model as well.
Organizations that prefer managing their IT
infrastructure internally can purchase licensing
through our SI partners.
With cloud adoption growing, some
industries, like banking and
defense, still rely on on-premises
solutions. How does Acronis cater to such
needs?
Acronis provides both cloud-based and on-
premises solutions. We understand that industries
such as government, defense, healthcare, and
banking require on-premises deployments due
to regulatory compliance. Our solutions support
hybrid models where workloads can be split
between cloud and on-prem environments.
Acronis is also a leader in Operational Tech-
nology (OT) security, providing air-gapped,
on-premises solutions for critical infrastructure
sectors.
Let’s talk about Acronis’ product
roadmap, particularly for MSPs.
What innovations can we expect?
Rajesh Chhabra: Our roadmap is built around
integration and automation. We are heavily
focused on expanding integrations across
professional services automation and network
monitoring. Key developments include:
l EDR for Linux (launching in 2025)
l Email Archiving for regulatory compliance
l Disaster Recovery for Azure
l XDR 2.0 enhancements
l Microso 365 Management and Monitoring
l Workow automation for EDR and XDR
Acronis also integrates backup with security
operations, enabling automated patch rollbacks if
needed, which is a unique value proposition.
I read about Acronis’ ‘Patch
Tuesday’ strategy. Can you
elaborate on that?
Patch management is a critical challenge for IT
admins. Acronis oers automated patch manage-
ment with integrations across 330+ vendors,
including Microso, Apple, and Adobe. Admins
can automate patch deployment from our
console without manually downloading updates.
Moreover, our solution integrates with backup to
enable rollback in case of issues, ensuring business
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Do you believe more effort is
required in developing cybersecu-
rity professionals? How do you see this
trend evolving?
is is an ongoing eort, and I’m encouraged
to see many young students and profession-
als choosing cybersecurity as a career. ey
are investing time in learning and upskilling
themselves, which is great. However, more
needs to be done. Educational institutions and
the government should open more avenues for
cybersecurity training. ere is a global demand
for cybersecurity professionals, but at the same
time, we see a shortage in meeting this demand,
making cybersecurity professionals highly sought
aer.
At Acronis, we are also working towards
simplifying cybersecurity solutions so that
even professionals with limited experience can
operate them eectively. AI plays a crucial role
here. Our Endpoint Detection and Response
(EDR) solution, for example, uses AI to generate
playbooks in easy-to-understand English, making
it accessible for professionals with just a year or
two of experience.
To illustrate, if an organization wants to create
a script to block a ransomware attack, they can
simply input that request in English, and AI
will generate the script for them. is approach
ensures that organizations can eciently manage
cybersecurity, even with limited expertise.
You were previously handling Asia
Pacific, Japan, and the Middle East,
but now you’re focused on India and South
Asia. How do you see these markets
responding to Acronis’ strategy? What is
your go-to-market approach?
at’s correct. India is one of the fastest-growing
markets for Acronis globally, and my focus is on
expanding our presence here. Acronis follows a
channel-led approach. Our solutions are designed
with Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in mind,
incorporating multi-tiering, multi-tenancy, white
labeling, and administrative controls.
While our strategy is partner-driven, we also
engage directly with end customers through
CSO and CIO-level initiatives to create aware-
ness. However, our core approach remains
partner-centric.
Given that Acronis supports both
MSP-led and Systems Integrator
(SI)-led strategies, where does the
emphasis lie?
We have observed a global trend towards cloud
adoption and outsourcing IT operations to MSPs.
While the US and Europe are more mature in
APRIL 2024 ENTERPRISE IT WORLD 33
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