“There was clearly a lot of synergy between our thinking,” said HCLTech executive Amit Jain.
Cybersecurity vendor CrowdStrike and global systems integrator HCLTech have entered into a new strategic partnership that will see CrowdStrike's Falcon XDR platform power GSI's managed detection and response services.
For India-based HCLTech, the partnership means a stable, easy-to-use platform to offer more cybersecurity capabilities to customers and leverage artificial intelligence (AI), said GSI Executive Vice President and Cybersecurity Global Head Amit Jain (pictured) said: said in an interview with CRN.
“We clearly saw a lot of synergy between how we think and how we view the challenges our customers face in the marketplace,” Jain said. “The amount of noise and nuisance created by cyber-attacks, and the advances in many of those attacks, typically make them very difficult for many of today's tools to detect.”
[RELATED: CrowdStrike To Acquire Data Security Startup, Boosts Guidance]
CrowdStrike partners with HCLTech
For Austin, Texas-based CrowdStrike, a member of CRN's 2024 Security 100, partners like HCLTech help vendors expand their large enterprise customer base and make security part of the larger digital transformation conversation. said Daniel Bernard, Crowdstrike's chief business officer.
“In today's world, cybersecurity is not a nice-to-have, it's a necessity,” Bernard said in an interview with CRN. “It's not an afterthought idea. It's a mainstream idea. It's not a backroom discussion, it's a boardroom discussion. They're already in the boardroom. They're already working with management and working more broadly. They work on technology transformation projects that can seamlessly incorporate cyber into the discussion. So when they do a broad cloud transformation for a client, they don't just think about their cloud strategy, but also how that cloud works. We are also taking the lead on our technology strategy to protect our customers.”
CrowdStrike customers also like to work with solution providers to make sure the product works well and works in their existing environment, Bernard says. The shortage of cybersecurity experts is also encouraging end users to collaborate with solution providers.
“We're seeing more and more large companies realize that their competitive advantage lies in the business they're in, not necessarily in cybersecurity or technology,” Barnard said. “So it becomes very attractive for these large companies to go to HCLTech and say, “Hello, everyone.'' I need your strength. We need to grow our business from here to here. …Can you confirm that our technology aligns with our strategy?”
Even as other vendors continue to strengthen the initial security of their applications and products, gaps remain, he said. In that regard, Bernard's boss, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, frequently criticizes in public his provider of the largest productivity application, Microsoft, another of his strategic partners at HCLTech. doing.
“Just because you want to build it as designed and secure it doesn't mean the door won't fly off when the plane takes off,” Barnard said. “It doesn't mean cyberattacks won't happen. It doesn't mean codebases won't get leaked.”
HCLTech, whose partners include IBM, Oracle, Intel, SAP and Verizon Business, was a CrowdStrike user before the partnership, Jain said. Many of his HCLTech customers also use this technology.
“We have seen this technology firsthand and are really excited to see the results it can deliver for our customers,” he said.
CrowdStrike's training resources were another factor in the partnership. Jain said other vendors could adopt a more “360-degree” mindset when it comes to partnerships to help solution providers respond quickly to customer needs around new technologies.
“What I like about CrowdStrike is that they not only sell the technology part, but they have that mindset and approach to make sure it's successful, that it delivers results, that creates stickiness with customers, and that it's really long-term. “Continue to be a great player,'' he said.
