So what is some of the advice you’ve given to Bipul in terms of what Rubrik needs to do to prepare for 2023?

I think the real issue right now is focus. Because at a time when the market is a little wobbly, if you don’t stay focused, but you decide, ‘Oh, I want to go spend money here, spend money there,’ that’s not a very good idea. Now fortunately, this company is on the path of being cash-flow-positive in 2023. And that’s a wonderful, beautiful step, if you will, along the journey that they’ve been on.

Who do you see as the biggest competition to Rubrik?

Well, quite frankly, as you suggested earlier, a number of the companies now in the backup and recovery space are trying to do more in security, if you will. And I don’t think you can ignore not just the big footprints, but you can’t ignore many of the companies that have been around for a long time. Veritas is still around. I mean, it’s not going to go away. And oh, by the way, the next generation is only four or five years behind Rubrik. So this is about transforming yourself, or being on the journey that transforms you, as customers change in time.

What do you see in the future of security when it comes to ransomware protection and other aspects related to data? 

Well, this is not going to go away. And as you well know, the security segment has captured more investment capital than almost any other segment in the tech space over the last three to five years. And I don’t think that’s going to change because guess what? Content is growing exponentially every year. And therefore, you’re going to need new security techniques and technologies to protect the massive amount of content that is going to be created over the course of the next 24 to 36 months. It’s just incredible what’s going on in the world we live in today compared to 20 years ago, or 50 years ago when I joined the industry.

If someone was new to the channel and asked your advice, where would you tell them to focus to be a successful solution provider today?

I think helping customers migrate their content to a secure cloud platform is critically important. And I think many large enterprises move a step at a time. And the question becomes, as the cloud becomes more secure, as it becomes more pervasive, how do you help those customers have confidence that they can move their content there and not get compromised, if you will. And having a company like Rubrik with relationships with all of the cloud providers and many of the app providers, and oh, by the way, those who will deliver the services to the individual companies that need it, that’s the path we all have to be focused on.