WSO2 showcases multiple solutions for clients and partners at GITEX 30 Netapp 2023 Trends And Technology Predictions

INTERVIEW

WSO2

WSO2 SHOWCASES MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS FOR CLIENTS AND PARTNERS AT GITEX

WSO2, a global leader in Digital Transformation solutions and services, helps digitally driven organizations become integration agile. Uday Shankar Kizhepat, Vice President and GM – MEA, discusses the layers of security solutions that they provide and how they differentiate from competitors.

What solutions are you showcasing at GITEX 2022?

WSO2 has been a technology partner to enterprises that build digital experiences for their customers, partners, and employees. Our platform, which consists of our API manager, Enterprise Integrator, and Identity Management, helps customers create these experiences.

We have multiple models for the delivery of these solutions—on-premises, private cloud, and so on. At GITEX 2022, we're launching our SaaS offerings to the market. These include Choreo, a digital platform that helps clients create digital experiences quicker and more efficiently, and Asgardeo, which is our identity as a service that helps access these experiences seamlessly.

What differentiates WSO2 from other SaaS providers?

Our foundation has been open source, which frees customers from vendor lock-in. Secondly, we give our customers flexibility to deploy as per their preferred model. They can use our solutions on-premises, in a private cloud (especially for government customers), or via the SaaS model (for those companies that want to establish things at great speed and scale). Thirdly, we have the entire "digital core". Our customers create APIs that need to be managed, and this is done through our API manager; we have our Enterprise Integrator, who helps to connect to multiple applications and systems; and finally, we have our Identity Access Management layer. None of our competitors has such a comprehensive suite.

Does WSO2's solution focus on any particular vertical in this region?

The software tools that we have cut across different verticals. Our platform is a horizontal layer, but having said that, we have accelerators for certain verticals. We have an open banking solution for the BFSI sector. For example, central banks are today mandating open banking standards. So, we have a verticalized solution built on our platform that helps our customers advance at a rapid pace.

Similarly, with healthcare, we have an accelerator that adheres to the highest industry standards for that sector. These are the two current vertical-specific solutions built on our platform. For us, it comes down to which industries are mandating open standards.

Uday Shankar Kizhepat

Vice President and GM – MEA WSO2

When a business approaches you and asks for complete SaaS support, what does that journey look like?

Companies today are like software companies that need to build digital experiences to create differentiation. WSO2 helps customers deploy in multiple ways. We understand that hybrid models are the preference today – customers will have some solutions on-premise and others in the cloud. So, if they have an infrastructure that's already set up, we can deploy our solution in that environment.

How do you operate in this market? Describe your partner's ecosystem and program.

Our model is highly channel-centric and, currently, over 60% of our business is transacted through our channel. We don't believe in having a huge sales force on the ground, and so we trust our partners to connect us to their customers.

We also have enablement programs for both our partners and our customers. We have various criteria in terms of certifications that our partners need to qualify with.