The Chief Revenue Officer of Canadian cybersecurity company, Tehama Technologies, talks exclusively to Netweek about its recent entry in Greece

The benefits of the all-in-one solution Tehama offers to its customers, the close cooperation with Gerobo, and the significant prospects that are now opening up for pan-European expansion with a Greek touch.

In the era of the new normal, characterized by the widespread adoption of 'hybrid' work models where employees work from anywhere, often for longer durations than within the controlled and well-guarded perimeter of the office, one of the most pressing challenges for businesses and organizations is undoubtedly the need to effectively control and repel the continuously rising tide of cyberattacks. The ‘traditional' approach to safe operation usually requires an amalgam of solutions from many different vendors, integration and collaboration of selected technologies, definition and creation of effective joint management strategies and processes that are not only difficult to use and time-consuming, but often difficult to afford. 

Tehama Technologies, a Canadian cybersecurity company with global operations, is proposing an alternative solution based on an all-in-one subscription platform aimed at facilitating the digital transformation of businesses and organizations and facilitating the transition to the new work model. The word 'coming', in fact, is not a figure of speech but a literal one: Tehama did indeed come to Greece a few months ago, initiating a collaboration with Gerobo, led by Gerasimos Gerolymatos, with the aim of entering Europe through Athens. Tehama's Chief Revenue Officer, Mick Miralis (son of a Greek immigrant couple in Australia, known as Themistoklis Moiralis in Greek), was in Athens a few days before Christmas and spoke exclusively to Netweek about the company's successful cybersecurity platform and the ambitious plans he and his partner (present in the interview) have for the future.

So, who is Tehama and what does its platform offer?

Tehama is a cloud-based cybersecurity company headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Our platform provides secure access to data and applications, regardless of where the end user works (in the office or remotely) and from which device the end user works on. Our philosophy is to do this simply, cheaply, and with the greatest possible flexibility for him. This is what we will now offer to Greek users, with the cooperation of Gerobo: simple, plug-and-play solutions, at prices 30-40% lower, which are adapted to the policies of each business and offer uniform coverage in terms of the regulatory framework, with which everyone must comply – of course, in full compliance with the GDPR regulation. We fully support hybrid work, protecting data either in the data center or on the road, we work with all hyperscalers (MS Azure, Oracle, AWS and anyone else who needs it – in '24 we also switch to Citrix – VMWare), as we are agnostic in terms of our operation, and our solution ‘runs’ throughout the organization like a virtual desktop.

What is your platform based on?

Power of 5 (P5), a distinctive architecture that includes enhanced cybersecurity, simplified risk management, policy-based automation at scale to provide highly secure remote access and the fastest uptime to market. We believe that – as part of our partnership with Gerobo – this platform can play the role of a bridge to a new working model that will enable its customers to accelerate their digital transformation by dramatically improving security protocols and accessibility everywhere from the cloud to their desktops.  while further supporting work, thanks to Artificial Intelligence and the robotic solutions it develops.

What areas do you cover, which do you consider your competitors, and what is your billing model?

Our solution can be applied without difficulty in any sector—Health, Finance, Insurance and Accounting, Public Sector, Retail, Industry, Education, Defense—meeting the needs of customers wherever they may be. As for competition, I believe that there is no direct competition in our entire offer - no one can offer at the same level what we offer in combination. In some individual areas, maybe. Finally, for charging, there is an affordable subscription per user and per month, which concerns all 60+ features (each time you use as many as you need) of the platform, while special agreements are made.

Why did you come to Greece and what are your plans for the future?

The reasons are personal, cultural, and business. One reason is my origin – I have promised my father to do something for Greece, to contribute to the country. I love its language, its history and much more. Tehama is a global organization, we have a cloud presence in 41 countries that will be further strengthened because of our partnership with Microsoft, and many well-known customers, but I would not like to name names. We have set out to strengthen our presence in Europe, starting from Greece, by creating here and with the collaboration of Gerasimos, a Center of Excellence or the installation of an R&D team, which could play the role of 'springboard'!

How long have you known each other? (They both talk together, complementing each other)

Since 2005. We talked often via LinkedIn and Mick understood the technological mix of our company. We are setting up something different in the Greek market, in the sense of added value in both companies there is a startup environment, as we pay attention to disruptive technologies, we are innovators, and we take risks. [Gerasimos].

We have a common vision, the new scheme to offer integrated horizontal solutions [Mick].

Our most serious competitive advantage is that the company comes to Greece to offer modern solutions – we have already completed the first round of contacts with potential customers, organizations, and businesses. What we do is give them a non-live version of the platform and let them judge for themselves its capabilities [Gerasimos].

A concluding comment on AI and its capabilities?

As we enter the world of AI, we are looking for simpler shapes, not necessarily expensive, that offer a quality user experience. Our researchers are already working on proactive automation and analytics, processing large amounts of data in cybersecurity while increasing productivity. We proceed with careful steps, and we attach great importance to privacy issues, as there the dividing lines are very thin.