From IoT to Cybersecurity: How Catalyst Shapes the Future of Business Tech

Exclusive interview with Amol Awasthi, Co-Founder, Catalyst Business Partners

What key changes have you observed during your 23-year tenure as co-founder of Catalyst Business Partners?

Our journey has been amazing; it’s been a great ride. We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs, and of course, the tech landscape has changed completely from the time we started.  When we started, people were all about keeping their data to themselves, keeping the data only with them, not even letting our consultants try and take a look at what exists. Today, everybody’s moving to the cloud. They are willing to part with their data as long as it is securely stored in places where they can easily access it. The consumer information on what they digest, the capacity, and the appetite for that has greatly improved. When we started, they used to be looking at consultants or at people who were coming in, at their vendors to guide them on how to set out their strategies, and what they should do. Today, the consumer is a lot more aware, thanks to easily accessible information across the net. They educate themselves a lot more. They know what they want. And they know what they should be paying for it, more than anything else. I think what we have seen is greater awareness, which helps us as a systems integrator to go out and do our work.

Can you share your experience of this year’s GITEX Global? What key insights did you take from this very major event, where consumers shared their needs and companies outlined their expectations?

You know, I think this year’s GITEX Global was the biggest that it has ever been. And I think every year GITEX as an expo starts growing more and more, which is great to see because a lot more people want to come here, wanting to experience what technologies are out there in the market. This year of course it was based a lot more on AI. AI and security are the two most forefront topics on anybody’s lips today. The innovations we’ve seen are especially in the two sectors that we work in, one is on the application side, specifically Oracle, and then cybersecurity. AI is bringing out the best that we can expect from the market.

With Catalyst Business Partners serving many industries, how do you tailor your solutions to meet each industry’s unique demands?

Every industry is very specific but has a very generic framework. On one level, they all operate within certain norms. But then, for example, if I look at it from an Oracle applications point of view, every industry will have its own chart of finance accounts. They have their own nuances and taxation systems including what the governments give them, grant them, and all of those. We have to go and sit down with the customer and have our business experts within that industry, who can help us tailor and customize the solutions to find the best fit for each customer.

Can you explain how catalyst products enable businesses to harness IoT technology and connectivity?

We’ve been dealing with IoT since 2007 or 2008 when it was embedded technology. We work a lot with our partners who are experienced in IoT – in connecting the devices to the data. For example, as we are in the Middle East, let’s consider oil and gas. A lot of companies would want to know what the best way for them is to figure out their storage at any given point in time. Before IoT, embedded technologies, or connected devices came into play, they had to go manually, take a look at the tanks, and figure out what was happening. Now we can use the sensors, capture that data directly, and feed it into the supply chain management and warehouse solutions, which can tell them exactly which tank at any point in time has how much available storage.

How do you tailor to the changing needs of customers?

The needs of the customers are changing dramatically. They are expecting more. They are expected to be given solutions that help them make real-time decisions. For us, that’s where we will take our time to sit down with them and ask for their expectations. That for us is where the beginning is because we as a systems integration company are not their vendors. We consider ourselves their partners and hence we have to go in. We have to either say yes to all the expectations, or we must specify that these are the expectations that we can deliver, and others aren’t feasible today. Those could be feasible in the future with the way technology is expanding and changing. And then we customize each of the solutions for them. One of the things about cloud is that it allows for a minimum amount of customization. That is where the customers are also getting more informed. If they want to change over to a system, then they know that there are going to be certain changes, and they are going to have to follow certain industry norms that are in place. That makes our life a lot easier and helps us too.

With cybersecurity being a major concern, organizations are still thinking if they should focus on prevention or detection. So how do Catalyst products ensure data protection and robust threat management?

Most of the products we work with are in the line of zero day attack prevention. I’ll give you an example. I’m not going to name any products, but one of these products sits within the memory of a system, does the memory map and if there is any operation that is being performed outside of that, it will stop that. That is real-time zero-day attack prevention. We always feel prevention is better than cure. It’s always been the case. It used to be medical jargon, but now it is applicable in IT too. So, we always feel that the sooner the customers can get their cybersecurity in play, the better it is. And to make it robust, they should not only have the right products, but also the correct protocols and policies in place.