Taking a Bite out of Email Protection

Barracuda Networks’ cloud enabled email and data security is poised for growth in the Asia Pacific Region.

Barracuda Networks was established 16 years ago to offer email protection. While its founders were running an Internet Service provider they realised they couldn’t find an affordable spam-blocking product. This is when, the California headquartered company, realised the Silicon Valley dream as the need for affordable email protection exploded. It has since acquired other technology, though its business as a global provider of cloud enabled email security and data protection solutions remains at its core.

“About one billion emails per day go through a Barracuda device,” stated James Forbes-May, Vice President, Sales, Asia Pacific & Japan, Barracuda Networks. “Cyber criminals are getting smarter and are targeting employees directly. With the recent data breaches and fines of major corporations around the world, more people recognise the importance of data protection. Data has become the new oil or gold, and we fiercely protect a company’s important assets. There are so many ways data can be used for good, but there are major ramifications when it is in the wrong hands.”

An Ideal Place for Regional Head Office

Although Barracuda was established in Hong Kong seven years ago, it did not set up a physical office until 2019 after the company transitioned from a public listed entity back to a private organisation. “We have experienced our best growth since becoming private,” noted Forbes-May. As the regional headquarters for Barracuda, the Hong Kong office is home to sales, renewals, marketing and recruitment, with the potential for order processing and finance as the business scales upwards.

“Hong Kong is the ideal place for a regional head office, as the city offers a wealth of talent opportunity,” Forbes-May said. We hire team members who are adaptable, fluid and can deal with challenge. “Hong Kong’s population of over seven million, it is a diverse community with high education standards and opportunities to go abroad to continue studies, gives employers like us more versatile, open eyed candidates with Asia Pacific points of view,” he added.

Having worked with InvestHK for more than a decade, Forbes-May sees it as an invaluable service for networking opportunities, employment visa applications and local advice. “InvestHK is helpful, patient and business friendly,” he said. “We have appreciated the partnership with them as we expanded in Hong Kong.”