PAN was able to sit down with two executives from Veridium about RSAC 2018. Lori Cohen, CMO, and James Stickland, CEO, share their thoughts below:
Lori, what are your thoughts on RSAC 2018? What are you most looking forward to?
This is the first year that we’ll be in the main exhibit area in the North Hall, and we’re hoping that we don’t get lost in the sea of exhibitors. Similar to other large conferences, a vendor’s exhibit location is based on how much you spend and how long you’ve been going to the show. As this is our first year, our location isn’t ideal, but we’re excited about the opportunity to meet people from across the globe, make connections and showcase some of our latest solutions which have evolved since last year. If you have time, make sure to stop by booth #3011 in North Hall and introduce yourself.
If you had to choose the single most important item to prepare for RSAC, what would it be and when would that process begin?
For us, it is all about generating some noise and interest around the show. We are excited to announce new advancements from our product portfolio as well as some research we commissioned with Vanson Bourne on biometric authentication adoption in the enterprise. Timing is everything, and we are working hard to make sure we can share the latest with the industry’s top security professionals.
As you know, there are more than 550 exhibitors at RSAC. In what ways do you make your company stand out at RSAC?
That is the million-dollar question. At our booth, we are planning some cool activities to drive traffic and will also use our social channels to increase visibility and awareness. Of course, leading up to the event, we are reaching out to our prospects in our database to come meet with us.
What are your top three buzzwords for RSAC 2018?
OURSA (seriously…it’s time to have more women at this event), blockchain and, of course, privacy (and protecting user privacy).
Why is RSA a valuable conference for CMOs to attend and what aspect of the show (sessions, booth talks, etc.) provides the most value for your business?
For me, it’s talking to prospects and customers. As a CMO, you can never have too much contact with buyers. My best practice is always to talk to as many people as possible. As an example, just a few weeks ago at Mobile World Congress, I did thirty pitches with prospects. I know our technology inside and out. It was quite flattering when someone said, “This is the first time I’ve ever had the CMO do a product pitch, and you did great.”
In today’s world, marketers must be expert in all aspects of the business – product, sales and strategy. That’s the way I’ve always approached my job.
James, as CEO of Veridium, what are you most looking forward to at RSAC?
One of the most exciting things for me is meeting new incubators and seeing the progress of last year’s Early Stage companies at the conference.
What are the top trends you’ll expect to learn/share?
Some of the trends I expect to see all over RSA Conference are A.I. in security and behavior, which is a big theme (i.e., heuristics of machines, networks, devices and humans).
What session or topic are you most looking forward to aside from your own?
One of the most interesting topics I’m looking forward to is data segregation and how it can benefit the enterprise. For us, how you manage the identity and access of the segregation is of special interest.
How has the conference changed over the years? Which change has had the biggest impact?
Definitely the size and the scale. In 2018, RSA Conference is bigger than ever. While it’s great that the conference continues to be a valued event for industry leaders from across the globe, I am hopeful this is as big as it gets so that the value and the side hall conversations don’t get lost. RSAC has always been about technology, companies and clients coming together, with a smaller percentage of banking, though I fear the percentages may be shifting.
Why is RSAC a valuable conference for your organization to attend?
For many organizations, you collapse six months of client meetings into a week, and then have initial, follow-up and closing sessions over the space of a week. For us, we use our time very wisely to arrange second meetings and follow-up conversations all within 24 hours.
