‘We’re aiming to increase revenue tenfold over the next year’: Cognisys head of vulnerability management

Catherine Boddy talks robot dogs, territorial expansion, and AI evolution

With new market entries planned around the world and intentions to multiply its current SmartScan revenue tenfold over the next 24 months, Cognisys has set ambitious targets for itself.

Catherine Boddy, head of vulnerability management at the cybersecurity and compliance specialist partner, tells CRN the firm aims to reach its goals thanks to its broad customer base and its territorial expansion strategy.

With offices in Leeds and Manchester, the organisation also counts activities across Europe, including Ireland.

It also has an account manager in France and is looking to branch out to the country.

“We also want to expand further into Europe,” says Boddy.

“Through our work with Nucleus, which has a large European customer base, we’re doing consultancy work and hoping to leverage their Nordic presence for marketing opportunities.”

The organisation is also involved in Africa and the US.

The company counts 65 employees globally, between 30 to 40 of them being in the UK.

While the UK remains its most important market, Cognisys is expanding its footprint in South Africa.

Regarding leadership, the organisation will “keep things based in the UK.”

“I personally spend about 90 per cent of my time in South Africa, where I have two team members,” explains Boddy.

“The plan is to grow, eventually setting up an office there with around ten people focused on vulnerability management.”

Cognisys also has its eyes on the UK, as “the sky is the limit,” explains Boddy.

“Myself and quite a few of the directors and the senior leadership team are not the sort of people who just sit back and wait for things to happen.

“We want to go out there and get it.”

With an established base in SMB, the vendor is currently shifting its focus towards enterprise clients.

The firm also works with only two vendors in the UK; Qualys and Nucleus Security, “because the consultant edition of Qualys isn’t as polished as the VMDR side.”

“We want a more visually appealing reporting and dashboard solution for our customers, so, we ingest the Qualys data into Nucleus.

“In terms of scanning, nearly all of our customers are on Qualys.”

On the other hand, Cognisys doesn’t work with disties.

Boddy also wants to expand the business into the private equity sector.

“That’s the dream, because that’s where the big spenders are in terms of technology.

“Venture capitalists and the firms managing multiple portfolio companies have the budgets and the need for scalable solutions.”

When it comes to new technologies such as AI, Boddy recognises that while we’re increasingly relying on tech, we should be cautious.

“I was scrolling through Instagram the other day and saw a woman in San Francisco with a robot dog; why would you need to replace a dog with a robot?

“But when it comes to evolving tech in vulnerability management, detection and response, XDR, those are the areas where AI should really be helping us.”