Integralis snuggles up to NTT Com

New boss Simon Church puts closer co-operation with majority owner at top of his agenda

Newly crowned Integralis chief executive Simon Church wants to deepen ties between the security integrator and majority owner NTT Com.

Church officially seizes Integralis' reins from outgoing chief executive Georg Magg today, three years after joining in the post of UK managing director from managed security services outfit VeriSign.

Church said his priority is to step up co-operation with its Japan-based telco majority owner.

This includes developing a joint managed security services platform that will be rolled out over the course of 2013.

"Wherever NTT touches, there is a requirement for IT security services, so that is very much our drive going forward," Church told ChannelWeb.

Prime Standard-listed Integralis is Europe's largest pure-play IT security integrator and Church said the acquisition of various rivals by giant hardware and services players had strengthened his firm's hand.

"There have been a lot of acquisitions in the market and we are finding a lot of our customer and prospect base is becoming a little frustrated," he said. "They are looking for a security service and maybe that has been diluted by an acquisition. If anything, we are becoming more unique."

This singular focus on security has also allowed Integralis to lure in more top security professionals, Church said, with former Capgemini executives Tom Salkield and Mick Ebsworth among recent high-profile recruits.

Church singled out bring-your-own-device and cloud as two industry trends that are moving from hype into widespread uptake.

Large customers are also seeking advice on how to stave off cybersecurity threats, in line with the Cyber Security for Business programme launched yesterday by GCHQ, Church said.

Whaling, where cybercriminals use phishing techniques to target high-profile executives, is a growing threat to Integralis' customers, he added.

Magg is moving on from Integralis after 10 years at the firm and seven on the management board.

"There is now a very strong management board in [CFO] Heiner Luntz and me and we have built a very strong team of international leaders over the past two to three years," he said. "With that in mind, Georg felt it was time to pass things onto the team he built around him."