CloudMask unveils new channel recruitment programme

Data protection start-up looks to expand into Europe

CloudMask is launching a UK channel recruitment programme as part of an EMEA expansion drive.

The data protection firm, which specialises in anonymising data, masking it from the point of creation to consumption in the cloud, was founded in 2012, and has offices in Canada, the US and now the UK.

CloudMask chief executive Wael Aggan said it is looking for partners who sell and configure cloud services, or provide security or consultancy services, and generally targets SMBs.

Partners can expect 20 per cent margins as well as training and pre-sales technical support.

"The celebrity cloud hacking scandal has shown that data hacking is more dangerous and sophisticated than ever before. Now we are talking about hacking as an industry," Aggan said.

"The point is, your data is 100 per cent reachable. You need to conduct your business as if the hackers are inside your system. We protect the data, not the access of the data, in a way that means it is completely anonymised," he said.

Gartner expects cloud-based security services to grow to $3.7bn (£2.3bn) by 2016, and CloudMask hopes to expand into mainland Europe with a similar launch programme anticipated in Switzerland for February 2015.