Written by - Who is Marco essomba?
- What was your biggest learning over the past 12 months?
- What do you enjoy the most in this field?
- What would you recommend entrepreneurs to do in uncertain times?
- How has the covid19 pandemic influenced your business?
- How are you planning to conquer africa with your product?
- What does the next decade look like for your sector?
- If you could pass on one piece of advice to someone looking to build their career in cybersecurity – what would it be?
- Why did you join mcdec?
- What do you hope to achieve from mcdec in 2021?
Who is Marco Essomba?
Born in Yaoundé (Cite Verte), Cameroon, Marco Essomba grew up in London and currently lives in Reading, Berkshire.
An influential thought leader in cybersecurity, Marco’s professional experience as an Engineer, Consultant & Solutions Architect spans across almost 2 decades of working with some of the largest and well-known institutions. Today, Marco’s passion, expertise, and knowledge positions him as the Founder and CTO of BlockAPT Ltd (HQ in UK with operations in Europe, Asia, Middle East, USA & Africa). His experience has culminated in the design of the unique central management BlockAPT platform which allows businesses to Monitor, Manage, Automate & Respond (MMAR) to advanced cyber threats 24/7 in real time. With an impressive 16,000+ followers on LinkedIn and 35,000+ on Twitter, Marco is often sought after for his quick problem-solving approach and helping businesses future proof their security infrastructure. Marco’s mission is simple. To help protect businesses by securing their digital ecosystem in a flexible, seamless, and affordable way. Reducing complexities associated with disparate solutions working in a siloed manner, his design and vision with the BlockAPT platform unifies and offers a centralized management framework providing an overarching blanket of security
What was your biggest learning over the past 12 months?
Over the past 2 years, my biggest learning curve has been to master the in and out of scaling a technology start up. Beyond just developing the technology, I had to rapidly develop business skills from day-to-day operations, fundraising and growing a business.
What do you enjoy the most in this field?
Constant learning. Relentless pursuit of knowledge. Never knowing enough.
What would you recommend entrepreneurs to do in uncertain times?
Entrepreneurs deal with uncertainty all the time. From a startup idea to a fully-fledged business, the key for any entrepreneur in uncertain times is to continue to invest in themselves and other specialist subject matter experts to help build, grow, and plan their exit strategy.
How has the covid19 pandemic influenced your business?
COVID-19 has impacted BlockAPT in many ways. For instance, all our operations moved to working in a full remote mode like many other businesses worldwide had to. Managing multiple teams remotely especially within different countries and time zones brings its own challenges.
How are you planning to conquer Africa with your product?
We already have several partners in Africa who are actively introducing our solution to the continent. We have plans to have a fully operational local office in West Africa where we have seen a huge demand for our cyber defense platform.
What does the next decade look like for your sector?
The next cybersecurity decade will be ripe for consolidation. Point solutions will be combined with a much more effective way to deliver broader and more comprehensive protection. As automation evolves with cyberattacks businesses will need to change the way they manage their infrastructure.
If you could pass on one piece of advice to someone looking to build their career in cyber-security – what would it be?
There is a global cybersecurity skills shortage and I strongly encourage the youngsters of today to look to be our CISOs of the future. I would say the biggest thing they need to do is to get started. The field of cybersecurity is wide and complex. However, foundation knowledge of operating systems, programming languages and computer networks is key.
Why did you join MCDEC?
I joined MCDEC because I saw an opportunity to exchange knowledge and expertise with a group of like-minded skilled professionals. As entrepreneurs, to share experiences and help each other is one of my core principles and I look forward to raising cybersecurity awareness in the process!
What do you hope to achieve from MCDEC in 2021?
This year, within the MCDEC, I hope to cultivate a strong relationship with fellow members and entrepreneurs within the group and explore mutual business opportunities.