Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) is set to hire hundreds of developers in Israel. Speaking at the press conference after the company published its strong first quarter results today, Check Point CEO Gil Shwed said that at the end of 2020, the company had 5,198 employees and that it expects this number to reach 6,000, possibly even by the end of the year, with an emphasis on hiring developers in Israel.
Shwed expanded on the company's strategy and existing Infinity security architecture, which he said had a wealth of technology that no other company possessed. He said the architecture includes three "families" - quantum for network security, CloudGuard for cloud security and a new family, which was launched in the first quarter of 2021for securing connections for employees from any location.
Shwed said, "There are many players but if a customer wants to build for themselves a secure environment, then our alternative Infinity is much stronger and more secure."
He added that Check Point's cloud business revenue reached $200 million in the first quarter and that CloudGuard grew by 50% in the quarter.
Shwed also spoke about what he called the 'post coronavirus world' and said, "In Israel we are in a relatively advanced situation in terms of the economy. But worldwide, employees are today going into lockdown and infections are at record levels, so coronavirus is still with us."
Shwed continued, "We believe that the world will be different after coronavirus. The digital transformation has very much speeded up and it will be a hybrid world - for example some will continue to buy online and some will return to the physical stores. Among employees - the same thing: Check Points offices are open and we have a green bracelet to show that everybody in the office has been vaccinated but most employees still prefer a hybrid model and don't come to the office every day."
"Regarding cyberattacks, without doubt we will need more protective capabilities worldwide. In Israel the rate of attacks has risen in recent months and every week there is a critical new attack. I'm happy to say that we are coping beautifully."
According to Check Point's data on the basis of attacks it successfully wards off, the average Israeli organization is attacked about 700 times each week, compared with a global average of 750 times, with Israel among the leaders for ransom attacks with every organization on average facing 70 attacks per week compared with 50 worldwide.
On this matter, Shwed spoke about the record amounts being raised by Israeli cybersecurity companies. He said, "I am very proud of many of them, because many of the founders and employees have come from Check Point and are wonderful people that we have raised. It gives me very great pleasure to see that we have built a very impressive industry here. The companies themselves are for the most part good companies with a real market and customers who are buying the technology."
"On the other hand the challenge is great. I won't get into comparisons but there are certainly too many players and technologies and the customers cannot cope with this. Ultimately, it won't be sustainable. Another challenge is the huge demand for employees in the market and it is a challenge for Israel to keep the industry here."
Check Point's share price is currently up 0.79% on Nasdaq at $120.75, giving a market cap of $16.33 billion.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 26, 2021
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