How did the idea of SkillCube come into being?

In the aircraft in 2012!! My last job demanded a lot of air travel and having entrepreneurial mind-set allowed me to utilize my travel time to ponder on starting a niche cyber security services firm which could cater to the varied business needs in a holistic manner. Something which is uncommon and not run-of-the-mill but truly adds substantial value and solves business problems in the cyber security domain. It started with a basic blue print of skilling and capacity building model which was quite futuristic at that time but being in the technology and cyber security domain for many years, I could visualize the need of cyber security professionals in the years to come. While building the model, I realised that the academia is unaware of this high growth sector hence I tried building models for courseware development and conducting train-the-trainer models. The recruitment services came as a logical step from a placement perspective. And I must admit there has been no looking back since then. In February 2013, I quit my full time job and started operations in SkillCube with a humble team size of 2 (including me). Having a strong perseverance helped us to make changes in the business models to suit the client needs and today I am really proud of what we have built in last 3 years.

How has the Cyber Security paradigm changed in your experience?

I remember the first time when I heard of information security in 1999, I wasn’t sure of its growth as IT and Telecom Infrastructure was really growing. The off-shoring business had just started in India and the folks who were working in the Information Security team were gradual and obvious migrants from the IT domain. The needs were limited to securing the perimeter and contractual obligation for the service provider. Starting 2005, the industry saw a huge shift in focus. “Good to have” was moving towards “Must to have” at a fast pace. Security was an important area which was being discussed by the clients, business leaders as well as the regulators. In last 10 years, almost all the large regulators including RBI, DOT, IRDA and others have come up with specific security requirements. The businesses have starting appreciating the need of cyber security to compliment the digitalization happening all across. I see a lot of young talent focused on building a long term career in the growing domain. I am personally very bullish on the growth of cyber security domain and people who are aligned in this sector can expect an immense career growth.