Kelly Ahuja, CEO at Versa Networks, outlines the challenges facing today’s cybersecurity teams and explains how AI is forcing them to evolve at pace
Tell us a bit about yourself and your career so far
I am currently President and CEO of Versa Networks and based in San Jose, California. Today, I am in the midst of the largest transformation in the industry with software-defined networking (SDN) and security.
I am a seasoned industry veteran with 25 years of experience in networking and telecommunications, working my way up from design engineer, to technical marketing, to product management, to GM. Throughout my career, I have worked on the design, deployment and operations of large-scale infrastructure and services frame relay, ATM, IP and mobile (3G, 4G, Wi-fi) networks.
Prior to joining Versa Networks, I spent 18 years in many roles at Cisco Systems, building and leading multiple businesses like routing and mobility. Most recently, I was SVP of Service Provider Business, Products and Solutions. Earlier in my career, I worked for service providers as a systems engineer engaged with customers looking to transform their legacy networks. I have a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary.
For those unfamiliar with Versa Networks, what are the company’s core activities?
Versa Networks is a venture-backed, privately-held corporation. Our innovation has been to converge network and security into a platform that can address multiple use cases for enterprises and managed service providers.
More than 10,000 businesses across multiple industry verticals and geographies rely on Versa Networks to protect and securely connect their sites, users, devices and applications. Versa Networks addresses large enterprises’ needs for building and operating their own infrastructure through value-added resellers and systems integrators, and also partners with managed service providers to build and offer managed network (SD-WAN) and security (SASE/SSE) services to mid-market and SMBs.
