UPDATED 14:00 EDT / OCTOBER 02 2016

NEWS

Splunk’s government work and view of future security | #splunkconf16

While the data management side of Splunk gets much of the limelight in public consideration, the company’s security interests are getting their chance to shine as the issue of cybersecurity draws more focus in international news.

At this year’s Splunk.conf event, Kevin Davis, VP of Public Sector at Splunk Inc., sat down with John Furrier (@furrier), cohost of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media, to talk about his work in security, Splunk’s growth and the quality of its user base.

Customer interests

A large portion of the interview centered on Davis’ work with government organizations, but he also provided a look at the needs of public customers as well, with insights into similarities between the two fields.

“If you look across my business, especially the state, local and education business, they’re really moving or looking to MSSP [Managed Security Service Provider],” Davis said. “To really outsource this, they’re looking for the Verizons, the Booz Allens. … They’re saying, ‘I can’t hire people fast enough, I can’t hire the skills, I can’t train them fast enough.’ So I think we’re going to see a real shift to this MSSP model.”

He also shared some thoughts on Splunk’s work in conjunction with Amazon, and where he sees that leading in the near future, including “things like smart cities,” noting that “the city of LA is a strong, joint partner. … We really feel that, together, we can go after that and really help the customers.”

Government concerns

Going more in-depth on the government-hired side of Splunk, Davis noted, “In the federal space, there’s certain requirements, a little bit in concern of their data being somewhere else. The message that really resonates with them is hybrid. It’s on-prem and in the cloud — you pick and choose.”

Responding to the increased visibility of cybersecurity these days, particularly in reference to its focus in the debates for American presidential candidates, Davis was positive on the revenue implications. “It’s a significant portion of our business in the government space. … We’re in a great spot right now.”

He continued: “First and foremost [concern for government jobs] is the end-to-end visibility [of] IT operations, of just knowing when something goes down. What is it? What is the chink in the armor that went down?” In his estimation, Splunk does an excellent job of answering those questions when they arise.

Feeling the buzz

Moving on to address some of the hype around the company itself, as well as its product and service offerings, Davis weighed in. “We are definitely being talked about; there’s a great buzz around our company, our brand, and that’s really exciting. And what I love to talk about is how we’re helping the mission of government. That’s really what I enjoy the mos,” he said.

“The truth is, we’re so different from the traditional SIM [Security Information Management] vendors,” he continued. “And I think once folks get a taste of what Splunk can do for them, it really empowers these analysts. These are really smart, brilliant people within these agencies, and allowing them to ask the right questions of their data is phenomenal.”

Considering the conference as a whole and the enthusiasm of attendees, Davis had more reason to be upbeat. “This is my third .conf … and the buzz gets better, stronger, every year. I cannot believe just how sticky it is, how excited our customers are, and that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Splunk.conf 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU