When Open Systems AG was founded in 1990, the company provided managed security services. As its executives saw the rise of a software-defined approach to managing wide area networks play a bigger role in connecting enterprise users to applications, the company pivoted in 2012 to capitalize on offering secure SD-WAN globally.

It turned out to be a good decision. Open Systems now operates in over 180 countries, protecting approximately 3 million users globally, according to its chief executive officer, Martin Bosshardt (pictured).

“The way we provide SD-WAN in a secure way really resonates,” Bosshardt said. “We can make complex infrastructures, especially projects with going to the cloud, very easy to consume for our customers. We’re winning a lot of business.”

Bosshardt spoke with John Furrier (@furrier), host of theCUBE, at SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio in Palo Alto, California. They discussed the need to protect against threats as more internet of things devices come online, as well as the importance of handling regional differences in data protection across a global customer base (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

Thinking in compartments

One factor driving growth for Open Systems is an approach that recognizes the inherent threat to network systems posed by increasing numbers of connected IoT devices. There is growing evidence that IoT is being used to leverage increasingly sophisticated attacks on corporate infrastructure.

“We have to live with the fact that some devices, some tools are not secure,” Bosshardt said. “It is very dangerous if you think in the old school of one network, because suddenly you have IoT working on the same network as your finance department. You have to think in zones; you have to think in compartments.”

In addition to protecting SD-WAN, Open Systems must also work with its multinational customers to manage the flow of data across multiple regions where governance can be an important issue. The company’s frontline service staff holds regulatory certifications to handle potential threats on a global scale.

“Networks also have to help you produce that global value chain, but it means that you’re operating in different jurisdictions and regions,” Bosshardt explained. “This is a challenge for network operators because privacy in Germany is different than privacy in the U.S.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: Open Systems AG sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Open Systems nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE