Naturally, the starting point of the interview is this prestigious award, which is awarded annually by Ernst & Young (EY).

Congratulations! What does this award mean to you?

“It was a great honour to receive the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Gulf South Award. It truly reflects the hard work and dedication of the entire global team at Eagle Eye Networks. Eagle Eye Networks has been a pioneer in cloud-based video surveillance."

What inspired you to enter the physical security market, and how do you see cloud technology shaping its future?

“In 2012, I was running Barracuda Networks. We had offices around the world, and I wanted to ensure all offices in the U.S. and elsewhere were safe and secure. But I couldn’t find a security system that was cyber-secure, maintenance-free, allowed for remote access, and could be centrally managed. As a business owner, I knew I wasn’t alone in this.”

So, in the cloud you saw a solution that could address your and others’ security issues?

“Yes, but I couldn’t find any cloud-based video surveillance solution. So, I decided to found Eagle Eye Networks and build an openplatform video management system (VMS) for the cloud, with the idea that it could solve security and business issues for Barracuda and other companies.”

You’ve founded several companies, including Barracuda Networks and Eagle Eye Networks. What do you think is the key to identifying unexplored opportunities in tech-driven industries?

“The unexplored opportunity in any industry is solving a real problem that business owners experience.”

Cyber security is increasingly becoming a critical component of physical security solutions. How are your companies addressing this growing need, and what future trends do you foresee at the intersection of cyber security and physical security?

“As you know, I come from the cyber security world – having founded and been CEO of Barracuda Networks. Cyber security is therefore part of the DNA in both Eagle Eye Networks and Brivo. We take cyber security very seriously in all my companies. Cyber security was something most companies thought of as an afterthought when I entered the physical security industry in 2012. Thankfully, that has changed. Today, there is a general awareness that you can’t have effective physical security without cyber security. The two are inseparable.”

Eagle Eye Networks emphasizes AI-driven video analytics. How do you see AI transforming the physical security landscape over the next five to ten years?

“Video surveillance is saturated with vast amounts of AI opportunities. Companies’ willingness to invest in video surveillance will increase as the systems deliver ten times more value. Video surveillance solutions are needed everywhere in our world today.”

What does this mean for Eagle Eye Networks?

“Our ability to enhance these solutions with AI presents endless opportunities for expansion. Eagle Eye Networks is leading the way in bringing cloud-based video surveillance solutions to the market that solve persistent security issues and can also be a vital tool for the business world.”

The market for cloud-based security solutions is becoming increasingly competitive. How do you ensure Eagle Eye and Brivo stay ahead of competitors?

“Eagle Eye Networks is an open platform purpose-built for AI, cloud, video surveillance, and cyber security assurance. These are the building blocks of our company and our critical differentiators that continue to pay off. Brivo is the pioneer in cloud-based access control. Additionally, both Brivo and Eagle Eye continue to invest heavily in AI. We’ve seen the benefits AI-driven cloud video surveillance can offer to the business world, with innovations like AI-driven license plate recognition and Eagle Eye Smart Video Search, which won the Detektor International Best Product Award in 2022.”

Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter the tech industry, particularly in niche areas like physical security and surveillance?

“There are thousands of business problems that can be solved with AI. This is an enormous opportunity for today’s entrepreneurs who identify a business problem and then build the solution. It’s, of course, crucial to truly understand the business problem inside and out, and from the business owner’s perspective. But now is a fantastic time to build solutions. In 2014, the opportunity was the cloud. In 2024, one of the greatest opportunities is AI and cloud solutions.”