Thales - Customer Success Story

Hi, I'm here together with Martin Studjans of Thales. And we are here to talk a bit about how Thales and KuppingerCole Analysts are working together for many years now.

Welcome, Martin. Thank you, Martin. It's a pleasure to be here. And indeed, it's good to talk about the collaboration that has been lasting for many years. Maybe you could elaborate a bit on your role at Thales. So you have been one of my main contacts since, I don't know when, probably 15 years or so. What's your specific role?

Yeah, I'm one of the dinosaurs in identity. And I started in identity around 2000. I think we go back to those early days.

But today, I'm responsible for SIAM sales, so Customer Identity and Access Management in Thales. And mainly trying to build the customer base in the Americas and supporting other territories as well with a team of experts. Yeah.

And so, Martin, I think we probably every year since at least 10, 12 years, we've been running workshops with the Thales team. So what is, from your perspective, the thing that makes these workshops so valuable?

Well, I think that it starts with you being not there, Martin, with the preparation. Just think about what are the topics that we want to dive into that are our focus points for the next years. So we sit together and we collect all kinds of information, insights that we want to validate, that we want to challenge. And I think that is where it starts.

And then, of course, during the workshop itself, we get all kinds of insights. We challenge each other and all the conversations go pretty spontaneous.

So, yeah, the value is in the preparation, in the workshop itself, and of course, in everything that happens afterwards. Yeah. And I think that's also what I can say from my perspective. These workshops are very intense. So we have usually quite a number of topics. We usually end up with a lot of points. You make notes on where you say, OK, where to follow up. A lot of ideas we exchange and generate.

So, yes, I would say this is a very interactive way of workshops. I think this is also what, generally speaking, stands for the workshops we do with others, that we are very interactive and really trying to provide a lot of insights, feedback, thoughts to our customers. What else do you feel is really relevant for Thales in the collaboration with KUPPNR-COL analysts?

Well, I think that you are, as KUPPNR-COL, the only true identity and access management analyst specialist in the world. Of course, there are other analysts as well. But as a complete organization focused at the territory and also looking broader than identity into cybersecurity, I think that sets you apart. And that also makes you a relevant, very relevant organization and person to talk with on a regular basis. What I also appreciate, Martin, is that you are not going in plain vanilla, that you are not neutral. You have an opinion.

And whether that opinion is true or not, but it triggers discussions. And it also triggers us to take it from a different perspective.

So, also, that is important for us. So, not only being the analyst that is completely neutral and talks about the things he sees or he or she sees, but also have an opinion about it. And from that point onwards, we can take it further and we can start arguing against it or we agree with it. Okay.

Thank you, Martin. And thank you for these insights and the warm words. I always enjoyed working with you because it's really fun to have these workshops. They are intense. You're toast afterwards, but they are really good days.

So, thank you. It's a pleasure, Martin. The only thing, if there's anything that I can say that always is a bit difficult with you, is that you make the jokes about the Dutch. That is something that maybe for next time you can improve a bit there. But apart from that, we had some great days. I already started thinking about new jokes.

Anyway, I'll behave. Thank you. All right.