Partner Spotlight: Gigamon and Barikat Team Up to Build World-Class Cybersecurity Infrastructures

From its headquarters in Turkey, Barikat has been a leading provider of information security solutions and services since 2008. The company’s vision is to build a reliable future by increasing and fortifying the cybersecurity capabilities of the government and private sector organizations they work with.

We spoke with Barikat’s presales team leader, Arda Özel, to learn more about how the company works with Gigamon to make this lofty vision a reality in Turkey — and beyond.

Gigamon: Who is Barikat and what is the company’s history?

Arda: Barikat Cyber Security was established in 2008. Since then, we’ve been producing solutions that enable organizations to build world-class cybersecurity infrastructures. We focus on emphasizing and protecting the value of information to build national — and international — cybersecurity awareness. With our motto “Produces Right Solutions,” Barikat has become a leading cybersecurity company in Turkey. We now have offices in Azerbaijan, Qatar, and the Netherlands, as well as Ankara and Istanbul.

Gigamon: What does your company name stand for?

Arda: The dictionary definition of barikat is “an obstacle created by piling up anything available, such as pavement stones, cars, and logs, to block a passageway.” What that says about us is that we provide a wide range of cybersecurity solutions to protect organizations against all possible risks, threats, and vulnerabilities.

Gigamon: Describe your company culture. What makes you tick?

Arda: Barikat values lifelong learning, pushing boundaries, and having fun while working. Our crew consists of the most experienced names in the industry — and in their jobs. These individuals are training and educating Turkey’s future cybersecurity experts at Barikat while also providing solutions to large-scale companies and public institutions throughout the country.

Given the scope of our customer portfolio, our teams are able to constantly improve themselves while gaining serious work experience. Enjoying our jobs and working harmoniously together is very important to us. When you’re working with such great teams, having fun is inevitable.

Gigamon: When and how did you become a Gigamon partner?

Arda: Barikat has been a Gigamon partner since October 2016. Our technical, sales, and marketing teams investigate products and solutions by testing their technical abilities, analyzing market competition, and looking for marketing strategies that match regional needs. When we used these criteria to compare Gigamon to other visibility solutions in the region, Gigamon was the clear winner.

Gigamon: If you had to describe Gigamon with just one word, what would it be?

Arda: Two words simultaneously: maestro and sieve! Like a maestro conducting music, Gigamon is highly skilled at delivering the best security tools. Sieve is because Gigamon helps eliminate unnecessary traffic, leaving only useful data to forward to out-of-band tools.

Gigamon: What are some of your market’s specifics, advantages, and challenges when it comes to network security and visibility?

Arda: Market specifics differ in each region; however, the one common challenge across all regions is visibility.

Gigamon: Which Gigamon features stand out the most and make the product outstrip its competitors?

Arda: I really like the built-in Inline Bypass feature. It simplifies our customers’ complicated network infrastructures in a smart way.

Gigamon: How do you see Barikat fit together with Gigamon to solve your customers’ problems?

Arda: As a value-added partner of many security vendors, Barikat fits perfectly with Gigamon to create a story for our customers. We generally combine Gigamon with other security tools to create cost-effective, end-to-end projects free from performance concerns.

Gigamon: Where do you see the trends in network security and visibility in three years’ time?

Arda: Cloud and hybrid visibility is a must-have today and will be an even more urgent need in three years, especially for visibility in Docker and Kubernetes infrastructures.

Gigamon: Provide an anecdote that customers share when they talk about our products and your products and services.

Arda: During a presentation at a government-based customer site, I explained inline and out-of-band features and Gigamon’s capabilities. At the end of the presentation, the company’s CISO asked, “How many physical devices should I order to have all of these features?” The answer was simple: one device. I cannot find a word to describe the look of surprise on her face!

Gigamon: What is the most memorable moment associated with Gigamon as a partner?

Arda: After our first purchase order, I opened the box of a Gigamon HC-2 in a room of account managers, before we sent it out to a customer site. A new colleague said, “OMG! Is it really an orange network device?”

Gigamon: How is your relationship with your related Gigamon sales engineer and sales teams during pre-sales and post-sales processes?

Arda: I cannot describe it as merely a partner-vendor relationship! We always have fun during projects and have absolute trust in each other, like close friends. Through this partnership, we are consistently motivated to develop new opportunities and projects. No matter if we lose or win, we always know we are in this together. 

Gigamon: Thanks, Arda, for making time for us and for being such a wonderful partner!