Safaricom has announced its venture into the cybersecurity space with a new product. The telco, which is known for its carrier services and mobile money products, announced this development that will primarily target Kenyan firms that are in need of robust and local cybersecurity solutions.
Safaricom, which has since seen a drop in its market share to 64 percent thanks to the growth of Telkom and Airtel Kenya, is diversifying its trade with the new service that will also target financial firms that have reported loss of money to online criminals. In particular, Safaricom says that its solution will primary secure services such as emails and websites, as well as counter vulnerabilities and perform IT audits.
This is not an entirely new concept as there are tens of local and international companies doing the same thing in the country. However, it is the first time a mobile carrier has launched a service that is not ordinarily associated with mobile phone services. At the same time, it is not surprising as the telco has never shied away from venturing into new businesses as we have seen in the case of music streaming, NFC-enabled payments or even e-commerce services.
The launch of Safaricom’s cybersecurity wouldn’t have come at a better than as reports by IT firms such as Serianu imply that organizations such as Saccos are most hit by cyber criminals, losing billions of shillings in the process.
The product was made official by Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore who highlighted that it would target customers dealing in financial services and transport.
“We realize that customers all have unique needs and different budget levels. Our I.T cybersecurity solutions are designed to cater to each customer’s needs so that they can get the best value and strategically select their solutions. We are excited to see that the solution is gathering interest with some of our customers in the financial services and transport industries already signing up for the service,” noted Mr Collymore.
Similar to competing products, Safaricom’s solution is available in a range of prices based on a user’s budget and requirements, and will also include Managed Security Solutions, Security Assurance, and Advisory services as well as Managed Security Operations Center solutions.
