MK Balaji: A Challenge Loving Leader At The Cutting Edge Of Cybersecurity Industry
MK Balaji
CEO
What inspires and motivates you to face the constant challenges associated with the cybersecurity industry?
My childhood was full of ambitions and challenges. I learned how to turn problems into desired goals from my father and other great visionaries. My father died when I was a child, and I was raised by my mother, who instilled in me confidence and tenacity. She taught me how to deal with rejection and how to strike a balance between achievement and failure. I'm married to Pradeepa, a strong pillar in my life who helped us launch our company and is in charge of HR and compliance.
The business has always been an interest of mine since I was a child. Every time I think of TATA, I'm reminded of the legacy they've established and the significant contributions they've made to society. This has always been in the back of my mind, inspiring me to pursue my inner calling and see how I can contribute value to my life and the lives of those around me.
By virtue of experience, I happened to see diverse challenges in the
threat vectors and vulnerabilities which questions the very fundamental philosophy of Information Security values, safety and security. Emerging technologies are giving hope to the hacking methods and exploitative. It is an interesting and challenging field where the human minds collaborate with artificial intelligence to protect the human ecosystem across all spheres. Different case studies on social engineering attacks, malware, spyware, Ransomware,Enterprise network architecture vulnerabilities, hacking methodologies and approaches, CIA spheres draw immense attention to up-keep ourselves in the day-to-day challenges of the techno innovative world where'the human kind always feel vulnerable'. I keep on learning on a daily basis to understand new threat vectors, challenges, exploits, vulnerabilities and how best I can work with my clients to ensure that their data, information and systems are well secured, protected and especially cyber resilience.
What different roles & responsibilities have you been undertaking at Laya tech, and what are the key drivers that you deploy to ensure that the company's resources and operations are used appropriately to meet its short/long term needs?
Entrepreneurship was not just a decision made in one day it was a tangle of emotions that I had been weaving since childhood to establish a sustainable enterprise that would grow based on its quality and standards, allowing astute minds and talents to be engaged in creating technological marvels and determining how best we could contribute to society. Despite COVID disruption since 2020, seven years of entrepreneurship in an ever changing technology is not an easy game. Unless you construct a company that transitionsfrom startup to body corporate, there is no precise position that you can choose to perform.
In general, many entrepreneurs' brains are filled with a strong desire to produce something new, innovative, and longterm sustainable outcomes, therefore leaving a legacy. Having stated that, in a startup, an entrepreneur must assume all duties and responsibilities. One of the essential factors that keep you moving and engaged to assure excellence as an inner calling is your ability to thrive in difficult situations. The essential drivers include forming the right team, establishing the right business mentality, proper delegation, desired goals, structure
At Kanodia Group, we are trying to match up the rising demand for cement in the country without compromising on quality, while generating employ ment opportunities for the local population
What different roles & responsibilities have you been undertaking at Laya tech, and what are the key drivers that you deploy to ensure that the company's resources and operations are used appropriately to meet its short/long term needs?
Entrepreneurship was not just a decision made in one day it was a tangle of emotions that I had been weaving since childhood to establish a sustainable enterprise that would grow based on its quality and standards, allowing astute minds and talents to be engaged in creating technological marvels and determining how best we could contribute to society. Despite COVID disruption since 2020, seven years of entrepreneurship in an ever changing technology is not an easy game. Unless you construct a company that transitionsfrom startup to body corporate, there is no precise position that you can choose to perform.
In general, many entrepreneurs' brains are filled with a strong desire to produce something new, innovative, and longterm sustainable outcomes, therefore leaving a legacy. Having stated that, in a startup, an entrepreneur must assume all duties and responsibilities. One of the essential factors that keep you moving and engaged to assure excellence as an inner calling is your ability to thrive in difficult situations. The essential drivers include forming the right team, establishing the right business mentality, proper delegation, desired goals, structure
and procedures, adaptability and agility.
What were the initial challenges that you faced during your leadership journey and how did you manage to achieve success in the later phase?
Problems are a part of life for any entre preneur. Every day will be a challenge for any entrepreneur, regardless of their level of success. What is clear, however, is that those who can retain their focus and Never Give Up attitude with perseve rance will reap the most benefits.
The most difficult task I have faced was establishing a brand in a specialized space in a competitive arena.When the technological commercial world changes by the minute, technical know how and how I could offer value to my client's business objectives were at the top of my daily agenda. Finding clients, engaging them by value driven, and competing against aggressive competition are all continual tasks.
How do you align your organization with your vision and mission?How do you generate great ideas in your organization?
Embrace your people and values, diversity and new experiences.The primary consistent factors enabling us to ritually engage with our clients and create qualitative service excellence are watching the business arena with an intuitive mind, stepping out of your comfort zone, being bold and competitive customer experience. Our team may develop creative ideas and thrive for more by cultivating learning dispositions and habits of mind with a growth mindset.
Which are some of the key milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction both as an individual and as a CEO & Founder?
Growth is intense, and we all see it regularly. We started our company with just the founders, but now we have over 50 people and are growing. We have offices in Bangalore, Noida, and Sydney, Australia, and are intending to open in Malaysia as well. Customer Success is the Key and thrive to add values from services offered create a difference in the competitive arena to survive. Beyond all, your passion drives your soul!
MK Balaji, CEO, Laya Tech
During his 20+ years of corporate experience, MK Balaji has managed multi-disciplinary, sales, technical, pre-sales, operations, delivery, and projects teams. He is currently the head of strategy and business development for Laya Tech. He is currently pursuing Business Management and Information Technology and have earned several certifications, including Check Point Certified Security Administrator, Cisco Certified Network Associate, Cisco Certified Network Professional (Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks BCMSN), MCP Exchange server, MCP Active directory, ITIL, Prince 2 and certification such as CEH, CISSP, Comptia, etc., many more on the cards.
What were the initial challenges that you faced during your leadership journey and how did you manage to achieve success in the later phase?
Problems are a part of life for any entre preneur. Every day will be a challenge for any entrepreneur, regardless of their level of success. What is clear, however, is that those who can retain their focus and Never Give Up attitude with perseve rance will reap the most benefits.
The most difficult task I have faced was establishing a brand in a specialized space in a competitive arena.When the technological commercial world changes by the minute, technical know how and how I could offer value to my client's business objectives were at the top of my daily agenda. Finding clients, engaging them by value driven, and competing against aggressive competition are all continual tasks.
How do you align your organization with your vision and mission?How do you generate great ideas in your organization?
Embrace your people and values, diversity and new experiences.The primary consistent factors enabling us to ritually engage with our clients and create qualitative service excellence are watching the business arena with an intuitive mind, stepping out of your comfort zone, being bold and competitive customer experience. Our team may develop creative ideas and thrive for more by cultivating learning dispositions and habits of mind with a growth mindset.
Which are some of the key milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction both as an individual and as a CEO & Founder?
Growth is intense, and we all see it regularly. We started our company with just the founders, but now we have over 50 people and are growing. We have offices in Bangalore, Noida, and Sydney, Australia, and are intending to open in Malaysia as well. Customer Success is the Key and thrive to add values from services offered create a difference in the competitive arena to survive. Beyond all, your passion drives your soul!
MK Balaji, CEO, Laya Tech
During his 20+ years of corporate experience, MK Balaji has managed multi-disciplinary, sales, technical, pre-sales, operations, delivery, and projects teams. He is currently the head of strategy and business development for Laya Tech. He is currently pursuing Business Management and Information Technology and have earned several certifications, including Check Point Certified Security Administrator, Cisco Certified Network Associate, Cisco Certified Network Professional (Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks BCMSN), MCP Exchange server, MCP Active directory, ITIL, Prince 2 and certification such as CEH, CISSP, Comptia, etc., many more on the cards.