Specialist
Former C-Suite at Forcepoint LLC
Agenda
- Core revenue drivers across cloud, network and data security segments
- Competitive landscape analysis, discussing Forecepoint’s lower profitability than peers
- Customer base segmentation and contribution across enterprise and government
- Go-to-market strategies and partner channel dynamics
- Personnel and leadership impacts post separation from Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX)
Questions
1.
How would you describe Forcepoint’s evolution from being more on the network security side to other areas of cybersecurity?
2.
A PE firm acquired Forcepoint from Raytheon Technologies in January 2021. How did that separation work out? Did that accelerate Forcepoint’s evolution or shift in focus?
3.
As you mentioned, there was a workforce reduction and a turnover of the executive teams in some cases as a result of Forcepoint’s separation from Raytheon. Do you think there was a loss of key personnel on the product or sales sides that may have impacted Forcepoint’s growth trajectory?
4.
How did the market react to the shift from the user behaviour focus or human-centric approach to a more data-centric approach? What perception did Forcepoint hold within the market? Did that shift in any way with the company’s change in approach or strategy?
5.
By the time you left Forcepoint, the customer base was segmented into government and enterprise. Was there a dramatic shift in the number of government vs enterprise customers in the couple of years before you left the company?
6.
Forcepoint’s government side had quite healthy numbers from an ACV [annual contract value] perspective. How small or large could a contract go? What was the usual range with a typical government customer?
7.
What were the actual criteria to be an enterprise customer from Forcepoint’s perspective? Was it on a number of employees or minimum-contract-size basis?
8.
Fitch Ratings is forecasting a low-to-mid-single-digit annual organic revenue growth rate for Forcepoint. Would you say that is somewhat reasonable compared to what you saw while you were at the company, in terms of new logo acquisition and cross- and upselling to existing customers?
9.
On the profitability side, Fitch has highlighted Forcepoint as one of the players with lower EBITDA margins than its peers in recent years. Why do you think that’s happened? Is it just what we have been discussing, so the never-ending discussions on how to address the long tail or how to target enterprise customers without sacrificing margins?
10.
Regarding the customer base and the cross- and upselling aspect, was Forcepoint able to expand wallet share with existing customers well, at least while you were at the company? How successful was it in product bundling after a certain time with the customer?
11.
When comparing ACVs from government and enterprise, would you say enterprise is bringing in larger ACVs, or is it just a greater range on that side from very low to high?
12.
We discussed that the competitive landscape is extremely tough and very competitive. Given Forcepoint’s positioning with government customers, is that where the company faced less competition and was better-positioned?
13.
When Forcepoint was going to market to acquire new customers on the network security and data security sides, was there one product that the company tended to lead with, due to it being stronger or better-perceived by the market at the time?
14.
A lot of cybersecurity vendors will leverage the indirect channel through MSPs [managed service providers] and so on. Would you say that Forcepoint was more reliant on direct or indirect while you were at the company, or was it just a 50/50 split?
15.
Is there anything about Forcepoint that we didn’t touch on that is worth highlighting? What are your concluding remarks on the company?
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