Tech Chat – July 2020
Are they watching you?
This week, we consider cybersecurity, legal tech and the adoption of tech in property in law. Finally, we wonder what people are really wearing on Zoom calls…
We focus on cybersecurity and legal tech this week as we’ve seen Intercede’s insightful Tech Lockdown Demo, an encouraging briefing from GRC International, and note the performance of Chinese quantum cybersecurity firm QuantumCTek’s IPO. Meanwhile, we expect property and law to accelerate their adoption of technology with ULS and Essensys set to benefit, and finally wonder what people are really wearing on Zoom calls…
Intercede show why they’re the best in protecting our digital identities – In our latest finnCap Tech Lockdown Demo, Intercede delivered a thorough product Demo that demonstrated how and why their MyID solution is far superior to dated password and SMS protection. In response to client demand, we expect that they’ll be able to see strong growth as they move from their most secure PKI protection to expand their addressable market into the rapidly growing “FIDO” mobile authentication market. We’ll let you know when a link to the Demo is live on our research portal, and join us on Wednesday 15th for a look at IQGeo’s geospatial software.
GRC International look set for recovery and growth – On a similar cybersecurity theme, we spoke to GRC International, who are seeing a strong recovery after the initial impacts of COVID-19. By offering a platform for enterprises that combines e-learning with cybersecurity solutions, GRC looks set to benefit from greater SaaS revenue, and from refocusing the business after the decline in the GDPR market through 2019. Give us a call if you’d like more detail.
Chinese quantum cybersecurity company QuantumCTek saw its share price increase by 10x as it IPOs – Elsewhere in cybersecurity, yesterday QuantumCTek issued shares on the Shanghai Star market at 36.18 yuan, and closed at 370 yuan with a $4.2bn valuation. It’s focused on delivering network security solutions based on quantum technology, and its valuation now looks a little stretched as in 2019 it generated $37m of revenue, and $7m of net income according to FactSet. We imagine Britain’s own Cambridge Quantum Computing would be happy with a similar valuation.
Property and law have rightly or wrongly been seen as the slower professions to adopt technology. Essensys has shown how tech can accommodate flexible working practices for even the oldest of property estates; and Legal Tech is showing encouraging signs as Farewill raises £20m, and ULS’ DigitalMove continues to gain traction – With more legal firms working remotely, we expect there are likely to be many opportunities for innovative solutions that help existing legal firms, and/or disrupt the need for a face to face service. UK startup Farewill is one such example, and has raised £20m to invest in its platform, which enables people to write online wills, organise probate services, and order cremations. ULS’ DigitalMove is a similarly innovative solution in legal tech, and the team there have been working hard to boost awareness of what DigitalMove can do throughout lockdown. With a recovering housing market, we expect to see exciting progress for DigitalMove and ULS into 2021. We look forward to further opportunities involved with the automation of the legal process.
What the other half is wearing – As we’ve become used to seeing only half of people on video calls we came across this survey. It suggests that c12% of people are rarely or never wearing legwear (trousers, skirts or shorts) while working from home. So 1 in 9 of the people you speak to on Zoom or Teams may actually be wearing very little below the shirt, and if this is you, we’d suggest at least investing in a webcam cover and cybersecurity products like Intego from Kape, as when you stand up you never know who might be watching.
Happy Friday