Great opportunity to grow in India: Microsoft-backed Rubrik’s CTO

This week, Palo Alto-based data security company Rubrik is targeting a valuation of $5.44 billion in its initial public offering. The Microsoft-backed company is aiming to sell 23 million shares to raise $713 million, as first reported by Reuters. 

In a conversation with TechCircle, Arvind Nithrakashyap, Rubrik’s chief technology officer and co-founder said that Rubrik’s offerings help in protecting enterprise while ensuring ease of backup and recovery. Nithrakashyap aka Nitro also said that the deluge of data and increase in the number of ransomware attacks has made companies highly conscious of their data security posture in addition to the network and infrastructure security.

“In the last five years, the number of cyber-attacks has gone through the roof. Ransomware attacks increased, most of which occur because bad actors have access to your data. Data security is becoming front and center of any cyber resilience strategy. 50% of IT leaders feel data security is a big missing piece in their security position,” he said. Rubrik’s own study has shown that 34% of Indian IT leaders feel that their ability tp manage risk to data security has not kept in pace with their growth in data. 

To be sure, data security market size is estimated at $28.88 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $68.29 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 18.78% during the forecast period, a report by Mordor Intelligence has shown. 

Rubrik has over 5,000 customers around the world including names such as PepsiCo, NetApp, GSK, and Sephora. It has a headcount of 3,500 with 1,000 of them working in India offices. In 2021, Microsoft bought a stake in Rubrik, expanding on an existing partnership. While the size of Microsoft wasn’t announced, it is reported to be about $4 billion. 

In India, Rubrik started its operations in 2017. “We recognised the potential of Indian talent much early on. It is now our biggest site. The entire cloud-native protection suite was built in our India center,” said Nitro. While he did not share details, Nitro said that India is amidst massive digital transformation which offers Rubrik an opportunity to grow here.