Markus Bauer’s Blueprint for Cyber Defense at Acronis

Discover how Acronis is leveraging AI and ML to combat cyber threats in the EMEA region. Learn about Markus Bauer’s strategies and insights on cybersecurity trends and partnership building.

In an ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats, staying ahead of the curve requires more than just cutting-edge technology; it demands visionary leadership and effective communication. Markus Bauer, Senior Technology Evangelist EMEA at Acronis Germany GmbH, exemplifies this balance. 

In this interview, Bauer shares his insights on how Acronis is leveraging AI and machine learning to tackle emerging cyber threats, the unique challenges of operating in the diverse EMEA region, and the strategies he employs to foster strong partnerships and drive technology adoption. His role at Acronis is pivotal in promoting innovative solutions and shaping the future of cyber protection across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

What are your primary responsibilities as Senior Technology Evangelist at Acronis, and how do they support the company’s business objectives?

As Senior Technology Evangelist at Acronis, my primary responsibility is to bridge the gap between our innovative solutions and the needs of our partners and customers across the EMEA region. I focus on educating our partners about Acronis’s products and services, ensuring they fully understand our value to their businesses. By doing so, I help drive the adoption of our technologies, which in turn contributes to the overall growth and success of Acronis. My efforts are aligned with the company’s business objectives, particularly in expanding our footprint in the EMEA region and ensuring that our partners are well-equipped to meet the evolving cybersecurity needs of their clients.

What strategies do you use to promote technology adoption in EMEA, and what are the biggest challenges?

Promoting the adoption of new technologies in the EMEA region requires a multifaceted approach. I focus on building strong relationships with our partners, providing them with the necessary tools and knowledge to implement and leverage Acronis’s solutions effectively. This includes conducting regular training sessions, webinars, and workshops tailored to the specific needs of different regional markets. One of the biggest challenges I face is navigating the diverse regulatory environments and varying levels of technological maturity across the EMEA countries. To address this, I ensure our messaging is adaptable and relevant to each market, emphasizing the unique benefits that Acronis’s solutions can bring to different industries and regions.

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How do you communicate Acronis’s solutions and tailor messaging to different audiences?

Effective communication is key to my role. I prioritize understanding our partners’ and customers’ unique challenges and pain points, which allows me to tailor my messaging to address their needs. For partners, I emphasize the business opportunities that come with adopting Acronis’s solutions, such as the potential for increased revenue and enhanced customer satisfaction. For customers, I focus on the benefits of our solutions’ security and efficiency, particularly in safeguarding their critical data. 

How are AI and machine learning shaping cybersecurity, and how is Acronis leveraging them to stay ahead?

Emerging technologies like AI and machine learning transform cybersecurity by empowering defenders and giving attackers new tools to automate, scale, and personalize attacks. AI and large language models (LLMs) have lowered the barrier for cyberattacks, enabling attackers to generate convincing phishing emails and business email compromise (BEC) schemes with ease. This surge of sophisticated threats is overwhelming many organizations, and our partners, MSPs, underline that small and medium-sized businesses, especially, often need more resources to defend themselves effectively. 

To address these challenges, Acronis leverages AI-driven threat detection tools that provide rapid, accurate analysis of patterns and sender behavior. At the same time, human expertise adds essential context and intuition that AI alone might lack. Acronis has been leveraging these technologies since 2017, starting with AI for anomaly detection and expanding to tools like the AI-based Static File Analyzer to identify new malware variations. We’ve integrated AI and ML across multiple layers of our security solutions, from behavior analysis to detecting hardware failures, ensuring proactive monitoring and swift response to threats. 

The development of generative AI has enabled us to introduce new tools like a Tech Support ChatBot and AI-based EDR incident summaries, improving the speed and clarity of threat responses. Looking ahead, we plan to launch Acronis Copilot, a generative AI-based assistant that will aid MSP admins in managing and mitigating security incidents more efficiently. This AI-powered assistant will help security analysts by providing contextual insights into incidents, suggesting remediation steps, and facilitating threat hunting through natural language queries. 

Acronis Copilot will improve decision-making and strategy formulation by quickly delivering relevant information and visualizing alert histories. Integrating AI into our Advanced Security solution enhances threat detection, incident investigation, and response capabilities. Additionally, AI-driven automation supports day-to-day operations, streamlines managed services and reduces the time required for scripting and troubleshooting.

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What key cyber protection trends are you seeing in EMEA, and how is Acronis addressing them?

Recent cyber threats in the region have included ransomware campaigns, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and phishing attacks, particularly affecting the energy, manufacturing, healthcare, and financial sectors. These attacks are often designed to disrupt critical operations or steal sensitive data, posing serious risks to the region’s economic stability and national security.

In the EMEA region, we are witnessing a significant rise in malware and ransomware threats, with countries like Bahrain, Egypt, and Germany being the most targeted. According to our recently issued Cyberthreats Report H1 2024, ransomware detections increased by 32% from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, with LockBit, BlackBasta, and PLAY being the most active groups. This trend particularly concerns small and medium-sized businesses and critical sectors like healthcare and government. If we look at normalized malware detection by countries, France, Germany, and Spain are among the top 3 targeted by the EMEA region.

How do you build strong, successful partnerships with Acronis’s EMEA partners?

Building strong partnerships requires trust, communication, and a deep understanding of our partners’ needs and goals. I work closely with our partners to ensure they have the support they need to succeed, whether it’s through training, marketing resources, or technical assistance. A successful partnership benefits both parties, which is achieved by aligning our solutions with our partners’ business objectives. By demonstrating Acronis’s value to its customers, we help our partners grow their businesses while expanding our presence in the market.

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How do you see the role of a technology evangelist evolving, and what skills will be essential for success?

As technology continues to evolve, the role of a technology evangelist will become even more critical in helping organizations navigate these changes. In the future, I believe the role will require a greater emphasis on continuous learning, adaptability, and the ability to anticipate and respond to emerging trends. Communication skills will remain essential, but there will also be a growing need for technical expertise and the ability to translate complex concepts into actionable insights for different audiences. Building strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders will also be key to staying ahead in this fast-paced environment.