The SESAMES Awards Ceremony took place this 5th November 2012 at the Westin Hotel, close to the famous “Place de la Concorde” in Paris. The ceremony was animated by Alex Taylor and introduced by Isabelle Alfano, Exhibition Director.
CARTES is pleased to present an exclusive interview of M. Charly Rohart, General Manager of RCDEVS and lucky prize winner of the “Discovery” category of the SESAMES Awards.
Bonjour Monsieur Charly Rohart, thank you so much for accepting this interview, just after receiving a 2012 SESAMES Award, and please receive our warmest congratulations.
INTRODUCTION
CARTES: We would like to know your first feelings and thoughts after receiving this prestigious award?
Charly Rohart: I come from a small French town and have been managing a very young start-up that develops software and architecture solutions for Internet for only two years. Coming to Paris and receiving such a prestigious award in a competition in which major key industrials participate is just fantastic and unbelievable.
This award will help us build our brand awareness and improve our reputation. Up until now, key accounts were looking at our solutions with interest but were still hesitating in dealing with us.
This award will accelerate our development for sure. Most SMEs in France do not participate in major competitions like the SESAMES Awards because they are convinced that they don’t stand a chance in front of well known industrials.
STRATEGY
CARTES: Your company was created in 2010 and is based in Yutz, a village where people are called “yussois” near Metz. Could you say a few words about Yutz and the specificities of the region? How many people work in the company today?
Charly Rohart: We are based in “Yutz” because it is where the adventure took off. We are 4 engineers involved in this project. Yutz is a strategic because it's very close to our Luxemburg prospects and customers from the financial market. Three of us develop the solutions and the last one sells them.
CARTES: We saw on your Linkedin profile that you were looking for partners to develop the company. What sort of partners?
Charly Rohart: You are well informed and we are looking for integrators and commercial retailers in order to accelerate the deployment of our solutions in the financial institution and SME markets.
We have been approached by American companies interested in authentication issue solutions for their end-users.
PRODUCT POSITIONING
CARTES: Your product called “OPEN OTP / TiQR” server addresses strong authentication / identification solutions on Internet environment for mobile security questions. Who are your present customers (Telco, banks, PSP, etc.)?
Charly Rohart: Our solutions were downloaded for free during the last two years. Small and medium companies are using them on a restricted registration user mode as they are adapted for almost all types of environments. We have integrated forty customers in our platform but for security reasons, our customers do not allow us to communicate their names.
CARTES: As you know, one of the main questions on Internet security is the customer’s enrollment process. Could you explain how your architecture solution covers this feature? Who’s playing the third trust party in case of claims from customers (end users)?
Charly Rohart: The enrollment is a critical phase in security. We use tokens and QR codes that are adapted solutions for mobile environments and easy to deploy on a mass market. Our customers have the choice to handle our solutions in their own environment or to let us manage the solutions from our platform. The platform has been audited and passed the security issue tests.
CARTES: Your solution supports various devices (mobile phones, Tablet PC, PC, etc..) in several environments (Java, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Android, etc.) using tokens and QR codes. Do you believe it is the right time for the market in France and worldwide to deploy mobile payments with strong authentication solutions?
Charly Rohart:
Every year, industrials try to influence the market this way. In fact, key accounts are more and more concerned by security issues and deployment of authentication solutions for their customers as they are often attacked by hackers. Most of the SMEs that downloaded our solutions for free did it for this main reason. Another aspect of the question is the development of mobile applications. Players need security in order to preserve the integrity of their systems and stay credible.
CARTES: Do you plan on extending your sales’ strategy in Europe or U.S.A for instance with a local partnership or directly?
Charly Rohart: We are too small to face the market outside France, which is why we are looking for integrators and retailers. However, our customers are in Europe today and tomorrow they will be in USA and Asia.
CARTES: For those who would like to see a product demonstration, will you be present during the three days at CARTES 2012?
Charly Rohart: We are not present with a booth this year but I will stay until Wednesday in Paris. Next year, we will be present for the three days. Our website provides information on our solutions.
In the name of CARTES 2012 we thank you very much for this exclusive interview and wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
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