Around two years ago I started closely watching the developments of Greece as a potential Cyber Security hub through the lens of TheGreekAnalyst on twitter and multiple other resources. A few things became apparent, Greece was 1) readying itself for digital transformation through partnerships with Microsoft, 2) investing heavily in fiber optics infrastructure, and 3) bringing in a technocratic minister for the Ministry of Digitization (Kyriakos Pierrakakis).
These developments came at a time when we at NVISO were starting to ramp things up for the NVISO MDR (managed detection and response) service, which would eventually require 24x7 support. The basic requirements to make NVISO MDR 24x7 support a success story would be the following:
- Reasonable Government Policies Regarding 24x7 Shift work
- Stable internet infrastructure
- Familiarity with our technology sets (Azure, AWS)
- A solid pool of talent
- English Literacy
- Cost Effective
We found every one of those requirements in Greece and launched NVISO Greece in 2022. We have had a level of success far greater than what we expected. In 2022 we expected to hire around 20 individuals in Greece, however, we are on track to hire around 60 by January 2023.
At NVISO we had almost no problems locating solid talent, and this was largely due to a few factors.
One factor was that the CEO of HTB (HackTheBox), Haris Pylarinos, is in Greece and there are a significant number of young professionals and university students who are active on the platform. This is creating an extremely talented community of professionals in Greece. Moreover, from the perspective of SOC, I have a number of members on my team with 0-2 years of experience who understand ethical hacking fundamentals. Additionally, there is a number of seasoned professionals in Greece already who are looking for a chance to work in multi-national firms.
A second factor, from my own perspective and experiences, is that these young professionals are extremely determined to prove themselves at NVISO. I believe this is due to the hardships they have suffered during the economic crisis that makes them resilient and hardworking. A lot of them are looking to work next to the best professionals in the world, and are motivated by learning and development opportunities, and not just a salary. These observations are based on my own experience, but I do believe any multi-national company would have the same experience.
Based on these factors, if you are a firm looking to expand your talent sourcing center, I would suggest that you look to Greece for your next expansion.
Comments