Kaspersky: The Next $1 Billion Security Software Company?

The Kaspersky Lab 2012 North American Partner Conference kicked off this morning in the Bahamas. The VAR Guy swam ashore just in time for the kick-off keynote, which covered secure endpoint connectivity amid the age of mobility, cloud computing and virtualization (yup, VMware is here, too). Also, Kaspersky Lab CFO Dave Eggers (seated, right) said the company is seeking $750 million in bookings for 2012, and $1 billion in bookings for 2014. But will Kaspersky Lab launch and IPO? Here are keynote highlights so far…

On stage now: North America channel leaders Nancy Reynolds (Senior VP, corporate sales), Jean Lozano (VP, corporate marketing( and Chris Doggett (VP, channel sales)…

• Kaspersky has generated nine consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, Reynolds said.
• Momentum, loyalty and opportunity are three themes Doggett and Lozano mentioned to attendees.
• Big goal is to be the most valuable play for partners in the security space, Doggett said.
• The plan is to go broader and deeper with partners, with more details from Doggett during Saturday breakouts.

On stage now: Steve Orenberg, president, Kaspersky Lab North America…

• Growth statistics live on this blog in a minute
• North America: “We’re really strong in all areas of the business.” Orenberg said Kaspersky’s B2B endpoint security business in North America is up 28 percent while most rivals are down, according to Gartner stats Kaspersky mentioned.
• Orenberg specifically pointed to Jean Lozano, Chris Doggett and Chris Gaebler as key recent hires that will push Kaspersky Lab forward.

On stage now: Dave Eggers, CFO, Kaspersky Lab…

• Eggers mentioned double-digit growth opportunities in the secure content and threat management (SCTM) markets.
• Watch for product updates in endpoint encryption, network access control, messaging DLP, secure email encryption, application firewalls and Web DLP
• Kaspersky’s annual revenue was $612 million in 2011, up from $538 million in 2010 and up from $105 million in 2007. That’s a five-year compound annual growth rate of 42 percent.
• “Rest assured, B2B is our strategic focus,” said Eggers, mentioning that Kaspersky Lab had started out in the consumer market.
• Eggers said Kaspersky is seeking $750 million in bookings for 2012, and $1 billion in bookings by 2014.
• The company is profitable and has plenty of cash. Strategically, rather than pursuing a big M&A, Kaspersky has been using some of its cash for a share buyback program. The number of shareholders in the company has therefore gone down.
• CEO Eugene Kaspersky has said the company is focused on remaining private, CFO Eggers noted. Also, Eggers pointed to other great privately held brands like Hilton, IDC and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

That’s all for now. The VAR Guy will post additional live updates from the Kaspersky Lab conference throughout the day. Including some chatter about Kaspersky Lab working with VMware…