Video: 10 Minute IT Jams - An update from Aqua Security

Cloud computing is reshaping the way organisations operate. As demand for more agile, secure and efficient digital services climbs, cloud-native security is becoming a cornerstone for businesses globally. Rob D'Amico, Area Vice President for APEC and Japan at Aqua Security, spoke exclusively to Timber IT Jams about his company's unique approach in this fast-growing sector and what sets it apart from the competition.

D'Amico's motivations for joining Aqua Security were plain: "It's pretty obvious that customers are moving to the cloud," he said. "The reason they're doing this is really to compete in a global digital world." He explained that, much like individuals, modern customers demand more from their service providers—more reliability, speed and innovation. Whether the context is banking, utilities, or healthcare, end-users increasingly expect on-the-go access to digital services.

He highlighted a crucial issue with the status quo. "Software development is quickly transforming and moving faster. Traditional security tools really aren't effective in the new world environments," he noted. The shift to cloud-native technology is happening at breakneck speed. Quoting a recent industry report, D'Amico shared, "We've crossed a threshold where 51% of all cloud-native applications are being built in the cloud, or with cloud-native tools. In 2025, they reckon that number's going to go to 95%. That's significant."

For D'Amico, the opportunity was too big to pass up. "When I got given the opportunity to join this innovative company, I jumped at it," he said. He revealed three key factors influenced his decision: market opportunity, cultural fit, and the assurance that the company's product truly met market needs.

So what makes Aqua Security unique in a market crowded with cyber security firms, all vying for relevance in the age of cloud? D'Amico identified three pillars: people, process, and platform. He explained, "It's the people—not just those who work for Aqua but also our ecosystem partners, our system integrators, and the whole community we're building around us."

He continued, "The processes we're working with customers on help to understand the maturity model, and then, of course, it's our platform." The centrepiece is a unified platform, which D'Amico asserted gives customers confidence that their investment will reduce complexity and total cost of ownership while providing extensibility and longevity. He underlined the shift in customer sentiment: "No customer today says to a vendor, 'I want to buy a new point product.' They're after a platform that will help them remove additional products so they get better scale on the new platforms they're buying."

What truly sets the Aqua platform apart, D'Amico argued, is its comprehensiveness. "It gives the customer a way to manage and secure their entire software development pipeline, from build to test to the point to run," he explained. "No other vendor in the market does that."

He offered an example: Aqua's policy and posture management module, which lets the company share real-time policies with its enforcement technology. "That allows us to give our customers the upward guarantee which no one else can give—because we do the whole suite," he said.

Pressed on what this guarantee means for customers, D'Amico outlined a simple but compelling philosophy: "There's no better way for a vendor to demonstrate their capability and commitment to a customer than to guarantee that their products are fit for purpose in their production environments." The so-called "Aqua guarantee" aims to stop cloud-native attacks without disrupting business operations. "There are two key factors to that: first, the customer needs to buy into the whole Aqua unified platform strategy and the runtime protection modules. Then, more importantly, they have to use one of our certified partners to ensure best practice standards as we deploy that technology."

Underscoring the real-world impact, he said, "Customers don't buy a product for the hell of it. They fundamentally buy it to meet a business outcome."

Looking to the future, D'Amico has ambitious plans for Aqua Security in the Asia-Pacific region. "It's pretty simple at a high level," he began, noting that certain countries—including Australia, New Zealand and Singapore—are leading the digital transformation, spurred on by government initiatives. "As part of our growth strategy, we're also heavily involved and investing in the countries that are leading the charge—not just from a sales perspective, but also in terms of alliances, partnerships, the way we service and support our customers."

He is adamant that the company's progress in the region will be rooted in collaboration. "We can't do it alone," he admitted. "We've spent a lot of time investing in channels, alliances and really making sure that we actually grow that community." This focus on partnership and ecosystem-building, D'Amico believes, is key to delivering on customer expectations.

For those seeking to engage with Aqua Security, D'Amico pointed to the company's active presence on LinkedIn. "It's exciting times here at Aqua. If people follow me, they'll see that I'm constantly posting jobs out on the market—not just for this region but for every region. We're posting jobs all the time," he said, adding that opportunities also exist for prospective partners interested in the cloud-native security space.

As the interview drew to a close, D'Amico left listeners with a clear sense of mission. "There's plenty of opportunity here for working with Aqua," he said.