Ansys to tackle consumer protection

JSE-listed technology group Ansys has started building a consumer business focused largely on products that protect personal information, according to CEO Teddy Daka.

“The idea is to scale it and to give it its own character … because our business is not designed around B2C [business to consumer], it’s designed around B2B [business to business],” he said.

Ansys, which was initially established as a defence firm, is predominantly focused on making products for companies in the rail, mining, industrial, telecommunications and defence sectors.

Its foray into consumer products includes the launch of a password “vault” in the form of a USB device that allows consumers to store and synchronise up to 2,000 passwords.

“At the moment we are selling it via the internet but [Ansys’s marketing team] is looking at how they can take it further once we do a hard launch through other distribution channels. It’s a product that is scalable, you can put it on Amazon or Takealot because it’s plug and play,” Daka said.

Ansys also plans to offer consumers an e-mail encryption product that it has sold mainly to the government and private organisations. “We’re trying to sell that straight to the consumer with the value proposition that you can encrypt your communications,” Daka said.

Additionally, consumers would be able to purchase Ansys’s encrypted communications platform, which was capable of delivering e-mails, voice and video calls.

Daka said most consumers still thought of physical file safety rather than the protection of personal data, although this was expected to change.

“Now, your files are digital, they’re on your mobile phone and in the cloud and they can be [accessed from] anywhere.”

Meanwhile, Daka said Ansys also wanted to sell its B2B products in new sectors, including energy, retail and banking.