Lead Analyst & Chief Technology Officer

Alexei Balaganski

Alexei is an analyst with specific focus on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. At KuppingerCole, he covers a broad range of security-related topics: from database, application and API security to security analytics, information protection, and AI-based security automation. Alexei has joined KuppingerCole at 2007 and he also serves as the company's Chief Technology Officer.

His deep technical understanding of modern technologies and solutions allows him to support customers even with the most complex architectural challenges. His experience includes application development, network administration, and information security, which helps him in conducting research of the cybersecurity markets.

Roles & Responsibilities at KuppingerCole

As the KuppingerCole's CTO, Alexei is in charge for the company's IT needs and operations, as well as of R&D and strategic planning in the evolving technology space. He oversees the development and operations of KuppingerCole's internal IT projects that support all areas of the company's business.

As Lead Analyst, Alexei covers a broad range of cybersecurity topics, focusing on such areas as data protection, application security, and security automation among others, publishing research papers, hosting webinars, and appearing at KuppingerCole's conferences. He also provides technical expertise for the company's advisory projects and occasionally supports cybersecurity vendors with their product and market strategies.

Background & Education

Alexei holds a Master's degree in applied mathematics and computer science, majoring in statistics and computational methods. He has worked in IT for over 25 years, in roles ranging from writing code himself to managing software development projects to designing security architectures. He's been covering cybersecurity market trends and technologies as an analyst since 2012.

Areas of coverage

Latest research

Leadership Compass
Data Security Platforms
April 11, 2023
This report provides an overview of the Data Security Platforms market, along with guidance and recommendations for finding the sensitive data protection and governance products that meet your specific requirements. We examine the broad range of technologies involved, vendor product and…
Whitepaper
Considerations for Reducing the Risk of Ransomware
October 20, 2022
In this paper, we will expand our view of ransomware and demonstrate how treating it as an isolated security challenge is not a sustainable approach. We will show why prevention is the best foundation for managing risk and consider some strategies to combat common ransomware tactics. A…
Executive View
Noname API Security Platform
September 27, 2022
The Noname API Security Platform is a unified API security solution that combines proactive API discovery and classification, runtime protection, and API security testing to ensure consistent security coverage for all types of APIs across all on-prem or cloud environments. The platform’s…
Executive View
WSO2 Choreo
August 22, 2022
WSO2 Choreo is a cloud-based fully managed integrated solution for developing, publishing, managing, monitoring, and productizing APIs. Based on a unique pro-code/low-code Ballerina programming language and the company's enterprise-grade API management expertise, Choreo offers a very…
Leadership Compass
Zero Trust Network Access
August 02, 2022
This report is an overview of the market for Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solutions and provides you with a compass to help you to find the solution that best meets your needs. We examine the market segment, vendor service functionality, relative market share, and innovative approaches…
Whitepaper
Why Your Organization Needs Data-centric Security
June 28, 2022
Data-centric security is an alternative approach towards information protection that has emerged as a direct response to the increasingly obvious failure of traditional measures focusing on protecting IT infrastructures. Deceptively simple in theory, it promises to drastically improve…

Latest blog posts

Blog
Securing Tomorrow: Quantum Computing Horizons in Cybersecurity
August 24, 2023
Arthur C. Clarke, the famous English science fiction writer, had once noted that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Back in the 1960s, he was probably thinking about space exploration, which was the hottest and most impressive topic of that decade. Since…
Blog
AI and Cybersecurity: A New Hope for Cyber Defenders?
July 04, 2023
Benjamin Franklin, the famous American statesman (happy 4th of July, by the way!), once claimed: “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. Well, nowadays, there is another certainty for every organization in the world – eventually it will…
Blog
Oracle CloudWorld Impressions
October 26, 2022
Last week, I had an opportunity to visit Oracle CloudWorld, the company’s new flagship conference for customers and partners, which is also the reincarnation of the familiar OpenWorld after the three-year break caused by the Covid pandemic. With the new title and location - the event…
Blog
Do You Really Need a VPN?
October 19, 2022
It looks like we are halfway through the Cybersecurity Awareness Month of October already, and I thought it might be the appropriate time to talk about VPNs. Again. Haven’t we talked about them enough, you might ask? Every time KuppingerCole analysts bring up the topic of Zero…
Blog
The HeatWave is Spreading
September 27, 2022
Just over a month ago, I wrote about the partnership between Oracle Cloud and Microsoft Azure that has finally enabled their customers to create “properly multi-cloud” applications without any hidden costs or limitations of earlier architectures. Well, unfortunately,…
Blog
Who is Afraid of Security Automation?
September 13, 2022
If there is one universally true statement about every organization regardless of size, location, or industry – it is that they all have too many security problems to deal with comfortably and in time. If you believe that you have your cybersecurity well under control, you probably…

Latest videos

Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #189: Decrypting the Future - How Quantum Computing Will Reshape Cybersecurity
September 11, 2023
In this episode, host Matthias Reinwarth is joined by guest Alexei Balaganski to discuss the implications of quantum computing for cybersecurity. The conversation covers the fundamentals of quantum computing and its distinction from classical computing. They also address the immediate and…
Webinar Recording
Using Data Security Platforms in a Modern, Hybrid World
August 18, 2023
Join security experts from KuppingerCole Analysts and Imperva as they discuss the challenges of protecting data distributed across hybrid IT environments, and look at what technologies and services can be combined to meet those challenges effectively and efficiently as a growing number of…
Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #185: A New Hope for Cyber Defenders
August 14, 2023
Alexei Balaganski and Matthias discuss the current state and future of AI in cybersecurity. The conversation explores the role of AI, machine learning, and deep learning in bolstering cybersecurity defenses against evolving threats like malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks. Discover…
Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #177: OWASP 2023 - Web Security Today is API Security
June 19, 2023
Join host Matthias and expert guest Alexei Balaganski in this episode of the KuppingerCole Analyst Chat. They discuss the recently updated Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) API Security Top 10  guidelines and the shifting landscape of web security, highlighting the…
Analyst Chat
Analyst Chat #169: The Future of Data Security
April 17, 2023
In a world where data breaches are becoming more and more frequent, keeping data secure has become an increasingly challenging task. Join Matthias and Alexei Balaganski in this episode as they delve into the current market trends and existing vendors in the data security industry. The…
Webinar Recording
Pioneering Zero Trust Network Access With Intelligent Microsegmentation
March 29, 2023
Adopting a Zero Trust security model of strict identity verification and access control for every user or device is widely accepted as a solution, but many organizations struggle to find the best route to implementing it. Join security experts from KuppingerCole Analysts and Zero Networks…