Cybersecurity and information confidentiality are crucial parts of BKAV’s DNA

FoundingBKAV25yearsago,BKAV's CEO,Mr.NguyenTuQuangwasamongthefirstgenerationofentrepreneursinVietnam.Atthattime,theconceptofanti-virussoftwareorcomputerviruswasstillaforeignonetomostVietnamesepeople.

Fromthat"infancystage",NguyenTuQuang,athird-yearstudentofHanoiUniversityofScienceandTechnology,developedthefirstversionofBKAVantivirussoftwarerunningontheMS-DOSoperatingsystembyMicrosoft.Inthosedays,theInternetwasnotcommoninVietnam,andvirusesonlyspreadthroughfloppydisks.

After10yearsofofferingfreeversions,in2005,BKAVofficiallycommercializeditsproductsandsetagoaltogo globalin2010.AccordingtoasurveydonebyVCCIin2010, BKAVaccountedfor74%oftheanti-virussoftwaremarketshare,followedbytwoforeignbrands,whichareKasperskywithmorethan13%andNortonAntiviruswith8.95%.AccordingtothestatisticsprovidedbyBKAVin2014,thecompany'ssoftwareaccountedfor90%ofthemarketshareintheNorth,85%intheCentral,and80%intheSouth.

In addition to anti-virus software and Cybersecurity,BKAValso"engaged"inmanyothertechnologyfieldsthat are not well-known such as network security equipment, e-government, products for businesses, agencies (email, human resource management documents, meal setting, ...), BKAVCA, cloud computing, Smarthome ... or notably smartphone.

However, regardless of the success in many fields, security is still considered the core and competitive advantage, helping BKAV stand out from other similar products in the market. This is apprehensible when information confidentiality - cybersecurity is an area that has been pursued by BKAV for more than 25 years and regularly exposes important vulnerabilities.

Specifically, there are significant improvements in the field of smartphone manufacturing, from the Bphone 1 launched on May 26, 2015, to the Bphone 2 launched in 2017, Bphone 3 launched in 2018 and most recently Bphone 86 launched on May 10th, 2020. In addition to introducing macro cameras, AI camera technology, security features are always prioritized to integrate on BKAV's smartphones, from BKAV Mobile Security software to anti-theft capabilities with features such as registering a backup phone, locking the phone remotely, getting the coordinates of the phone's location remotely, taking pictures remotely and so on.

In June 2020, BKAV officially joined the camera manufacturing industry and launched the AI View security camera brand. By early October 2020, BKAV's CEO, Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang, announced that the first shipment of AI View security cameras would be exported to India and the US markets in the near future. 

 Sharing on his personal Facebook in the middle of November 2020, Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang said that BKAV was performing its best efforts to bring Vietnamese-owned technology to protect borders, national security while piloting security cameras with AI View in the Northern border area According  to  Mr.  Quang,  BKAV's  Institute  of  AI Technology has prepared for border intrusion situations, then applied the "experience" to AI View camera. Each AI View camera can act as a tireless soldier who can be on duty 24/7. "BKAV AI View is one of the first camera lines in the world with built-in artificial intelligence. Therefore, the deployment of these cameras will become easier than ever with no AI server or transmission line required", said Mr. Quang.

CYBERSECURITY AND INFORMATION CONFIDENTIALITY: BKAV'S GOLDEN GOOSE

Cybersecurity and information confidentiality are still the main pillars throughout BKAV's ecosystem. This long-standing business not only plays a key role in the development of smartphones, smarthomes, e-government, and cameras but also accounts for most of BKAV's revenue.

According to CafeF, the business results of the parent company, BKAV, remained stable in recent years, reaching a net revenue of around VND 200 billion, in spite of the fact that in the period of the first launch of Bphone (2015), BKAV's revenue also dropped by 15% - 20%. BKAV's net profit in 2019 reached VND 11 billion, with a rate of return on revenue of 5.4%. That means BKAV will earn VND 5 of profit out of VND 100 of revenue.

The most effective business unit in the BKAV ecosystem is the anti-virus software business division - BKAV Antivirus. In the last two years, the company achieved VND 105 billion in revenue, with a net profit of VND 67 billion and 53 billion respectively (more than 50%). The gross profit margin in this field is extremely stunning (70% - 80%).

As for the smart home field, in 2019, this business unit contributed VND 32 billion to BKAV's revenue, an increase of 33% compared to the previous year. However, BKAV smarthome is still ineffective in terms of profit.

Sharing with the press recently, Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang, BKAV's CEO, emphasized that the fields which BKAV participates in, from cybersecurity, smartphones, or security cameras are all billion-dollar markets.

According to Mr. Quang, the fact that BKAV aiming to become a "billion-dollar" company is not only about its success story but also about marketing Vietnamese brands to the world.

EXPORT HIGH-TECH PRODUCTS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES

"BKAV is also positioning itself as a high-end brand in order to build a common brand positioning for Vietnamese products", said Mr. Quang.

To demonstrate how BKAV has contributed to building Vietnamese product brands, Mr. Quang reiterated the story of the commercialization of BKAV Pro antivirus software products. Accordingly, in 2005, when deciding on the price of BKAV Pro products, the prices of Vietnamese products were thought to be cheaper than those of foreign countries. However, BKAV's CEO has positioned BKAV Pro as good or even better than similar products in the market because BKAV understood the market and offered comprehensive services with products and 24/7 customer support, which were not provided by other brands.

Until now, BKAV Pro still dominates the Vietnamese market, while popular foreign products such as Symantec, McAfee and BitDefender disappear, and only one brand remains competitive.

The responsibility to Vietnamese products pushed Mr. Quang to get involved in the smartphone field. When Bphone 2015 was launched, it had a position of Designed by BKAV - Made in Vietnam. Explaining this position, Mr. Quang said that when BKAV started making smartphones in 2009, Vietnam did not have a smartphone industry. At the same time, Vietnam did not have a single enterprise that owned the core technologies to be able to manufacture a smartphone owned by Vietnamese. BKAV's orientation is to build a Vietnamese-owned smartphone manufacturing industry that must be designed by Vietnamese and manufactured in Vietnam.

Besides, like BKAV Pro, Bphone was also positioned as a high-end product. Mr. Quang expressed his opinion that BKAV chose the high-end segment instead of the cheap one for its market debut.   

Therefore,fromcybersecurity,smarthometocameras,smartphonesandothers,BKAVhaspositionedVietnam'sproductsashigh-endones.Evenwithcheaperproducts,thequalityremainsunchanged."IdothisbecauseIwanttopositionthat Vietnam can alsohave goodproducts andcompete withcountriesdevelopinghigh-endones.Afterthat,Vietnamcan"shoulderwith"them,tobecomeacountrydevelopedbyscienceandtechnology",Mr.Quangaffirmed.

Currently,theVietnamesebrandpositioningisaffordableyetmedium-qualityproducts.Mr.QuangassertedthatVietnamesepeople needed tochange that normand BKAVwas workinghardtominimizeproductsimported,andtoaimatexportingVietnam'shigh-techproductstointernationalmarkets.AswithBKAV,inearlyOctober2020,AIcamerashipmentshavebeenexportedtoIndia,anditmaybeexportedtotheUS,Mexico,Singapore,Finlandandothersinthenearfuture."Vietnamcanabsolutelymaketoptechnologyproductsforglobalexport",saidMr.Quang.

Tofulfillthisgoal,investmentinresearchanddevelopment(R&D), brandpositioningstrategymustalsobecommensurate.Since,withhigh-endproducts,companiesandcorporationswillhavetoinvestalotofresources,mastertechnologytocreateandleadwhenconditionspermit."That'swhyBKAVchosetodevelopBphone1inthehigh-endsegment,becauseVietnamcancompletelycreatehigh-endproductsandusetechnology to make itself a great country", said BKAV's CEO.