The company Seeton celebrated its 20th anniversary in December 2024. Although the new brand is only three years old, the company has deep roots and a strong history in the local market, now also expanding to the Azerbaijani market. To mark the anniversary, Sergii Prynov, Acting CEO of SEETON GROUP LLC, gave an interview to "Networks and Business" magazine, where he shared the company's achievements and plans in Ukraine.
- Sergii, good to see you. First of all, we would like to congratulate you on your recent official appointment as the head of the company!
- Thank you, it is a great honour and responsibility. There are many tasks and challenges ahead for me and the team, so it will be an exciting journey.
- How was your 2024?Can you already share your preliminary results compared to 2023?
- The year has been challenging yet very productive. I will be able to provide more details after finalizing the financial statements and external audit, but I can already say that we have managed to improve our key performance indicators, primarily financial ones, compared to 2023.*
- What industries or areas do you consider the key drivers of these results?
- In addition to the telecommunications sector, which is key for us, we also focus on the public sector, energy, and banking.
- How about the solutions portfolio? What are the highlights in today’s offerings?
- As of today, our portfolio in Ukraine alone includes 90 vendors, almost half of which are cybersecurity solutions. However, we understand that quantity does not equate to quality. That’s why, year after year, we gradually reduce the number of vendors in our portfolio, keeping only the best from a technical and economic standpoint. For us, it is crucial that our clients spend their budgets effectively and achieve the expected results from their projects.
- Did the company participate in international technical assistance (ITA) projects implemented in Ukraine under the supervision of international organizations?
- Yes, these were projects for state-owned companies, primarily in our focus area—cybersecurity. The selection of our company for MTD projects demonstrates a high level of expertise, professionalism, and the complete absence of any compliance concerns from international donors and suppliers.
- Regarding the cybersecurity sector: we know that you actively participate in associations, specialized working groups, and committees. Could you tell us more about this activity?
- This year, I was elected as the head of the Cybersecurity Committee of the IT Ukraine Association (https://itukraine.org.ua/) and as the Co-Chair of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the European Business Association (https://eba.com.ua/). The activities of these committees aim to support dialogue and cooperation in the field of cybersecurity between key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as well as work on legislative initiatives in the cybersecurity domain. In the context of full scale invasion growing cyber threats, addressing cybersecurity issues in both the public and private sectors is one of the main security priorities that needs to be supported and improved. Another important task of the committees is to promote Ukrainian companies and their solutions and services abroad.
- Sergii, what do you see as the biggest challenge for your company in 2024?
- Apart from the fact of the ongoing war, the key issue has been the mobilization measures (or rather, the approaches to them). As a "defense" company, we were initially surprised by the official inquiries regarding recruitment, considering the profile of our business activities. In the second half of the year, the situation improved, and the activation of the recruitment system after a repeated audit and the recent cyberattack on the registration registers made the process more complicated.
- Considering the commentary above and the market situation, what approach did you take regarding personnel?
- This year, 15 specialists joined our team—partially to cover the tasks of mobilized colleagues, as well as to develop the company's key areas of focus. For the upcoming year, we already have an approved hiring plan in place.
- Sergii, SEETON has been leading the rankings of system integrators for the third consecutive year. Have you noticed any significant changes in the market?
- Perhaps, logically speaking, we can observe that more and more clients are interested in receiving complete turnkey solutions—ranging from consulting, solution selection, testing and implementation, to ongoing technical support. Therefore, in my opinion, system integrators will increasingly have an advantage over companies with a "buy/sell/next" model.
- Are you planning to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the company?
- We already held a gathering for the team, as it is important to thank each colleague for their contribution to the company's success and the results we demonstrate. However, the full celebration that we truly want to have will be held at a later time when it is more appropriate.
- Sergii, to conclude the interview, please tell us:what are you most proud of in 2024?
- The answer is simple - this is my team.
- Thank you! Now, a few words of congratulations for our readers.
- First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to our Armed Forces for enabling us to work and contribute to the development of our country, making it more technologically advanced and secure! Of course, I am also thankful to our clients, as it is thanks to them that we exist and the market thrives. I would also like to thank our reliable partners and distributors, with whom we are able to work with the best solutions available on the market.
I wish everyone happy upcoming holidays!
* The company’s revenue in 2023 amounted to 1 billion UAH.
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