Summary of Okta's Conference Call Company Overview - **Company**: Okta - **Role of Key Speakers**: Monty Gray, responsible for corporate development, covering strategy, M&A, and technology partnerships [4][3] Industry Insights - **Identity Market Evolution**: The identity market has transitioned from an enablement function to a security-focused phase, with a convergence of previously separate segments like IAM, IGA, and PAM [5][6][10] - **Current Trends**: Increased security awareness and cloud adoption are driving the need for simpler, unified identity systems [10][11] Product Offerings and Performance - **Governance and Privileged Access Management (PAM)**: - Governance (IGA) has seen significant traction and is a major contributor to new product revenue [11][12] - PAM is still maturing but is expected to contribute meaningfully to future business [12] - **Sales Structure**: The sales organization is specialized to facilitate cross-selling of governance and PAM products alongside identity management [18][19] Customer Deployment and Readiness - **Deployment Complexity**: Customer environments vary (cloud vs. on-prem), affecting deployment readiness and complexity [14][15] - **Change Management**: Successful deployment relies heavily on customer understanding of policies and entitlements, with cloud deployments now taking weeks to months [15] M&A Strategy - **Tuck-in Acquisitions**: Okta is focused on acquiring companies that enhance resource coverage and capabilities, with Axiom being a recent example [26][27] - **Large Scale M&A**: While always considered, there is no immediate need for large-scale acquisitions due to current capital flexibility [28] Financial Performance - **Revenue Growth**: Revenue grew 12% year-on-year, with RPO up 17% and cRPO up 13% [62] - **Contract Duration**: Average contract duration is extending, incentivizing longer deals and enhancing cross-sell opportunities [64][66] - **Net Retention**: Stable gross retention supports a net retention rate around 106, with upselling and cross-selling driving growth [68][70] Market Position and Competitive Landscape - **Cloud Neutrality**: Okta's independence from application silos is a competitive advantage, especially as agents become more prevalent [32][33] - **Agentic AI**: The rise of non-human identities (agents) is creating new security challenges, with heightened awareness among CISOs [35][39] Customer Engagement - **Customer Testimonials**: Okta is actively building a portfolio of customer testimonials, showcasing successful agent deployments in regulated environments [41][44] - **Monetization of Agentic AI**: Okta is developing two offerings for managing agents, with early monetization efforts underway [49] Conclusion - Okta is well-positioned in the evolving identity market, leveraging its cloud neutrality and expanding product offerings to meet the growing demand for secure identity solutions. The company is focused on strategic growth through M&A, enhancing customer engagement, and optimizing its sales structure to drive future revenue growth.

Core Viewpoint - A securities class action lawsuit has been filed against F5, Inc. following a significant cybersecurity incident that was disclosed on October 15 and 27, 2025, which negatively impacted the company's expected revenues for 2026 [1][2]. Group 1: Incident Details - F5, Inc. experienced a "material cybersecurity incident" that was discovered on August 9, 2025, involving a breach of its BIG-IP source code [1][5]. - The company initially claimed that the incident had "not had a material impact on the Company's operations," but this was contradicted by subsequent disclosures [6]. - The breach was attributed to a "highly sophisticated nation-state threat actor" who allegedly maintained persistent access to F5's systems for at least a year [5]. Group 2: Financial Impact - Following the October 15, 2025 disclosure, F5's stock price fell by $35.40, a decrease of 10% [6]. - On October 27, 2025, F5 provided disappointing revenue growth forecasts for 2026, predicting only 0% to 4% growth compared to 10% in 2025, which led to a further decline in stock price by $22.83, or 7% [7]. - The revenue guidance was linked to delayed deals and reduced renewals specifically due to the breach, which was below analyst consensus estimates [7]. Group 3: Legal Proceedings - The lawsuit seeks to represent investors who purchased F5 securities between October 28, 2024, and October 27, 2025, with a lead plaintiff deadline set for February 17, 2026 [4][9]. - Hagens Berman is investigating whether F5 misled investors regarding the security of its products and the financial impact of the incident [3][8].

Core Viewpoint - CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. announced a planned acquisition of SGNL to enhance its identity security offerings, particularly for modern hybrid environments, which has led to a slight decline in its share price [1][4]. Group 1: Acquisition Details - The acquisition will primarily be paid in cash, with some stock involved, although specific terms of the deal were not disclosed [1]. - The purchase aims to strengthen CrowdStrike's capabilities in real-time authorization and continuous risk evaluation for various identities, including human, machine, and AI [2]. Group 2: Technological Integration - Integrating SGNL will allow for dynamic privilege grants and revocations based on continuous risk signals from CrowdStrike's Falcon platform [3]. - The system will correlate identity, device, and threat data across endpoints, cloud, and SaaS applications to enable adaptive authorization [3]. Group 3: Executive Insights - CrowdStrike's CEO, George Kurtz, emphasized that SGNL will help close security gaps left by legacy models, especially as AI agents gain deeper access [4]. - SGNL's co-founder and CEO, Scott Kriz, noted that traditional privilege models expose risks, and CrowdStrike's scale can significantly enhance enterprise security [4].

Core Insights - CSP Inc. (CSPI) has improved its operating profile as it enters fiscal 2026, driven by a growing service mix in its Technology Solutions (TS) segment and increased adoption of its AZT PROTECT cybersecurity platform in the High-Performance Products (HPP) segment [1] Financial Performance - CSPI reported revenues of $14.5 million for Q4 fiscal 2025, an 11% increase from $13 million in the same quarter last year [2] - The gross margin increased to 37%, up more than 800 basis points year-over-year, primarily due to accelerated service growth [2] - Service revenues surged by 63% or $2.5 million, improving gross profit and narrowing operating losses despite a decline in product revenues [3] Service Segment Growth - Services accounted for 44% of total revenues in Q4 fiscal 2025, up from approximately 30% in the prior-year quarter, and for the full year, services rose to 36% from 33% [4] - The managed cloud and managed service provider offerings expanded at a healthy double-digit rate in fiscal 2025, with plans to allocate more resources and add sales representatives for further expansion in 2026 [5] Maritime Industry Focus - CSPI's managed service strategy has been particularly effective in the maritime vertical, with expectations for service contracts from expanded installations to contribute significantly in fiscal 2026 [6] - The company entered fiscal 2026 with a backlog related to cruise ship installations and upgrades, enhancing revenue visibility [6] Customer Adoption and Expansion Strategy - The HPP segment is positioning AZT PROTECT as a long-cycle growth engine, with a growing pipeline of deployment opportunities and a channel approach through "gold star resellers" [7] - The company has successfully executed a strategy of deploying at one operational site and expanding to additional locations within the same enterprise [8] - Customers span multiple industries, including steel, energy, manufacturing, and telecommunications, with potential for significant multi-site deployments [9] Lead Generation and Channel Validation - Participation in Rockwell events has become a major commercial catalyst for AZT PROTECT, with a 50% year-over-year increase in leads reported during the 2025 Rockwell Fair [10] - The quality of leads has improved significantly due to greater distributor involvement, which is crucial for scaling AZT PROTECT adoption [11] Product Development in IIoT - CSPI has expanded AZT PROTECT into embedded industrial IoT (IIoT) environments, addressing challenges in protecting industrial IoT devices [12] - Enhancements to the software allow integration into existing systems of industrial IoT vendors, with a growing pipeline into the unserved industrial edge compute market [13] Balance Sheet Development - The company entered a buy-in contract in October 2024 as part of a planned termination of its U.K. defined benefit pension plan, paying £8.5 million, with expectations for this to transition into a buy-out contract in fiscal 2026 [14]

Core Viewpoint - Zscaler Inc is experiencing a significant decline in stock performance, trading approximately 30% below its all-time high, indicating a shift in investor sentiment from premium valuations to a more cautious approach [1][4]. Company Strategy and Management Changes - The company is undergoing a strategic shift with the appointment of a new Chief Marketing Officer, signaling a focus on execution over innovation to stabilize and rebuild its growth trajectory [2][6]. - The new CMO, Sunil Frida, is expected to enhance Zscaler's messaging and accelerate enterprise penetration in a competitive cybersecurity market [5][6]. Market Dynamics and Investor Sentiment - Despite the decline in stock performance, the core business thesis remains intact, with enterprises continuing to adopt cloud workloads and Zero Trust security architecture [3]. - Investor tolerance has shifted, requiring growth stocks like Zscaler to demonstrate tangible results and ROI narratives to budget-conscious CIOs [4][8]. Technical Analysis - Zscaler's stock has recently triggered a Death Cross, indicating a bearish trend with the 50-day moving average falling below the 200-day moving average, suggesting that downside momentum is currently dominant [7]. - The stock is trading near $231, significantly below its 50-day (~$268) and 200-day (~$270) averages, indicating that any potential rallies may face resistance [7][8]. Future Outlook - Zscaler is now in a "prove-it phase," where it must demonstrate its fundamentals can overcome the current bearish trend, with expectations lowered but the performance bar set higher [8].

Core Viewpoint - CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) announced the acquisition of identity security firm SGNL for approximately $740 million, continuing its expansion into the identity security market [1] Company Summary - The acquisition of SGNL is part of CrowdStrike's strategy to enhance its offerings in the identity security sector, where it competes with companies like CyberArk (CYBR) and Okta (OKTA) [1] - Following the announcement of the acquisition, CrowdStrike's stock experienced a decline [1] Industry Summary - The identity security market is increasingly important as hackers often target insiders, such as employees, to compromise networks [1]

Group 1 - Netskope Inc. (NASDAQ:NTSK) is recognized as a promising stock by Wall Street, with analysts providing varying price targets and ratings [1][2][3] - RBC Capital analyst Matthew Hedberg lowered the price target for Netskope to $23 from $27 while maintaining an Outperform rating, emphasizing that 2026 will be a pivotal year for companies based on their AI readiness [1][3] - Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick raised the price target for Netskope to $26 from $25, maintaining a Buy rating following the company's Q3 2025 earnings report [2] Group 2 - Netskope is a cybersecurity company that offers security, networking, and analytics solutions to large enterprises and mid-sized companies globally [4] - The company's debut earnings report as a public entity on December 11 showcased impressive results, particularly in annual recurring revenue growth [3]

Core Viewpoint - CrowdStrike is acquiring identity management startup SGNL for nearly $740 million to enhance its cybersecurity offerings amid increasing AI-driven cyber threats [1][2]. Group 1: Acquisition Details - The acquisition is aimed at improving the management of human and AI identity access requests on CrowdStrike's Falcon cloud security platform [2]. - The deal is expected to close in the first fiscal quarter of 2027 [2]. Group 2: Market Context - The identity management market is valued at $435 million as of the end of the second quarter and is recognized as a significant attack vector [3]. - Companies are increasingly focusing on strengthening identity security defenses due to the rising sophistication of cyberattacks driven by AI [3]. Group 3: Industry Implications - CEO George Kurtz highlighted the acquisition as a major opportunity for customers to enhance their protection and for CrowdStrike to disrupt the identity market [2]. - Recent incidents, such as attacks on Microsoft’s SharePoint and the first documented AI-led cyberattack by Anthropic, underscore the urgency for improved identity security [4].

Core Insights - Telos Corporation has renewed its partnership with a Fortune 100 global technology company, focusing on cyber governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) and security operations for large-scale cloud environments [1][2][3] - The agreement is valued at $5.4 million and reflects the growth of the relationship that began in July 2022 [2] - Telos emphasizes its expertise in cyber GRC and operational security, aiding customers in maintaining compliance while scaling cloud platforms [3] Company Overview - Telos Corporation provides cyber, cloud, and enterprise security solutions, serving security-conscious organizations [1][4] - The company has over two decades of experience in delivering GRC solutions across government and commercial sectors [3][4] - Telos offers advanced capabilities in GRC, identity and biometric solutions, secure networks, and TSA PreCheck enrollment services [4]

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 8, 2026) - QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. (CSE: QSE) (OTCQB: QSEGF) (FSE: VN80) ("QSE" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a corporate update highlighting continued organizational growth and the expansion of its international operating footprint.Over recent months, the Company has focused on integrating previously announced operations and advancing the rollout of its post-quantum security platform. In support of these initiatives, QSE has ex ...