Brendan Hannigan

General Manager – IBM Security Division

Brendan Hannigan is General Manager of the IBM Security Systems Division in the IBM Software Group; he brings more than 25 years of industry experience to his role. Previously, Mr. Hannigan was the president and chief executive officer of Q1 Labs, the acquisition of which catalyzed the creation of the Security Systems Division. This division brings together many capabilities across IBM to respond to the market need for sophisticated, comprehensive and integrated approaches to enterprise security.

Mr. Hannigan held a number of positions at Q1 Labs: he joined the company in November 2003 as vice president of marketing; was promoted to executive vice president of marketing and product engineering in March 2004; was named chief operating officer (COO) in April 2006; became president and COO in December 2007; and finally became chief executive officer in 2011.

Prior to Q1 Labs, Mr. Hannigan was vice president of marketing and technology at Sockeye Networks; director of network research at Forrester Research; and served in a variety of senior-level product development roles at Digital Equipment Corporation, Wellfleet Communications, and Motorola. Mr. Hannigan has a Computer Science degree with honors from University College Dublin, Ireland.

Apalak Ghosh

Manager, Research and Consulting, Emerging Technologies, Software & IT Services Research

CMR Infotech Practice
Apalak is a lead analyst with CMR’s software and IT services research practice, based out of Gurgaon (near New Delhi). In this role, Apalak is responsible for overseeing development of reports, carrying out in-depth market assessments and forecasts on new and emerging technologies like Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Green IT, Data Center adoption amongst others. Apalak has led new research initiatives to study adoption of Cloud Computing and Virtualization amongst Indian enterprises. He is frequently quoted in the media on the subject of Cloud Computing and Data Centers on popular TV channels such as NDTV and in leading business publications such as The Economic Times and The Hindu Businessline. He also writes a blog on the theme of Green IT/Virtualization/Cloud Computing. In this capacity he carries forward his rich experience as Manager, Software and Services Research and Consulting Practice, IDC India.

Prior to his current role, Apalak has worked with TNS India as a research analyst for two years, before which he was with TransAsia Solution Seekers, Indonesia as a consultant for a year. His experience spans across key research areas such as brand tracking, product / concept testing, quantitative and qualitative research, and consulting. He has a rich exposure to research techniques such as face-to-face and telephonic interviews, profiling and discussions with stakeholders across diverse industry verticals such as IT and Telecom, Consumer Packaged Goods and Automotive.

Apalak completed his Master’s program in Business Administration from the ICFAI Business School, Bangalore, specialising in Marketing. Apalak also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Ranchi capital of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.