Emmanuel Benzaquen, CEO of Checkmarx, a leading Israeli developer of source code analysis (SCA) technologies and another forum star, has a positive spin on the crisis.

“There will be more IT regulations and PCI standards than before due to the crisis,” he said. “Our software helps industrial and service giants comply with all the changes. We are part of the solution.”

In native French and fluent English, Benzaquen attempted to explain to a non-engineer the nature of source code analysis technology, SCA, and cloud computing. He called SCA a young field in its second generation dominated by Israelis, after a first dominated by the Americans.

Born in France of Moroccan origins and one of the very few forum participants to wear a kippa, Benzaquen spent his formative professional years in California’s Silicon Valley. As a start-up builder, he says he lives mostly on planes, without stipulating in business or economy class. He also says he still has family in Casablanca and Marrakech, but that is another story.

“Classic IT security has always been with firewalls and anti-virus technology and the like,” he begins, “but we say that developer codes must be tested at the source. Everything begins with the application. If the code is not tested, it can be broken.”

Cloud computing involves developing codes on an outside host, such as the Internet, and also needs security, he tries to explain in plain English and French. Benzaquen knows this is big. Only a month after landing in France, he signed a licensee contract for Checkmarx SCA technology with a French service giant. The name of the giant?

“Sorry,” says Benzaquen, as the second round table was ending and he and other guests were heading for the banqueting room. He remarks that the name of the first giant US firm he signed with last year has not yet been revealed either. But he does note that he is extending his current road show in France.

For the full article>>