At Manchester Digital we like to interview our members to find out a bit more about what they do and their work in the Greater Manchester digital and technology sphere. This week we're speaking with Matt Gott, VP of Operations at Callsign.
What does your organisation do?
Callsign makes digital identity simple and secure so that genuine users can get on with their digital lives.
What do you think is currently the biggest issue facing the tech industry?
The erosion of Digital Trust. The tech industry has given us the ability to live large parts of our lives online, work, learn and socialise. It’s created services and products which have grown our economies and experiences. However, malicious actors are also taking advantage of the online world, defrauding consumers, organisations, and governments. It is hard to know beyond doubt that the person you are interacting with is genuine online. Society is losing confidence in technology, processes, and people to create a secure digital world, one that operates reliably, ethically and that protects consumers privacy. The technology exists to do this, the industry should be leading the way.
What is your organisation’s biggest achievement?
Daily, we secure over 100 million consumers digital identities so that they can get on with their digital lives safely.
What would you consider to be your organisation’s biggest challenge?
Staying one step ahead of the bad guys, fraud and scams evolve quickly, it’s our job to look at how they will evolve and be ready for the next threat.
What do you think the future looks like for Manchester’s tech sector?
In one word – successful!
One of the biggest strength this region has is the diversity and wealth of talent coming out of universities and further education colleges. There is a breadth of courses and subject areas that people are being educated in, and we have individuals retraining, participating in back to work programmes and apprenticeships. I think the region has embraced the diverse avenues into the technology sector.
The other area that Manchester has also developed and continues to develop is the ecosystem. We have investors, start-ups, scale-ups, mature businesses and NGOs all working together to encourage innovation and development of this booming sector.
Tell us something that we might not know about your company?
Russian hacker, Vladimir Leonidovitch Levin, is motivation for our existence. In 1994 he attempted the biggest bank heist the world had ever seen via dial-up internet. Our cofounder, Zia Hayat realised armchair fraud had become a real possibility and decided he wanted to play his part in stopping the bad guys.
Thank you Matt!
To find out more about Callsign, click here.
Want to raise your business's profile? If you're a member, contact thom@manchesterdigital.com to discuss featuring your content on our site, social media or newsletter. If you're not a member, get in touch today to discuss the benefits of membership.
