What Is Wrong With a Walnut Dining Table?
Nothing, if you can afford one. Gaurav compares the security industry to a carpenter building bespoke walnut dining tables: beautiful, custom work that is too expensive and impractical for most buyers. Today's security products are designed for large banks and telcos, which have the budget, the IT staff and the tolerance for complexity to match. A 20-person law firm has none of that, and is still expected to run the same kind of system.
What Does the IKEA Version Look Like?
Standard, flat-packed and affordable, and something a small business can set up itself without a dedicated security team. Gaurav's argument is that the engineering choices behind a great custom product are different from the ones you need to mass-produce something simple and usable at scale. So StrongKeep builds for scale from the start. Asia Tech Podcast summed it up this way.
"While most of the industry keeps refining the walnut table, Gaurav says StrongKeep is building the factory instead."
Asia Tech Podcast, on LinkedIn
Where Can I Watch the Full Conversation?
Gaurav's conversation with Michael Waitze was part of a live show on 17 August 2026. The player below starts at his segment, 1 hour 39 minutes in.
- Cybersecurity vendors keep building enterprise-grade tools, Asia Tech Podcast on LinkedIn, 17 August 2026
- The full live show, on Asia Tech Podcast's YouTube channel, from Gaurav's segment
- The walnut table, in 70 seconds, a short clip from the conversation
Related Reading
- What does the 'IKEA of cyber security' mean for a smaller business?, Gaurav on BFM 89.9.
- Spotlight: A startup trying to IKEA-ify cybersecurity for SMEs, the Tech in Asia profile.
- Why did a cybersecurity company win a legal tech competition?, on what small law firms need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Gaurav Keerthi discuss on Asia Tech Podcast?
Why cybersecurity vendors keep building enterprise-grade tools that small businesses cannot afford or run. He compares the industry to a carpenter making bespoke walnut dining tables, and argues that small businesses need the IKEA equivalent: a standard, affordable product they can set up themselves without a security team.
When was Gaurav Keerthi on Asia Tech Podcast?
He joined host Michael Waitze live on 17 August 2026. His segment starts 1 hour 39 minutes into that day's show on Asia Tech Podcast's YouTube channel.
Why can't a small business just use an enterprise security product?
Enterprise products assume a large budget, an IT team and the capacity to manage complex systems. A small business, such as a 20-person law firm, usually has none of these, yet is left administering a system that was never designed for it.
What Does StrongKeep Do?
StrongKeep is a self-serve cybersecurity platform for small and medium businesses. It bundles endpoint protection, phishing and malicious-link filtering, credential management, staff awareness training and phishing simulations, all run by the business itself from one dashboard. Compliance tooling is available on higher plans. StrongKeep holds the CSA Cyber Essentials Mark. Built for teams without an IT department. Plans are on the pricing page.
