Disrupting Physical Security with a Cloud-First Approach: Jonathon (Verkada)
VP & MD (JAPAC) @ Verkada
Fresh off a US$200M Series E at US$4.5B valuation, Verkada is a leader in cloud-based physical security systems globally. VP & MD (JAPAC), Jonathon Dixon, spent decades leading cloud-native tech firms, and now brings that experience to one of the most traditional industries of all: physical security.
In this conversation, Jonathon shares how Verkada is disrupting incumbents, scaling across Asia Pacific, and unlocking new possibilities with AI.
Q: How did you come to join Verkada, and for readers less familiar, what does the company actually do?
Jonathon: I’ve had some great mentors in my career and a set of guiding principles that I’ve carried with me. Verkada ticked all those boxes: an incredible product, a disruptive vision, and a strong track record since inception. The company is almost nine years old now, and made up of great people. I joined ten months ago to lead our go-to-market and operations across Japan and Asia Pacific.
Verkada is a disruptor in physical security. We bring together six product lines - cameras, access control, intercom, sensors, workplace, and alarms - on a simple, cloud-native platform. Traditionally, physical security has been fragmented and stuck on-premise. Our integrated solutions and open API architecture change that. Today, we have 33,000 customers globally, including 96 of the Fortune 500.
Q: Expansion in APAC is never one-size-fits-all. How do you prioritize which markets to enter and where to double down?
Jonathon: This is my third APAC leadership role with cloud-native companies, so I’ve seen both successes and lessons learned. When prioritizing markets, we look at economic growth, multinational presence, and patterns of adoption - our sweet spot is organizations with distributed sites where a cloud-native platform can scale and modernize quickly.
Winning iconic brands is also key - they validate the model and wake up markets. In APAC, our current focus areas are Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. But we’re also seeing strong signals in emerging markets like the Philippines, Thailand, and India, where multinational demand is now matched by growing local interest. Importantly, we take a country-first approach, tailoring strategy to each market rather than forcing a single playbook across the region.
Q: Security is often hyper-local. How do you balance global standards with local needs?
Jonathon: It’s a challenge, but one we’ve built for from the start. Our platform is highly configurable - you can turn features on and off to align with local regulations and operational requirements. Because it’s open and API-driven, customers can integrate with other systems or build new solutions for their specific needs. Even if something isn’t on the roadmap today, our product team moves fast when we see repeatable value across the region. Customer feedback is one of Verkada’s core tenets, right up to our CEO.
Q: This is a sector long dominated by legacy vendors. How does Verkada compete against incumbents with entrenched partnerships?
Jonathon: We’re disrupting the model by bringing a cloud-first approach. Everything we do goes 100% through the channel, which is critical in APAC given the local languages, currencies, and partner dynamics. Our products are designed to be both powerful and simple - integrated out of the box, easy for partners to install, and intuitive for end users.
We’re also attracting modern SIs - companies like NTT, Mitsubishi, LG CNS - who have cloud in their DNA. They see Verkada as part of a broader modernization journey for their enterprise customers. By making the partner experience as strong as the customer experience, we’ve lowered the barriers to adoption.
Q: Do you face resistance from enterprises that are traditionally conservative in adopting new solutions?
Jonathon: In fact, we’re seeing momentum around network modernization. If a company has a cloud-first or modernization policy, Verkada becomes a natural fit - we’re simply another endpoint on the network. That’s helped us work with both IT-focused integrators and traditional physical security providers. When customers see that installation is fast, management is simple, and the platform scales easily, adoption follows quickly.
Q: Everyone is talking about AI. How do you see it changing physical security in the near and mid-term?
Jonathon: AI’s biggest impact today is speed. It allows teams to respond in real time rather than hours - whether that’s initiating a lockdown or pulling up footage of an incident. That shift alone dramatically improves security outcomes. But it’s not just reactive; AI enables proactive security. Real-time alerts can flag prohibited individuals, identify specific vehicles, or notify teams when a room nears capacity.
Beyond protection, AI is turning security systems into sources of operational intelligence. For example, Mondial VGL, a logistics provider in Australia and New Zealand, uses our AI analytics for license plate automation, safety alerts, and yard optimization. Trucks entering their Perth facility are automatically identified, gates open without driver intervention, and health-and-safety compliance checks that used to take hours now take minutes. We’re only scratching the surface of what AI can do here.
Q: Looking ahead, what excites you most about building Verkada in JAPAC?
Jonathon: JPAC is one of Verkada’s fastest-growing regions - we grew more than 95% year-over-year in the first half alone. We’re attracting some of the best talent in the industry, building strong partnerships, and helping customers modernize and scale quickly. For me, it’s been 10 months of fun so far, and I’m excited about the road ahead.