Women in Cloud and Veeam Expands Cyber Centers In North-East India

Women in Cloud today announced the expansion of its university-focused Cyber Resilience Centers of Excellence and industry-ready certification initiatives across North-East India in collaboration with Veeam Software at the Bharat Cyber Suraksha – North-East Cyber Resilience and AI Transformation Summit.

The Summit marked the regional flag-off of the Main Hoon Saksham Campaign, inviting students to build foundational data security skills and become part of India’s national digital workforce movement. Participating students complete structured learning pathways in Data Security Posture Management fundamentals and gain visibility to employers committed to hiring certified talent.

This expansion in North-East is part of the Saksham Bharat Initiative under the national “Main Hoon Saksham” movement, launched to build certified, industry-ready talent in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, and Cybersecurity. Through collaboration with Veeam Software and regional ecosystem partners, Women in Cloud is advancing structured certification pathways, faculty enablement programs, and hands-on cyber resilience labs designed to strengthen the DevSecOps talent ecosystem and digital readiness across universities.

As digital adoption accelerates across governance, education, and enterprise sectors in the region, the demand for industry-recognized cybersecurity and AI talent has become urgent. Women in Cloud is working closely with academic institutions to embed industry-aligned curricula, DevSecOps training, ransomware protection capabilities, and resilience frameworks into university ecosystems. The objective is to transform campuses into workforce acceleration hubs that directly contribute to Viksit Bharat’s goals of digital sovereignty, resilience, and economic growth.

In parallel, Women in Cloud introduced the Saksham Partner Pledge, inviting enterprises, cloud providers, data center operators, and technology companies to activate hiring pipelines, sponsor certifications, and collaborate with universities to strengthen India’s cyber-ready workforce. The pledge creates a direct bridge between certified talent and real employment opportunities, ensuring workforce readiness aligns with industry expansion.

“India’s digital acceleration must be matched with inclusive cyber resilience and AI readiness at the grassroots,” said Chaitra Vedullapalli, Co-founder and President, Women in Cloud. “Universities are the backbone of digital trust and innovation. By collaborating across government, academia, industry, and digital infrastructure partners, we are building scalable cyber and AI talent pipelines aligned with real-world enterprise needs. The North-East holds 

immense untapped potential to emerge as a powerful innovation and talent hub. Through Bharat Cyber Suraksha and Main Hoon Saksham, we are enabling access to global skilling frameworks, structured resilience models, and AI-powered security capabilities.”

The initiative complements Veeam’s efforts to establish Cyber Resilience Centers of Excellence with leading institutions including Assam Science and Technology University, Assam Don Bosco University, and Assam University. These Centers will serve as regional hubs for industry certification, faculty training, applied resilience frameworks, and enterprise collaboration.

Sandeep Bhambure, Vice President and Managing Director, India and SAARC, Veeam Software, said, “India’s digital expansion is rapidly extending beyond metropolitan cities, and the North-East represents a critical frontier for secure and AI-led growth. As digital services scale across governance, education, and enterprise ecosystems, cyber resilience must become foundational. Recent Ministry of Home Affairs data reports over 47,000 cyber incidents across the eight North-Eastern states, highlighting the urgency of region-specific resilience frameworks. By launching the North-East Cyber Resilience Report, partnering with leading universities, and flagging off Main Hoon Saksham, we are combining structured resilience frameworks such as the Veeam Data Resiliency Maturity Model, skilling, and awareness to help institutions become cyber-ready, AI-ready, and future-ready. A Cyber-Surakshit North-East is integral to building a truly Viksit and digitally sovereign Bharat.”

Women in Cloud and Veeam India are now inviting universities across North-East and rest of the India to apply to establish Cyber Resilience Centers of Excellence under the Saksham and Sakshar Bharat Initiative. Institutions commit to structured investment, executive sponsorship, faculty engagement, and measurable certification outcomes aligned with the national goal of certifying one million professionals by 2030.

Enterprises, cloud providers, data centers, and technology infrastructure companies are also invited to collaborate through the Saksham Partner Pledge to strengthen hiring pipelines and align workforce development with India’s expanding digital infrastructure ecosystem.

India’s digital future depends on resilient institutions, activated employers, and prepared individuals. Through public-private collaboration, Women in Cloud and Veeam are strengthening the foundation for a secure, inclusive, and AI-ready India.