Filter out the bad and keep the good is basically what Gopi Krishna Chebiyyam’s innovation for e-mail server security, tracking incoming and outgoing e-mail traffic is all about. This McAfeeian is now working on a new e-mail filter that will help categorize e-mails by the nature of words in that email.

This filter is an addition to the already existing e-mail filters like Anti Virus, Anti Spam, Content Filter and File Filter. Such actions prevent any lowering of employee morale or productivity, which abusive e-mails can render. The usage can also be extended to protect organization-customer relationship too. Such revolutionary thinking in managing e-mail by Chebiyyam is an extension of the McAfee culture, which spearheads anti-spam and anti-virus systems for corporate and personal data protection.

Though Chebiyyam’s first three patent ideas did not reach fruition, he did not give up innovating. He hit upon gold in his fourth attempt and it could be termed his first successful patent filed. Persistence surely pays. It is an essential credo to follow to be a successful innovator. At McAfee, whoever files for a patent gets an incentive of $4000 upon approval by the McAfee Internal Patent Review Board and $2000 when the patent is awarded by the U.S. patents office. This should certainly make Chebiyyam happy. However, it is not all about money; “I feel good about my innovation because it won’t sit idle but rather has an immediate business use,” underlines Chebiyyam. He believes innovative ideas can be more easily implemented in start-ups rather than bigger organizations where it takes more time.

McAfee provides such a startup-like environment when it comes to inventing and incubating ideas, but at the same time unlike a startup one needn’t worry about the funding at McAfee, as it encourages such endeavors by their employees. Chebiyyam also points out the active involvement of the management in promoting innovation and creativity.

Gopi Krishna Chebiyyam 30 is working at McAfee, Bangalore for the McAfee Secure Messaging for Exchange, SME (formerly known as Group Shield Exchange, GSE) family of products