By Armistead Whitney
There is no shortage of innovative cybersecurity tools and services that can help companies do a much better job of defending their networks.
Related: Welcome to the CyberXchange Marketplace
In the U.S. alone, in fact, there are more than 5,000 cybersecurity vendors. For organizations looking to improve their security posture, this is causing confusion and vendor fatigue, especially for companies that don’t have a full time Chief Information Security Officer.
The vendors are well-intentioned. They are responding to a trend of companies moving to meet rising compliance requirements, such as PCI-DSS and GDPR. Senior management is now focused on embracing well-vetted best practices such as those outlined in FFIEC and SOC 2, and many more. According to a recent study by PwC, 91% of all companies are following cybersecurity frameworks, like these, as they build and implement their cybersecurity programs.
All of this activity has put a strain on how companies buy and sell cybersecurity solutions. Consider that PCI-DSS alone has over 250 complex requirements that include things like endpoint protection, password management, anti-virus, border security, data recovery and awareness training.
Traditional channels for choosing the right security solutions are proving to be increasingly ineffective. This includes searching through hundreds of companies on Google, attending trade shows and conferences (not possible today with COVID), or dealing with constant cold calls and cold emails from security company sales reps.
Amazon for cybersecurity
Clearly there was a need for a B2B ecommerce marketplace that could map leading cybersecurity solutions to the exact framework requirements any given solution addressed, something akin to an Amazon.com for companies shopping for cybersecurity tools and services.
Whitney
The need to execute on this “big idea” was accelerated by the dramatic changes that have rocked the economy since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations of all sizes started facing new security challenges related to remote working, security staffing shortages, and an oversaturated industry, where choosing security vendors is a daunting and complex process.
To respond to these challenges, I assembled a team and we designed and built CyberXchange, a B2B ecommerce marketplace hosting hundreds of products and services from leading vendors such as Bitglass, BetterCloud, Whistic, and Abacode as well as emerging vendors that are quickly becoming big brands.
CyberXchange eliminates the inefficiencies that, until now, plagued the process of vendor selection. CyberXchange enables a buyer to easily search, compare pricing, and purchase solutions all in one place matched to their framework. This delivers the power of speed, choice and relevancy, while delivering ROI on time and investment.
Until CyberXchange, there was no easy way for IT buyers to shop for a security product or service mapped to thousands of categories and compliance requirements. On the other side of the equation, solution providers have been seeking new innovative ways to reach new customers in an increasingly competitive industry.
Cutting through the noise
CyberXchange’s mapping engine with AI, called Harmony, seamlessly maps the world’s leading cybersecurity products and services to over 10,000 categories and compliance standards, giving organizations of all sizes a new ultra-efficient way to find and buy the products and services they need to counter the expanding and ever-evolving threat landscape.
“One of the most challenging aspects of a CISO’s job is sorting through the hundreds of cybersecurity vendors flooding the market each year, trying to make sense of how a particular tool may fit into their unique security architecture and compliance frameworks,” says Dino Boukouris, director of Momentum Cyber, a trusted strategic advisor to the cybersecurity industry. “CyberXchange helps cut through the noise, alleviating the ever-growing vendor fatigue, allowing organizations to build a more secure and compliant cybersecurity program.”
The pandemic is creating a huge shift in the way consumers use ecommerce platforms. That shift will start happening in the B2B sphere and the cybersecurity industry.
Cybersecurity buyers will want a trusted place online to find, evaluate, and purchase products and services from home, as teleworking replaces more traditional methods of in-person sales presentations, trade shows, events and dinners.
With cybersecurity companies spending approximately half of their revenue on sales and marketing (with one estimate totaling $35 billion globally), buyers are more comfortable than ever using ecommerce platforms to make buying cybersecurity easier.
We’re really excited to debut CyberXchange in October with an outstanding group of leading cybersecurity providers and emerging brands to make cybersecurity commerce easier for companies around the world.
About the essayist: Armistead Whitney is the founder and CEO of Apptega, a software platform that helps businesses build, manage and report their cybersecurity programs. He has over 25 years of experience in creating and leading enterprises in the security, software and Internet industries including raising over $75 million in venture capital and participating in a successful IPO.
