I’ve been in cybersecurity for 19 years and love the field. It’s technically a very challenging problem to solve and the stakes are extremely high. Those of us in this field are defending the foundation of the information age. We are protecting the money in people’s bank accounts, their personal privacy and dignity, and even the elections at the heart of democracy. That makes for a strong sense of purpose.
When I looked around for a new opportunity, I knew I wanted to make a real difference. Rather than run an existing large operation, I wanted to help something new and important grow. I have a passion for it. McAfee went from $500M to $2B in sales while I was head of product. At Sophos, my BU grew 25% per year while I was there. I think RedSeal is the perfect position to grow. We are in a nascent market that should be much larger.
The important things are in place for growth. RedSeal has an outstanding customer value proposition. It addresses a huge hole in cybersecurity and network understanding. It has a unique and powerful technology. When I got my first demo of the product, I was frankly blown away by how powerful it is. It is something everyone should have. No network administrator of a large network really knows what’s on his network and how it’s configured.
RedSeal has a great team and a great culture. Innovation is really a function of having a collection of smart motivated people and getting them to build on each other’s ideas. To do that you need a culture in which people enjoy working with each other, where they hold each other to a high standard, and where they feel comfortable sharing their ideas. That is what we have here at RedSeal, and that environment isn’t as common as you would think in the high-tech industry.
What’s more, cybersecurity in general is always rife with opportunity. All high-tech markets are highly dynamic because innovation is forever changing the landscape and creating opportunities. Cybersecurity is doubly so because it has a variable other markets don’t – bad guys. Cyber criminals are also innovating, and what they do drives us to respond in kind. So, the cybersecurity space moves even faster than the rest of high-tech. That is why there are always so many startups in cybersecurity.
In our space specifically, there is a huge opportunity for innovation. Networks are going through two simultaneous technical revolutions with the advent of software defined networking technology and the movement of data centers to the cloud. These trends make networks even more complex than they have been historically. A typical corporate network now spans on premise infrastructure and a presence in one or more public clouds. And the world is still figuring out how to secure that kind of hybrid environment.
In 1999, Bruce Schneier famously wrote “complexity is the worst enemy of security.” At that time, his plea was to create a simpler cyber world that could be secured. Unfortunately, that turned out to be impossible. The relentless demand for features and functionality drives ever increasing complexity. At RedSeal we use technology to understand the complexity of technology. We simplify an almost incomprehensible world so it can be understood and secured – a very gratifying and exciting mission.
