We’re wrapping up this series on cloud security and cloud computing trends with an article that small business owners have been asking more than ever this year: How do you hire a cloud service provider? What do you look for when hiring a cloud service consultancy to help you with everything from managing cloud-hosted assets to handling security?
Research firm Gartner projected in late 2020 that world-wide end user spending on public cloud services would increase 18.4% in 2021, “with cloud projected to make up 14.2% of the total global enterprise IT spending market in 2024, up from 9.1% in 2020.”
Cybersecurity is a growing concern for businesses of all sizes, from keeping data secure with remote workers, to making sure that all your applications work together in a secure and compliant manner. As part of our sponsored series on cloud security sponsored by Trek10, we put together a Q&A on common questions businesses ask about cybersecurity and how and when to hire cybersecurity staff or outsource to a contractor. We hope this helps you on your road to handling security issues for your team during these changing times.
So you know that the COVID-19 pandemic introduced a wave of new security risks for your business, but how do you get eyes on the problem? How do you assess security risks? Comparitech lists tools such as CloudStrike Falcon and Barracuda CloudGen Firewall as its top recommendations for cloud security tools, but the list goes on from there. There are so many choices, and they all do something a little different.
Small business and enterprise alike have been forced through a rapid adoption of new security measures to make sure that company data is secure while working remote during the coronavirus pandemic. As companies migrate to the cloud and deal with new security threats, it’s a lot for the average business to keep up with. Especially if you are a small business and don’t have a dedicated team working on cybersecurity. With that in mind, we have put together a list of top business cybersecurity trends for 2021, to keep your company on top of the latest security issues relevant to all business. If you’re interested in a security assessment for your business, our sponsor Trek10 is offering a free security assessment to help you make sure your company data is secure and managed efficiently.
Ann Arbor security startup Censys has hired Duo West sales veteran Will Saso of San Jose, CA, to head up its worldwide sales. We take this as a positive sign that security startups in Ann Arbor are able to draw in top hires from Silicon Valley, if still not outside their Duo network of talent.
How does someone build a career in successful startup exits 5 companies deep in a smaller and still emerging tech hub like Ann Arbor? Ask Jim Simpson, who has done just that in the burgeoning security startup scene in Ann Arbor with startups including Duo Security and Arbor Networks. Now new security startup Blumira, whose alumni include people from Duo Security, Censys, Groundspeed, Deepfield by Nokia and the NSA, has just hired Ann Arbor security startup veteran Jim Simpson as VP of Product as the company heads into its next building phase. Blumira has closed on $2.6 million in funding in the last year and recently doubled its team of about a dozen to two dozen, hoping to double that again in the next year to 50. We chatted with Simpson this week about the company’s rapid growth and how Blumira is working with the dynamics created by COVID-19 instead of against it to build success.
Cybersecurity startup Censys, which offers visibility and risk assessment of businesses’ constantly evolving security vulnerabilities, recently announced that it has hired Derek Abdine as CTO, who will head up technical strategy and innovation. Abdine brings 15 years of work in security industry leadership to the role, as well as experience as an industry evangelist.
This year has seen a number of new security startups in the Ann Arbor Detroit region, as alum of Duo Security, Censys, and other security companies head off on their own entrepreneurial journey. The great news is that they’re all different, serving different markets with different solutions. They also have something to teach all of us about the tech startup journey.
Another security startup has joined the growing ranks of cybersecurity companies in Southeast Michigan, emerging from the Duo exit. This one, AaDya, targets mid-size companies that need a general security service. Founder Raffaele Mautone says this was intentional, as many security startups have novel ideas but “only solve one problem.” AaDya is located in Detroit, not nearby Ann Arbor, because Mautone says he grew up in Detroit and had “seen how the city has evolved the last 5 years. I’ve been seeing startups and founders reposition themselves in the market to overcome challenges.” Mautone says he also likes the culture and the startup ecosystem, “which is small enough to help each other.”
