Cyphort
Careers at Cyphort
Mission
Cyphort’s mission is to empower enterprises to protect their business from threats that do not play by the rules.
History
Fengmin Gong had significant history with the IT security industry. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, he spent eight years working on projects funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) – research focused on security and high-speed networking. He gained extensive knowledge on the topics, and built prototypes of some solutions.
During this period he observed a spate of new startups designed to address Internet threats such as viruses and other malware. They offered intrusion detection and prevention products. He realized that the programs he designed through DARPA were more advanced than many of the offerings on the market. This made him think that it might be a good idea to commercialize his expertise.
Gong decided to launch his first startup, IntruVert Networks, a provider of intrusion prevention products. This was followed by Bartel Networks, a next generation firewall firm. The knowledge he gained from running both enabled him to found Cyphort, a more advanced version of his previous businesses, in 2011. He raised millions in funding, allowing him to get the company off the ground.
Benefits at Cyphort
Business model of Cyphort
Customer Segments
Cyphort has a mass market business model, with no significant differentiation between customer segments. The company targets its offering at firms that seek advanced online threat protection.
Value Proposition
Cyphort offers three primary value propositions: performance, cost reduction, and brand/status.
The company has demonstrated strong performance through tangible results for customers. High-profile examples of positive outcomes include the following:
- A financial service provider used Cyphort’s solution to reduce capital expenditures on solution procurement and operational expenditures on remediation and monitoring
- A healthcare company used Cyphort’s solution to increase strength of threat detection and provide greater visibility into endpoints and infections, hastening the speed of threat response
The company offers a cost reduction value proposition. It provides a promotional offer for the education market – specifically, it offers a discount to universities and schools for its solution.
The company has established a strong brand as a result of its performance. It has won many honors, including the SC Magazine Award for Best Enterprise Security Solution, inclusion on the Forbes Hottest Security Startup List, and recognition as a “Leader” in the Forrester Wave Automated Malware Analysis Report.
Channels
Cyphort’s main channels are its direct sales team and distribution partners, who each account for about 50% of revenues. The company promotes its offering through its website, social media pages, and participation in conferences.
Customer Relationships
Cyphort’s customer relationship is primarily of a personal assistance nature. The company offers customers a maintenance support contract that includes the following services:
- 24x7x365 phone support
- Software maintenance and feature updates
- Remote system monitoring
Despite this orientation, there is a self-service component. The contract offers access to an online customer support portal that features a knowledge base and case management system. In addition, Cyphort’s website features a “Resources” section that includes self-help tools such as white papers, research reports, webinars, infographics, demos, product literature, and videos.
Key Activities
Cyphort’s business model entails maintaining a robust software platform for its clients.
Key Partners
Cyphort maintains the following partnership programs:
- Technology Partner Program – The company works with tech firms that provide collection, verification, and enforcement services for advanced threats facing its customers. Specific partners include Arista Networks, Blue Coat, Check Point Software, Gigamon, Juniper Networks, and VMware.
- Channel Reseller Program – The company works with firms that promote and sell its offerings to their customers in order to extend its reach. One of its major partners is Optiv.
- Systems Integrator Partners – The company works with consultants, integrators, and other advisory partners to help its customers receive assistance in areas such as implementation.
- Managed Security Service Providers – The company works with service firms that provide collection and correlation services.
Partners receive some or all of the following benefits:
- Sales/marketing training
- Sales/marketing/technical tools and resources
- Field-level support
- A listing on Cyphort’s website
- Invites to participate in joint marketing initiatives
- Dedicated product management for integrations
- Access to the online partner portal
Key Resources
Cyphort’s main resource is its proprietary software platform. It depends on its human resources in the form of engineering employees to maintain and update the platform and customer service staff to provide support.
It also maintains Cyphort Labs, a world-class team of security threat researchers who constantly monitor advanced global cybersecurity threats and provide security intelligence for the Cyphort Advanced Threat Defense Platform.
Lastly, as a relatively new startup it has relied heavily on funding from outside parties, raising $53.7 million from five investors as of June 2015.
Cost Structure
Cyphort has a value-driven cost structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant personal service.
Its biggest cost driver is likely marketing and sales expenses. Other major drivers are in the areas of customer support/operations and product development, both fixed costs.
Revenue Streams
Cyphort has one revenue stream: revenues it generates from the subscription fees it charges for access to its software-as-a-service platform.
Specific pricing is based on expected amount of protected link bandwidth (the amount of data a client needs the firm to inspect and protect).
