One of the main factors driving the spectacular acceleration of cloud adoption in the current marketplace is that today’s most in-demand technologies, the innovations transforming almost every industry, are best deployed in a modern cloud scenario such as Azure or AWS. Burgeoning technology domains like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and IoT (internet of things) are best leveraged in the cloud compared to on-premises data centers because of the inherent need for scalable and flexible computing, open source tools, and integration with disparate services. As such, the cloud has become the de facto home for these sorts of nascent solutions that are now beginning to define digital transformation in the business world. And as these mission critical solutions get deployed into cloud infrastructure, the need for cloud-native security and compliance to protect these initiatives becomes even more pronounced.
A testament to this new reality is that, by now, most of us are accustomed to seeing artificial intelligence and machine learning in our daily lives. From awkward interactions with Alexa and customer service chatbots, to fitness trackers and Netflix recommendations – the last decade has made all of these things essentially commonplace. It’s indeed an interesting time to be alive when your refrigerator has an IP address and the car you drove to work is internet connected and outfitted with 50-100 different CPU’s inside of it. But as next generation technology goes, IoT presents unique technological and business opportunities because of the interactions with physical environments and the decades of fragmented technology involved.
In May we announced a strategic development partnership with the Nebraska Applied Research Institute (NARI), a nationally recognized cyber security research and development organization affiliated with the University of Nebraska at Omaha. One of the things most intriguing to us about NARI is their unique focus on Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) – which is the all encompassing term for IoT environments. Our product team is collaborating with NARI to develop new IoT specific security tools, called NavoticsCPS, which are based on the latest risks and techniques, and leverage cloud platforms like Azure IoT Hub to present comprehensive solutions. From building controls to medical devices, IoT operations are business critical and yet woefully behind when it comes to tooling and security. We’re excited to change that!
Today, we’re announcing the commercial availability of our core product – OpsCompass Helm – which provides continuous security and compliance for organizations on Microsoft Azure. Helm provides automated ‘guardrails’ for Azure – allowing development teams to modernize and innovate quickly without the risk of going ‘off of the rails’ with respect to data governance, regulatory compliance, and overall security posture. Helm is automated, continuous, and purpose-built for Azure infrastructure services. As companies embrace Azure and digital transformation, we’re making sure the tools and security transforms along with them.
Needless to say, the past few months have been more than exciting as we’ve been tirelessly on-boarding customers, refining our product, and helping customers use Azure in the safest and most powerful ways. Our customers and partners have helped make our mission crystal clear. We’re executing on an aggressive plan to change how companies adopt, use, and ultimately secure their cloud environments. With a wide ranging Azure security and compliance product like Helm, and unique IoT security tools like NavoticsCPS, we’re confident that we’re building the foundation for countless organizations to embrace enterprise technology’s future. Our team and organization is poised to be a leader in cloud security and compliance and we’re looking forward to being at the foundation of our customer’s digital transformation for years to come.
