Welcome to the VMblog 2022 Mega Series
where we cover a number of important topics. In this series, you'll be hearing from the industry
leaders and experts in order to help you make important decisions within
your own organization. Follow along for a chance to better understand a
number of topics and find out more about some of the best technologies
available out there in the industry.
In today's Q&A, we're
speaking with industry expert, Denny LeCompte, CEO of Portnox. And we're diving into the topics of networking and security.
VMblog: Provide a little
background on Portnox. Where is the
company headed into 2023?
Denny LeCompte: Portnox offers cloud-native zero trust access control and cybersecurity essentials that enable agile,
resource-constrained IT teams to proactively address today's most pressing
security challenges: the rapid expansion of enterprise networks, the
proliferation of connected device types, the increased sophistication of
cyberattacks, and the shift to zero trust.
The company experienced rapid growth in 2022 after
closing a Series A round of $22 million with Austin-based VC firm Elsewhere Partners in late
2021. With that investment, the company was able to expand operations in the US,
particularly in sales and marketing - helping to greatly bolster demand and
increase year-over-year revenue. As we look ahead at 2023 and beyond, Portnox is
committed to further innovation and bringing new powerful, zero trust access
control solutions to market that meet the modern security demands put on IT
teams.
VMblog: What specific
problems are being solved by Portnox
LeCompte: Your
security posture is only as strong as the most vulnerable device in use across your
organization. To that end, Portnox delivers today's network and endpoint security
essentials, which combat today's biggest cyber threats, including increasingly
sophisticated ransomware that seeks to break through into corporate networks
via vulnerable connected devices.
Our
zero trust platform's core functionality includes network authentication, access
control, continuous endpoint risk posture assessment, and compliance
enforcement automation.
VMblog: What are two or
three things that make the Portnox Cloud unique?
LeCompte: The Portnox Cloud
delivers a multitude of unique features. First, it is cloud-native, so there is
no on-premise hardware to install or maintain in order to use the product. We've
eliminated maintenance altogether - customers enjoy the latest and greatest access
control service day in and day out and are free from the hassles of upgrades
and patches.
Second, it's zero
trust. The Portnox Cloud prevents any user and
their device from accessing a network, network hardware, or cloud application
without first authenticating their identity and complying with pre-defined
device risk policies. The platform then dictates the degree of access and
administrative privileges to those resources based on the user's role and
compliance state of the user's device.
Third, it's
multi-tenant. This means
organizations and managed service providers (MSPs) can configure and enforce access control and
security policies for all their individual business units or customers from a
single pane of glass. This is an enormous time saver, as it reduces complexity
by eliminating repetitive installations and security policy configurations.
VMblog: Is there a way for
people to trial the Portnox Cloud before they purchase?
LeCompte: Yes, we offer free 30-day trials of all our zero
trust security solutions, including NAC-as-a-Service, RADIUS-as-a-Service and
TACACS+-as-a-Service. Users can create their instance quickly and begin
self-guided configuration and deployment. We see many users deploy Portnox's
security solutions across their environments in as little as 30 minutes. This
speaks to the ease and simplicity of Portnox's cloud-native platform.
For organizations
looking for a more "white glove" experience, we offer collaborative proof of
concepts of our solutions, where prospective customers can work closely with
our product engineers to test our services across their environments while
building up to full deployment.
VMblog: How is Portnox
different from its competitors and why would a company choose Portnox?
LeCompte: Traditional
on-premise solutions for access control require significant on-going
maintenance such as hardware upgrades and software patches. This type of work
prohibits IT from accomplishing other security priorities and puts a strain on
the many companies whose IT departments are experiencing staffing shortages,
skillset gaps, and budget constraints.
Today,
Portnox offers the only cloud-native solution for zero trust access control
that can effectively meet the needs of all organizations. As an easy-to-use,
manage, and scale zero trust access control solution, the Portnox Cloud is
purpose-built for increasingly distributed workforces, diverse device types,
and for the determent of sophisticated cyberattacks.
VMblog: How
does Portnox fit into a zero trust security model?
LeCompte: As
the network edge continues to sprawl beyond physical enterprise perimeters
thanks to the continued acceleration of at-home, mobile, and hybrid work
environments, access control - for both networks and enterprise cloud
applications - remains an enabling technology for zero trust security
approaches.
If we
step back and look at the full spectrum of zero trust coverage areas - which
includes identity, endpoints, data, apps, infrastructure and networks - the
Portnox Cloud provides support across all six of the key areas of a zero trust
security model.
Our NAC-as-a-Service provides zero trust security
coverage in the areas of identity, endpoints, data...and of course, the network.
While our cloud-native TACACS+
solution provides AAA services to bolster administration and security for
network infrastructure. For cloud applications, Portnox delivers zero trust access
control through our integration with OKTA. Customers that have OKTA can
leverage this functionality today. Coming soon, we'll offer cloud application
access control for everyone, including non-OKTA users. This will enable
companies to enforce universal zero trust access control across both their
networks and enterprise cloud applications.
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