ALPHARETTA, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DefenseStorm, a leading cloud-based cybersecurity and cybercompliance management provider to regional and community banks and credit unions, today announced it achieved record growth in 2020 with a 42% increase in customer count and a 95% customer retention rate, continuing its forward momentum in a year disrupted by a global health crisis that brought about an extraordinary array of cybersecurity challenges.
“Last year brought unprecedented challenges for financial institutions, from adapting to a more remote workforce, to embracing new cloud technologies and facing the mounting threat of targeted attacks on the banking sector,” said Steve Soukup, chief executive officer at DefenseStorm. “DefenseStorm remains focused on partnering with banks, credit unions and fintechs to provide real-time cyber safety and soundness. This focus, combined with continued investment in our platform and people, will propel us together with our customers through 2021 and beyond.”
DefenseStorm’s success correlates with growing board-level concerns around security, accelerated digital transformation and the subsequent need for financial institutions to have deeper visibility into their security systems. In 2020, DefenseStorm met that need by delivering numerous items from its product roadmap, including a second-generation version of Active Compliance and a new Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution. To support continued growth of its product and service offerings, the company hired for several key Product Management roles focused on compliance, artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as fraud. And to further accelerate overall capabilities, DefenseStorm raised a $12M Series B round led by Georgian, bringing its total funding to date to $47M.
Moving into its seventh year of operation, customer satisfaction continues to be a priority for DefenseStorm. And that level of dedication showed as nearly one-fourth of customers up for contract renewal in 2020 opted for an extended contract term of 5 years versus the general, minimum commitment. One of these renewals was Arrow Financial Corporation, a DefenseStorm customer for 3 years.
“Between managing a hybrid workforce and providing community members with the necessary funds to keep their businesses running during COVID, the increased draw on IT and Security is greater than ever,” said Danielle Burch, Security Analyst Engineer at Arrow Financial Corporation. “Having a proactive approach to security is key and DefenseStorm serves as an extended member of our cybersecurity team, working around the clock to help us manage our exposure. DefenseStorm was the right choice for our bank nearly three years ago and remains the right choice for us today.”
Additional 2020 achievements include eight awards across industry, local and national levels. Most notably, DefenseStorm ranked 1450 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America, primarily due to an impressive 305% growth rate from 2016 to 2019. DefenseStorm also held its second annual client meeting in 2020 with more than half of their clients attending a virtual wine tasting which delivered a deliberate mix of business and pleasure.
“2020 was a pivotal year for DefenseStorm as we continue to establish our leadership as the premier provider of cyber safety and soundness for banks, credit unions and fintechs,” said Soukup. “2021 will bring its own unique challenges for sure, but our team remains focused on tight partnership with our clients – providing value to them daily and ensuring complete and proactive cyber exposure readiness to keep our clients cyber safe and sound.”
About DefenseStorm
DefenseStorm provides cybersecurity and cybercompliance solutions specifically built for banking to achieve and maintain Cyber Safety & Soundness. The DefenseStorm GRID™ is the only co-managed, cloud-based and compliance-automated solution of its kind, operating as a technology system and as a service supported by experts in FI security and compliance. It watches everything on a bank or credit union’s network and matches it to defined policies for real time, complete and proactive cyber exposure readiness, keeping security teams smart and executives accountable. FFIEC CAT and ACET requirements are built-in and automated, as can be other frameworks and an FI’s own policies, to achieve Active Compliance™. A Threat Ready Active Compliance (TRAC) Team™ augments a bank or credit union’s internal team to protect business continuity and skills availability while also ensuring cost-effective coverage and management. DefenseStorm is a NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for cloud-based cybersecurity. www.DefenseStorm.com
