Navigating IT environments requires eyes to monitor and protect its digital assets. Every known organization is at risk of falling victim to cyberattack. Cybercriminals continue to discover new ways of infiltrating the system, which forces enterprises to invest in the best security solutions. TechTimes sits down with Santiago Bassett, the CEO of Wazuh, to discuss the journey of the company, from its humble beginnings to becoming the leading provider of open-source security solutions.
Company Origin
"Wazuh makes cybersecurity accessible to all organizations through open-source technology and collective intelligence." The company provides unified XDR (extended detection and response) and SIEM (security information and event management) solutions that are easy to deploy and integrate with third-party tools. Both keep threats under control and safeguard workloads across IT environments, packaged in one security platform.
The company ensures threat detection and remediation at no cost as its multi-platform security agents collect security and runtime event data. As Bassett answered, "Wazuh builds free and open-source cybersecurity for everyone."
Competitive Edge
Every company has a unique selling point or advantage over its competitors. When asked about theirs, Bassett mentioned Wazuh has "the largest open-source cybersecurity community" where users can interact with product developers, contributors, and others through multiple community channels for complementary support services.
Wazuh takes pride in its community as it comprises an ecosystem of users and contributors who value the quality, transparency, security, flexibility, and cost efficiency of open-source products. Bassett said, "We continuously leverage our open-source community to build a better product."
True to his testament, the open-source security platform has over 20 million downloads annually. It is customizable to meet the specific requirements of organizations. This gives users greater flexibility and control over their environment. Numerous enterprises, including Fortune 500 companies and tech giants, have chosen Wazuh to improve their cybersecurity posture, reduce costs, and avoid costly fines and penalties as the platform also supports compliance standards like PCI DSS and SOC2.
Standards of Quality
Wazuh adheres to high standards of quality to deliver a modern and comprehensive cybersecurity solution that can address the evolving threat landscape through its SIEM and XDR capabilities. These standards "ensure that the Wazuh platform is reliable, secure, and effective" as Bassett said. The company conducts regular audits and follows secure coding practices to maintain the quality of its platform.
Wazuh makes its source code publicly available so anyone can review, audit, and verify its quality. "This transparency helps in identifying and addressing potential issues quickly."
Company Culture
Wazuh values transparency, collaboration, and innovation. Through its open code base, the company credits its developers and contributors. Bassett said, "Our goal is not only to grow as a project but also to contribute to the democratization of cybersecurity."
These virtues have been key to its success as the company grows in pursuit of its vision, with a team of 200+ professionals distributed worldwide. "Active communities provide robust support and knowledge sharing, leading to high-quality, secure, and sustainable products."
Moreover, having a transparent code and regular audits from the community helps ensure high security and reliability. With their contribution, Wazuh can deliver timely upgrades so its users can save operational costs instead of worrying about provisioning or maintaining the infrastructure.
Materializing the Company Vision through The Power of Collective Intelligence
The collective efforts of its team and contributors set up the company to successfully materialize its vision. All leaders and employees of Wazuh are dedicated and committed to making cybersecurity accessible to all organizations through open-source technology.
"Many great companies, like Red Hat and Elastic, have built their businesses around open-source products. There are also successful open-source projects, like the Linux Kernel and Apache HTTP Server, both known for their high-quality code, strong communities, and extensive documentation."
Ideally, in the future, Bassett hopes that Wazuh "will become an essential part of any robust cybersecurity infrastructure." Currently, it is the most widely used XDR and SIEM technology, with tens of millions of downloads per year.
The cybersecurity industry is rapidly adopting the Wazuh platform. Eventually, the open-source security platform will become an essential part of any robust cybersecurity infrastructure. Bassett believes that "leveraging the adoption of our solution to gather global cybersecurity telemetry will enhance user protection through the power of collective intelligence."
Earning its Keep
How does the company grow as a business when anyone can download or access the platform for free? The company monetizes through multiple channels. First, it offers Wazuh Cloud, which delivers Wazuh software as a service (SaaS), providing a ready-to-use solution that requires no additional hardware or software. This service features a flexible infrastructure that customers can customize to their needs and upgrade to the most suitable tier. Additionally, Wazuh provides professional support for users who prefer on-premises deployments. The company also collaborates with over 100 partners worldwide through its partner program, enabling them to deliver managed security services using Wazuh. This diversified approach ensures robust business growth while maintaining a free, open-source platform for the community.
Prospects can also sign up for its partner program and get exclusive benefits like a 4-day online technical training course, pre-sales assistance, and special discounts on any offerings and partnership renewal fees. As Bassett had explained they "collaborate with over 100 partners worldwide through our partner program, enabling them to deliver managed security services using Wazuh." Signing up allows them to deliver managed security services through the enterprise-ready security monitoring platform.
Personal Advice from the CEO
Wazuh
Santiago Bassett left his job and founded Wazuh even though he had no entrepreneurial or business experience. He started the company with no funding, yet his goal was to make a unified platform to counter present-day, sophisticated cyber threats.
When asked for his personal advice to anyone planning to start a business in the cybersecurity industry, he said to "innovate and be different."
Bassett echoed the Apple campaign "Think Different," which applies to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to thrive in the industry. Since the market is crowded and competitive, he reiterated that "trying to emulate what everyone else is doing can result in failure."
Conclusion
Wazuh distinguishes itself through its open source technology and collective intelligence. At no cost, its platform can monitor and protect digital assets across a wide range of environments and improve an organization's cybersecurity posture. Its accessibility, scalability, and community support makes the platform a compelling choice for many enterprises to counter evolving threats.
