Say Hello to the Cool Board

CREDIT Its important to have an opinion - so said Clarkson when he and Hammond launched the Top Gear Cool Wall. We borrowed bits of the concept for cyber vendor rating and built the Cool Board as all of our contacts across the cyber sector told us they wanted it - so here it is:

Cool Board Launch

RATING With over 17,000 vendors in the cyber security pond it doesn't pay to be anything less than prescriptive about what outcomes you want to realize lest of course you're happy to run the risk of drowning in the koolade that will be poured down your throat.

We don't rate all vendors rather we include those who make it to our attention and get plaudits from our clients.

There are ten tests:

1. Automation impacts posture - with most clients having small sec ops teams this is key
2. Bang for buck - there are a lot of leading tool charging big bucks out of tight budgets!
3. Cloud friendliness - with momentum toward cloud migration this is a priority criteria for most of our clients
4. Ease from glass to change - if it isn't automatic is it made simple for inexperienced people to remediate?
5. Ease of implementation - some tools really don't go in easily and with limited resources that's a big deal.
6. Level of support required - once its in and running how much love does it need to nail the stated outcomes?
7. Maturity - with new vendors being born every day (literally) lets respect the proven runners who have matured with the scar tissue to prove it.
8. Road Map - if you don't know where you're headed why should your clients be comfortable joining you on the journey?
9. Year 1 Outcomes - What is the net delivery in year 1 that I get for my $?
10. Year 2 & Beyond - Are you offering a flash in the pan change or do you just keep on giving?

All rated out of 10 to give and overall average that determines the vendors Cool Rating and therefore whether they make it into the exclusive Sub Zero club or drop into one of the lesser levels.

Click on the vendor card to read our thoughts and again to flip the card for a look at their actual score card against the above tests:

PRECIOUS we are not. There is every reason why we might get our ratings wide of the mark. the point of the Cool Board is to share so that we can enhance so please have your say.

• AGREE = Fist Bump on the card
• RATE UP = Thumbs up (we will take input here to help us review the vendor upwards)
• RATE DOWN = Thumbs down (we will take input here to help us review the vendor downward)

Or there is a clarion button that you can hit from anywhere in the Cool Board to send us a rave or rant or both.

SERIOUSLY? It's a bit of fun but in the end it's a serious bit of fun.

Dive In. We look forward to hearing from you and to improving the board for all.

Enjoy!