Armorblox’s First RSA on the Books

It’s an exciting time here at Armorblox. We launched out of stealth mode just a month ago, and two weeks later, exhibited at our first RSA Conference. This RSA was particularly special because in addition to celebrating the successful Armorblox launch, this year marked my 10th RSA and 10th year in the security industry.

For each of these shows, my goal is to nail the planning and preparation so I can enjoy my time at the show. It’s rewarding to see hard work pay off, so of course it’s exciting to drive successful results for my company: collecting new marketing leads, meeting with industry influencers, helping the sales team meet with prospects, etc.

But it’s also personally fulfilling to see the many friends I’ve made over the years in the industry. So much of our time is spent emailing or talking on the phone; these larger conferences bring the security community together in one place so we can catch up in person.

The Armorblox activities at RSA made this show memorable for me, and I hope others enjoyed them as well as a chance to learn more about the company, and to get to know us better in person.

Armorblox in the Early Stage Expo

Having been at bigger companies like Qualys and Tenable, I can appreciate a large marketing investment at RSA for a high level of sponsorship, a large booth and a strong presence at the show. This year attracted over 700 exhibitors spread out across Moscone’s North and South Halls, as well as the connecting corridors. Walking through the area could be overwhelming, and it’s easy for smaller vendors to get lost in the sea of 10x10’ booths.

Since this was our first year and we are freshly out of stealth mode, we exhibited in the Early Stage Expo (ESE) for startups. Located at the Marriott Marquis, the ESE is the area where people go to see what is new and exciting in the industry. RSA promotes it as a way to meet the “industry’s most promising newcomers” with turnkey kiosks for newer companies who don’t have large marketing teams or 10s of thousands of dollars to spend on a booth.

We had a blast meeting with hundreds of folks who came by to talk to us.

Also during the week, we offered private demos in the Presidential Suite of the Intercontinental Hotel hosted by our friends at SPJ.

Blox Party at Microsoft Reactor

I joined Armorblox in November to help launch the company out of stealth mode in February. It was an aggressive timeline, compounded by the fact that just two weeks after launch, we wanted to host an event at RSA to celebrate our launch with our early supporters and customers.

With many venues close to Moscone booked long in advance, we were lucky enough to book Microsoft Reactor SF for Tuesday night for our event. Microsoft Reactors are community hubs where you can host technical events, such as technology-led community events, coding events, and informational events on key topics, like cloud computing, big data, or AI.

This was perfect for us because instead of just throwing a party, we wanted to provide stimulating conversations on timely security issues. So we organized two panels with distinguished guests.

The first panel focused on “Security v. Privacy in the Age of AI”, and was comprised of Candace Worley, VP and Chief Strategist for McAfee, Gunter Ollmann, CSO of the Cloud and AI Security Division of Microsoft, and Michael Keithley, CIO of United Talent Agency. It was moderated by Michele Law, former COO of OpenDNS. You can read about the lively discussion in this Forbes piece covering the panel.

Our second panel featured Armorblox customers discussing “Enterprise Security’s Biggest Challenge: Preventing People Hacking. It featured Chuck Drobny, CEO and President of GlobaLogix, Maurice Stebila, CISO of Harman by Samsung, and Marivi Stuchinsky, Global CTO of Technologent, and was moderated by our own Anand Raghavan, Cofounder and CPO of Armorblox.

It was a fun evening. We were thrilled to celebrate with early adopters and supporters. Although it was pouring rain outside, and there were about 15 other competing events, we had a great turnout!

Thanks to all who came out to meet with us at RSA! It was a great first show for us, and we look forward to many more.

Did you miss us at the show? Sign up for a demo, and we’ll set up a time to meet and show you our platform.