I’ve spent my entire career touting the advantages of the cloud, which was tough in the beginning. My biggest fear was related to security — can I provide the same level of security in the cloud as I can when I control everything on premises? As it turns out, the answer is yes, and the cloud can be the most secure environment for your business.
Now that cloud security fears are (mostly) behind us, it’s time to start thinking about how we are going to manage today’s heterogeneous workplace environment; this is where JumpCloud comes in, and why I joined JumpCloud as the Senior Vice President of Engineering. Organizations need to know who and what to allow access to which data and resources, and this starts with the directory. You have to have a single source of truth regardless of whether you’re using Mac, Linux, or Windows, or accessing data from a wide variety of mobile devices. It’s this philosophy and JumpCloud’s vision of “One Directory to Rule Them All®” that attracted me to the company.
JumpCloud also believes that basic security features should be included and accessible to all enterprises, regardless of their size. Sophisticated cloud directory, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and single sign-on (SSO) are basic features that every organization needs — whether a Fortune 500 or a startup. You should not have to sacrifice security or pay much more for it because you are a smaller company. Leveling the playing field for all enterprises is a noble mission, and as a result, JumpCloud serves over 100,000 organizations of all sizes.
Another reason I decided to join the company is because of JumpCloud’s ability to move fast and react to almost instant feedback in real time. Cybersecurity is unique because adversaries have the capability to run experiments and evolve with incredible speed. And while most of their experiments fail, they do eventually succeed. Defenders must also be able to move fast and adapt quickly. JumpCloud’s large customer base enables them to observe in real time, experiment with new approaches, receive feedback, and adapt faster than anyone else.
The most important factor that motivated me to join JumpCloud is the people. JumpCloud’s leadership team is made up of extremely passionate and seasoned entrepreneurs who care deeply about their customers and employees. Our CEO, Rajat Bhargava, wrote and published The Startup Playbook, a go-to resource for entrepreneurs on how to start and run a business. Reading it gave me great insight into his thinking and operating principles before I even started with the company. Upon meeting my team, I was blown away by the caliber of people and talent at JumpCloud. They are smart yet humble, and I look forward to working with them to take JumpCloud to the next level.