Security Platform Provider Verodin Brings In Former Symantec Exec As New Chief Revenue Officer

Verodin, a developer of technology for measuring the effectiveness of business security environments, on Tuesday said it has hired former Symantec executive Rob Potter as its first chief revenue officer.

The move from Symantec to Reston, Va.-based Verodin offered an opportunity to work with technology that adds value to existing security environments, including businesses working with his former employer, Potter (pictured) told CRN.

"This is innovative technology," he said. "But we're not playing in the same swim lanes as other vendors. Customers are really challenged to know how their security products align with their expectations. It's important to look at what technologies can address their needs, and ensure there's no drift in how the technology impacts their environments."

[Related: Q&A: Symantec CEO On DigiCert Deal And Partner Growth With Platform Security]

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Potter left Symantec in early July during that company's leadership transition, and joined Verodin in late July, he said.

Verodin provides Potter a way to use his years of security experience at Symantec, and before that at RSA and EMC, to help customers who have already invested in security manage the technologies they've invested in.

"Our ability to measure the effectiveness of security solutions, to see if they are failing and how they are failing, all help determine how to improve the security environment," he said. "We're not a security company. We're a business platform."

The Verodin platform provides the instrumentation to determine the efficacy of customers' security environment, and see how that environment is impacted by removing a security technology, or moving from an on-premises technology to the cloud, Potter said. "Our technology looks at how such changes might impact their security, and looks at new ways to enhance their security," he said.

Verodin can integrate with and measure the efficacy of endpoint security, proxies, firewalls and more, Potter said.

"We have the ability to act as both the attacker and the defender inside the firewall to look at how the environment reacts to an attack, what alerts are sent, and how security people respond," he said. "It's not a traditional product to block or detect something. Instead, it looks at if products already in the environment protect and defend as they are expected to."

"Everybody is looking for outcomes," said Todd Weber, vice president of partner research and strategy at Optiv Security, a Denver-based security-focused solution provider and Verodin channel partner. "Buying technology for the sake of technology may be fun, but customers need outcomes. We take customers through the buying process by saying these products solve certain problem, but if you don't have this problem, don't buy it."

"Some customers are managing 25 to 30 consoles, and are not sure they are getting the efficacy they need," Weber said. "We work with Verodin to determine which tools have value, which don't and which are misconfigured."

For Potter, the role of chief revenue officer encompasses a number of initiatives. "As you look at multiple aspects of an organization and its push to drive revenue and brand recognition, this role is a way of organizing this all under a 'C' title," he said. "Basically, I look at anything that's customer-focused."

Potter said the biggest challenge of a chief revenue officer at an early-stage company has already been taken care of. "We already have technology that works, and has proven to work in enterprise environments," he said. "We already have successful deployments in some of the largest corporations in the world. Now we need to look at how customers look at the technology."

"From our perspective, Potter's in charge of the customer side including customer experience and customer satisfaction," Weber said. "We work well with Verodin, which has a great channel program. With Potter, the company is bringing Symantec experience to enhance its offerings."

Verodin's goal is to eventually be a very friendly partner to solution providers, and eventually take 100 percent of all sales through partners, Potter said.

The company is very much in channel partner recruitment mode, he said. "The ideal partner is an organization that has made the commitment and investment to become a trusted advisor to the enterprise," he said.