CASE STUDY

Secure Cyber Defense Closes Deals 3x Faster with Cynomi

Secure Cyber Defense adopted Cynomi as the core platform for their vCISO program, significantly reducing client discovery time, accelerating deal closures, and enhancing client relationships.

Secure cyber defense

At a Glance

Company

Secure Cyber Defense’s vCISO program helps organizations strengthen their cybersecurity posture while navigating complex security landscapes.

Challenge

  • Manual, time-consuming assessments
  • Inefficient client discovery process
  • Slow deal closures
  • Difficulty maintaining client engagement
  • Limited capacity to scale vCISO services

Solution

  • Automated risk assessments
  • Streamlined client onboarding
  • Continuous client engagement
  • Simplified client communication

Impact

  • 3x faster deal closures
  • 90% reduction in discovery time
  • Enhanced client engagement and retention
  • Drove business growth
  • Empowered junior staff to handle senior-level assessments
  • Improved client communication

Background

Secure Cyber Defense is a leading MSSP specializing in managed SOC services, threat intelligence, and advisory solutions. They provide expert cybersecurity consulting and managed detection and response services to manufacturing companies, financial institutions, local governments, government contractors, and educational institutions, including K-12 schools and universities.

Their vCISO program helps organizations across industries enhance their cybersecurity posture and navigate complex security challenges.

The Challenge

“Before Cynomi, assessments were largely manual, using Word documents and spreadsheets. Now, we’ve automated much of the process, which not only saves time but ensures consistency across every engagement.”

– Shawn Waldman, CEO, Secure Cyber Defense

Secure Cyber Defense, like many MSPs and MSSPs, faced challenges in scaling and delivering vCISO services efficiently. Initially, their processes relied on Excel-based assessments, which limited scalability and required significant manual effort.

  • Manual, time-consuming assessments: Time-intensive, paper-based risk assessments and client discovery sessions.
  • Inefficient client discovery process: Weeks spent gathering information before meaningful security discussions could occur.
  • Slow deal closures: Lengthy client engagement cycles, often taking up to 3 months to secure contracts.
  • Difficulty maintaining client engagement: Difficulty maintaining continuous security conversations beyond one-off assessments.
  • Limited Capacity to Scale vCISO Services: Manual processes and time-consuming assessments hindered the ability to efficiently scale the vCISO practice and expand the client base.

These challenges slowed the growth of the vCISO practice.

The Solution

“Cynomi transformed our client discovery process. What used to take weeks now takes just four hours. It streamlined our vCISO practice, allowing us to focus on meaningful security improvements.”

— Chad Robinson, CISO & VP of Advisory, Secure Cyber Defense

Secure Cyber Defense turned to Cynomi to streamline its vCISO services, enhance client engagement, and overcome the inefficiencies of manual processes.

Cynomi’s intuitive, AI-driven platform transformed how Secure Cyber Defense conducted risk assessments, onboarded clients, and managed ongoing security operations. By automating key processes and providing clear, actionable insights, Cynomi enabled the team to focus on delivering strategic value rather than getting bogged down in time-consuming administrative tasks.

  • Automated risk assessments: Replaced manual, pen-and-paper assessments with an automated process, simplifying data collection and reducing administrative overhead.
  • Streamlined client onboarding: Shifted the discovery process to clients, allowing them to input critical information upfront, which accelerated the onboarding workflow.
  • Continuous client engagement: SecureCyber transitioned to a retainer-based model with recurring assessments to ensure ongoing security management rather than a one-time service. By using Cynomi’s centralized platform, they were able to facilitate continuous, data-driven security discussions that drive ongoing improvements.
  • Simplified client communication: Offered an intuitive interface and clear reporting, making it easy for both technical and non-technical stakeholders to understand security gaps and priorities.

Cynomi became the backbone of Secure Cyber Defense’s vCISO program, empowering them to deliver faster, more efficient, and more impactful security services.

“The process always had a template, but with Cynomi, we can now run multiple assessments at the same time, making everything faster and more scalable.” 

– Shawn Waldman, CEO, Secure Cyber Defense

The Impact

With Cynomi, Secure Cyber Defense automated and standardized assessments, allowing them to serve more clients efficiently while improving service quality.

“Cynomi keeps clients engaged beyond just the initial assessment. That long-term engagement is critical.”

– Shawn Waldman, CEO, Secure Cyber Defense

  • 3x faster deal closures: Reduced the average time to secure new engagements from 3 months to 3 weeks
  • 90% reduction in discovery time: Client discovery now takes just 4 hours instead of weeks
  • Improved client retention: The move from one-time risk assessments to continuous security improvement and retention-based pricing was a strategic shift that improved client engagement and retention and set them apart from competitors.
  • Enhanced client relationships: Cynomi helps drive more meaningful conversations around security and enables continuous security evaluations, helping maintain client engagement over time. 
  • Drove business growth: Cynomi not only streamlined operations but also contributed directly to business growth by reducing time-to-sign, enabling faster scaling of the vCISO practice, and freeing up internal resources. The ability to run multiple assessments at once was a game-changer for handling a growing client base.
  • Empowered junior staff: Cynomi empowered junior staff to handle high-level assessments, reducing reliance on senior security professionals and making service delivery more efficient and scalable. This is helping Secure Cyber Defense overcome the cybersecurity talent gap. 

“Cynomi is more than just a tool—it’s become the foundation of our vCISO program. We use it every single day. It’s helped us scale, improve client relationships, and deliver real security value faster than ever before.”
— Chad Robinson, CISO & VP of Advisory, Secure Cyber Defense

“I would 100% recommend Cynomi to any MSSP looking for a risk assessment platform. It’s helped us identify security gaps quickly and improve client security faster.”
— Chad Robinson, CISO & VP of Advisory, Secure Cyber Defense