OmniNet: Building Next-Gen Cyber security Architecture

“Cybersecurity is clearly a concern that the entire business community shares, but it represents an especially pernicious threat to smaller businesses.”

Cyber attacks and data breaches don’t look like they are going to slow down. We have seen high-end data breaches of both large and small companies, with data, personal records and financial information stolen and sold on the black market in a matter of days. Criminals are stepping up their game and data breaches are becoming both common and devastating.

In view of the above mentioned concern, we are excited to present OmniNet, Inc., a leading provider of Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) for small businesses.

The OmniNet Cloud is a multi-layered, sophisticated security stack that inspects all traffic at wire speed using up to a half dozen industry leading security engines. All data is tunnelled to the OmniNet Cloud to go through a vigorous screening process detecting and blocking any malware, malicious links/content, threats or intrusions. This vigorous filtering process is applied to both incoming and outbound traffic. Anything going in or out is thoroughly cleaned, thus a network is protected.

Interview Excerpt: Andrew Bagrin, Founder & CEO

Why was the company set up? How did you select the vertical and decide to be a part of the global platform?

The internet has become an indispensable tool in business world. Companies of all sizes have woven the internet into almost every aspect of their operations, a trend that is likely to accelerate as companies embrace mobile and cloud computing to an even larger degree. And while the internet has fostered a tremendous degree of economic growth, it has also introduced profound security risks. Reports of massive data breaches have become commonplace, and the average cost of such breaches reached record levels. Cybersecurity is clearly a concern that the entire business community shares, but it represents an especially pernicious threat to smaller businesses. The reason is simple: small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are not just targets of cybercrime, they are its principal target. It has been estimated that half of the small businesses that suffer a cyberattack go out of business within six months as a result.

It’s safe to mention that there was a growing need to address cybersecurity in the small business market and no one was warming up to the challenge. And that’s how OmniNet was born.

What do you feel are the reasons behind:

Your product popularity – Cybersecurity has been a tough area to expand in. The reason why the popularity is the ability for non-security focused firms to easily and successfully become security service providers. There is a big need out there for simplicity. The average public didn’t want to use smart phones until Apple came out with and extremely simple version that anyone can use without getting intimidated. We are doing the same thing with a platform to manage CySec.

I really enjoy when we can easily provide something of great value. Every time I see the stats and how many breaches, infections we prevented, it makes me smile because we are helping so many small business to continue doing business and not have to fall victim to cybercrime. I really enjoy the technology, helping people to grow in this field, and the good that we are doing in the world.

Your consistence growth as an organization – Being persistent and constantly tuning and refining the operations process. Every area of the organization needs to constantly be getting better, from devops, to support to sales etc. This constant improvement requires a regular cycle with a feedback loop and monitored change/improvements.

Nothing really prepared me well for starting and running a company. However, most of my skill acquired in business and tech over the years did come in handy. Without them, I would never be able to learn as I go. I have a bad habit of diving in and needing to understand all details of everything. Literally, I needed to discipline myself to not always get involved with everything.

What were the grounds on which you have expanded your company and its offerings over the years?

At different stages there were different grounds. There were times when we hit the gas and grew quickly, then had to slow down to adjust the product and hit the gas again. It was a touch and go for a while. The key is to manage the growth at the edge of comfort.

To start a venture you just need guts or the right level of crazy. You should be well-organized to properly adjust and improve where needed while taking criticism the right way, and continue to be excited about what you are doing, believe in it and continue to sell.

Do you have any new products ready to be/getting ready to be rolled out into the market?

We recently released OmniWAN. It’s our security product OmniShield, which is ElasticUTM or FWaaS, fused together with SDWAN. The combination is very synergistic and establishes a solid foundation to the networking of a company which drives all the technology of that company, which really drives most of the business. The improvements to the overall business are tremendous when all the technology works much better. We have some amazing things coming in the pipeline as well; all of it is what our partners have been requesting for quite some time.

Man behind the success

Andrew Bagrin, Founder & CEO: With more than 20 years of experience in the IT security industry, Andrew started OmniNet in 2013 to bring cloud-based, enterprise-level security technology to small businesses at an affordable price.

Prior to founding OmniNet, Andrew served as the Director of Service Provider Business Development for 5 years at Fortinet, a network security provider.

Andrew’s career in IT security began in 1997, working for several network security-consulting companies. He then served as the Director of Network and Security with Regal Entertainment Group. During his tenure, Andrew developed a 500-site wide area network, built and migrated a datacenter, and was a key asset in four strategic corporate acquisitions, which resulted in the largest theater chain in the world. Andrew then took a position with Check Point Software Technologies, where he worked on building managed security services.

“Full-service cyber security, from the OmniNet cloud to your network, through any gateway.”