Interview: @Bitium Brings Unified Security to Cloud | @CloudExpo [#Cloud]

Bitium, based in Santa Monica, CA, works in the cloud to provide secure management of an enterprise's applications, users, and passwords in one place. We asked company Co-founder and CEO Scott Kriz a few questions about the company's vision and strategy. Cloud Computing Journal: What was the inspiration behind starting the company? Scott Kriz: Both Erik Gustavson, Bitium Co-founder and CTO, and I have started and worked for multiple tech companies throughout our professional careers. Most recently we ran product and engineering at a company called Fastpoint Games. We used a ton of SaaS and web-based applications to get our work done and continuously grappled with how to manage our own internal tools. We had a revolving door of seasonal or contract employees and the onboarding/off-boarding process became cumbersome and inhibited us from focusing on our core business. As we looked for solutions we realized that no one in the industry was solving this problem well, which is when we first came up with the idea for Bitium. With the proliferation of enterprise SaaS, we knew that there were countless companies having the same problems. We created Bitium because we want to empower companies and people to realize the full potential of web-based software. This would enable those companies to focus on their core business and not get bogged down managing software.” CCJ: You provide what could be called a "SaaS Operating System." Could you elaborate on that? Scott: We look at it more like a Unified Cloud Management System. Bitium is the centralized system, or tool, for managing a company’s SaaS, web, and mobile applications. With Bitium, IT can automate workflows, control and monitor SaaS usage, and manage employees all in one place. Bitium provides single sign-on, password and application security monitoring, auto-provisioning, HRMS synching, directory integration, industrial-grade security, and much more. CCJ: What advantages do your customers see once they've centralized management of their apps? Scott: Once everything is centralized in Bitium, IT can effectively and efficiently monitor organizational health in terms of application security, password strength and compliance through our Insights. Bitium centralizes the management of an organization’s applications and employees. Administrators can use Bitium’s Reports to monitor app utilization and see user activity. The Audit Log allows admins to track who is logging into apps, at what time, and their IP address in addition to deeper metrics on who grants and revokes access to applications. Bitium’s features help companies optimize SaaS and web-app usage. While there are many benefits to using web based software, including efficiency and cost, we have recognized inefficiencies that have been created with the shift to the cloud and have created a solution to those solve those inefficiencies.

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