CASE STUDY

POPP3R Cybersecurity: Paving the Way for vCISO Services with Cynomi

POPP3R saved 600 manual hours with Cynomi’s automated assessment and reporting process. Cynomi has been a key growth engine for POPP3R, enabling them to scale on demand.

POPP3R

At a Glance

Company

POPP3R is a boutique cybersecurity consultancy and a Canadian government approved CDAP advisor.

Challenge

  • A manual, labor intensive assessment process
  • Manual & time-consuming reporting processes
  • Increased demand for CDAP and security consulting services, but difficulty to scale​

Solution

  • Using Cynomi to allow easy-to-understand and comprehensible assessments
  • Automated reporting that saves precious time and enables scaling
  • Facilitating the transition to recurring vCISO services

Impact

  • Time savings: 600 hours in report creation
  • Fulfilling commitments to CDAP program
  • Facilitating expansion to vCISO services
  • Addressing heightened demand and scaling with ease

Background

POPP3R Cybersecurity is a boutique Canadian cybersecurity consultancy, which was founded in 2020 by Hernan Popper. POPP3R specializes in security awareness training, human risk management, cybersecurity posture assessments and vCISO services, making it a prominent player in the security landscape. In addition, POPP3R is a Canadian government approved CDAP advisor, adding to its prestige and credibility.

The Challenge

POPP3R assists small businesses in their cybersecurity efforts. Much of the day-to-day work requires assessment and reporting of clients’ cybersecurity posture. Despite this heightened demand, the work was mainly manual – maneuvering multiple documents and spreadsheets, which hindered scaling and growth.

The demand for assessments increased as POPP3R was approved by the Canadian government as a CDAP advisor for small businesses. In a short period of time, multiple businesses approached them for their services. However, POPP3R’s manual processes prevented them from being able to capitalize on that demand. At that point, Hernan realized that the assessment and planning processes had to become automated. Seeking a solution that could provide an efficient assessment process and a friendly graphical interface for reporting, he evaluated approximately 15 different solutions, ranging from cybersecurity assessment tools to full-scale GRC products.

“Everything was manual in the process. It took a significant amount of time to conduct the assessment, and an even longer time to produce high quality reports.”

– Hernan Popper, Founder, POPP3R Cybersecurity

The Solution

“Following a thorough market research, I knew Cynomi was the perfect fit for us.”

–  Hernan Popper, Founder, POPP3R Cybersecurity

After approximately 18 months of rigorous evaluation, Hernan picked Cynomi’s vCISO platform. Cynomi had the ability to automate a significant portion of POPP3R’s different work processes, making it easier to gather information and eliminating the hassle from the assessment and reporting processes. The unique assessment process, covering multiple security frameworks, allowed POPP3R to answer a wide variety of client needs.

With Cynomi’s friendly user interface, dashboards and reports, cybersecurity also became easier to understand and more accessible for clients, compared to other solutions that require a technical understanding.

“Cynomi is the only solution out there that makes the assessment straight-forward for small businesses. It’s our core tool for assessments”

– Hernan Popper, Founder, POPP3R Cybersecurity

Cynomi became the core assessment and reporting tool used by POPP3R for all their CDAP customers. POPP3R onboards CDAP customers to Cynomi, conducts a security assessment, and generates a Cynomi report for them.

Once this one-time project is completed, some of those customers continue to an ongoing vCISO engagement with POPP3R. Cynomi seamlessly supports this transition, which is crucial in building trust and relationships with clients, who now rely on POPP3R’s expertise and the capabilities of Cynomi. Hernan recognized this transition to recurring vCISO services as a strategic growth engine for POPP3R.

The Impact

Comprehensive Support Framework:

Cynomi’s vCISO platform delivered substantial and measurable value to POPP3R:

600+ Hours Saved in Report Creation:

By leveraging the Cynomi platform, POPP3R realized significant time savings, as opposed to using manual methods. Within 6 months, POPP3R saved over 600 work hours on automating assessment reporting with Cynomi.

Fulfilling Commitment to CDAP Program:

The adoption of Cynomi allowed POPP3R to fulfill commitments to the CDAP program on time, positioning them as reliable partners in the realm of digital adoption and cybersecurity. Along with automation, this has been key to POPP3R’s ability to significantly scale.

Structured Growth Path:

Cynomi paved the way for a structured growth path, extending beyond immediate program requirements. It allowed POPP3R to transition from one-time engagements to recurring relationships providing ongoing vCISO services, thereby expanding POPP3R consultancy offerings.

Easier Prospecting:

The structured process facilitated by Cynomi has also enabled POPP3R to upsell, as all assessment customers are automatically potential vCISO service clients. By showing their one-time assessment customers the results through Cynomi’s user interface, POPP3R can easily highlight gaps and offer services for addressing them, enhancing both the sales pipeline and revenue.

“Moving from manual vCISO work to Cynomi is like moving from Lotus 123 to SAP.”

– Hernan Popper, Founder, POPP3R Cybersecurity