Cloud Conformity

Cloud Conformity is a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) company that provides a software-as-a-service platform for monitoring and securing public cloud infrastructures. Launched in Sydney, Australia, in 2016 by Michael Watts, Mike Rahmati, Keith Davison, and Xabi Errotabehere, the company established its headquarters in the US. The founders, including CEO Michael Watts, leveraged their expertise in cloud technology to address the common and often-overlooked security risks arising from infrastructure misconfigurations.

The company's business model is centered on a subscription-based service that offers continuous, real-time monitoring of cloud environments. It primarily serves enterprises utilizing Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. The platform is designed to help clients maintain compliance with major regulatory standards like PCI, GDPR, HIPAA, and NIST by identifying and flagging misconfigurations. Revenue is generated through subscriptions to its monitoring and compliance platform.

The core of Cloud Conformity's offering is its extensive rules engine, which checks against hundreds of best practices. A key feature is its ability to not only detect security vulnerabilities but also to provide step-by-step instructions for remediation and, in some cases, execute automated corrections. The tool also includes a pre-deployment feature that scans Infrastructure-as-Code templates (specifically CloudFormation) to identify potential issues before they are live in a production environment. A significant selling point is that the service operates with read-only access to a client's cloud metadata, ensuring it does not access sensitive application data.

After a period of growth, which included a Series A funding round of $3.7 million in 2018, Cloud Conformity attracted significant market attention. In October 2019, cybersecurity firm Trend Micro acquired Cloud Conformity for approximately $70 million, integrating its CSPM capabilities into Trend Micro's broader Cloud One security suite. The acquisition brought all of Cloud Conformity's employees into Trend Micro, and its services were made immediately available to Trend Micro's customer base.

Keywords: Cloud Security Posture Management, CSPM, AWS security, Azure security, cloud compliance, infrastructure monitoring, cloud configuration, security automation, Trend Micro, Michael Watts, cloud governance, real-time monitoring, infrastructure-as-code scanning, PCI compliance, GDPR compliance, HIPAA compliance, NIST standards, cloud infrastructure security, configuration management, vulnerability detection