Kolide Raises $17M Series B To Enable IT Teams To Secure Devices With The Help Of Employees

The endpoint security platform is helping teams like Glassdoor and 1Password monitor an increasingly remote endpoint ecosystem while protecting employee privacy.

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Kolide

Sep 16, 2021, 09:00 ET

BOSTON, Sept. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kolide, the user-focused endpoint security platform for teams that Slack, announced today that it raised $17M in Series B investment funding bringing the total funding to date to $27M. The round was led by Boston-based OpenView Partners, a VC that exclusively invests in product-led SaaS B2B companies. OpenView joined other participating investors such as Matrix Partners, who previously led the Series A.

Kolide is betting big on a user-focused approach to endpoint security. Unlike other endpoint security products which ignore users and only alert the security team, Kolide's SaaS product enlists the help of employees directly to fix serious issues it detects on Linux, Mac, and Windows devices. All communication happens over a Slack app that messages end-users when their device no longer meets the security standards set by the company. The messages include customized instructions and even a way for end-users to immediately verify they correctly fixed the problem.

This combination of high quality cross-platform visibility and end-user involvement enables Kolide to fix issues that cannot be resolved with traditional endpoint security and management software. For example, customers can use Kolide to remind employees to remove sensitive data after it has been lingering for a little too long on their local drive.

"With Kolide, Glassdoor receives a wealth of information about our endpoint fleet, helping us understand the 'who, what, and why' of all of our user systems," says Jason Broccoardo, Lead Systems Engineer at Glassdoor. "Whether it's used by IT staff assisting users or as part of various security compliance efforts, we are getting the answers we need about our endpoint deployments and are able to extend this knowledge beyond IT through the use of checks and the Privacy Center, which empowers our users to know more about the state of their machine and assist in the care and maintenance of the device," says Broccoardo.

Kolide's surge of growth stemmed from the mass-migration towards remote-work, and the logistical and visibility challenges which accompany that shift.

"Remote-first has created two new opposing forces. On one hand, IT and Security teams feel they need more visibility and greater control over devices out of their physical reach," says Jason Meller, CEO & Founder at Kolide. "On the other hand, employees, now at home, are starting to worry about being inappropriately surveilled, in turn driving them to use unauthorized personal devices for their work," says Meller. "The key to solving both sides of the problem is total transparency. It's why Kolide uses an open source endpoint agent and why we've invested hundreds of hours creating the best possible experience for end-users to see exactly what data from devices is being collected and who in the company can see it. These are novel concepts for our industry but with Kolide, we are giving end-users, IT and Security teams a hopeful future."

Last year, Kolide codified its open and transparent approach in a manifesto written by the CEO called, "Honest Security". The free guide offers unique approaches to solve novel ethical and privacy challenges associated with endpoint monitoring, and simultaneously rails against an enterprise security industry which increasingly views users as threats instead of allies.

The guide has attracted fast-growing organizations who have been dissatisfied with traditional endpoint security approaches. A recent survey conducted by Kolide concluded that 44% of responding companies believe they can still improve their implementation of Honest Security while 71% think they could benefit moderately or higher by implementing more Honest Security's recommendations.

"Honest Security is so well aligned with 1Password's values, I wish we had written it. After seeing Kolide's approach to security and their product, we knew it was the right solution for 1Password," says Harlie Hardage, Senior Security Specialist at 1Password.

"At OV, our mission is to improve people's working lives," says General Partner Ricky Pelletier. "Kolide's Honest Security approach is reshaping the way IT and security teams deploy security and compliance software. Now more than ever, companies are emphasizing, valuing and satisfying their employees. We are seeing consent based IT solutions as necessary to attract the next generation of employees."

This latest funding round will go towards fueling the growth and expansion of Kolide's go-to market strategy, and hiring additional engineers and product staff to expand the product's capabilities. Since its original launch, Kolide has been operating with a lean team to scale their product to 250+ customers.

About Kolide
Kolide's flagship SaaS product was built from the ground up to enable organizations toachieve their security and compliance goals by practicing the tenants of Honest Security.Instead of locking down devices, Kolide enables teams to communicate their organization's security recommendations on Slack so they are most impactful to an end-user. Over 250 customers proudly use Kolide today to secure devices via Slack providing millions of customized security and compliance recommendations for their Linux, Mac, and Windows devices. To learn more, please visit https://www.kolide.com/.

SOURCE Kolide