Early Birds Marketplace Creates a New Ecosystem in Cybersecurity Innovations
19 June 2020

Despite this urgent need for cybersecurity innovations for a business enterprise, most companies don’t have the resources, such as money, skills, and ability for investing in cybersecurity for an enterprise. Many companies would have to depend on the products and services of innovative companies that have established as their mission the development of cybersecurity innovations to counter the rising threat of cybercrime.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced today that Australian organisations including governments and businesses are currently being targeted by sophisticated foreign "state-based" hackers. The Prime Minister said  'Australian organisations are being maliciously attacked across all levels including government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure'.

However, as proactive and also protective participants of the community, Early Birds research is monitoring the degree of severity. An immediate response to these attacks will determine the level of the attacks and the action required to resolve the impact of this malicious activity. If this is the case,  we need to take a more strategic approach to strengthen all cyber defense and response capabilities with innovative world-leading technology. However, if the degree of severity is determined to be less than expected, this is not something to disregard, it is a warning sign to strengthen people, processes and technologies to anticipate future changes and potential breaches as we move into the “4.0 economic and digital disruptive technologies”.

Early Birds Marketplace, an Australian B2B platform specifically developed to help innovators and early adopters get together and pre-empted the above by building  a new ecosystem for cybersecurity innovations lead by cyber security experts and disruptive startups and scaleups.  

With most people getting online and with the ease of doing so because of modern gadgets, such as smartphones and tablets, cybersecurity has become of utmost importance as it becomes more challenging to protect sensitive information, personal information, protected health information, intellectual properly, government and industry information systems, and more. New kinds of threats are coming out every day and those in the cybersecurity industry need to keep up. That is why cybersecurity innovations are so important in today’s online world and hence why Early Birds is tackling the issue with its specialist cybersecurity consultants and R&D investments.

Despite this urgent need for cybersecurity innovations for a business enterprise, most companies don’t have the resources, such as money, skills, and ability for investing in cybersecurity for an enterprise. Many companies would have to depend on the products and services of innovative companies that have established as their mission the development of cybersecurity innovations to counter the rising threat of cybercrime.

But smart business leaders cannot simply wait for cybersecurity products and services to become available in the market. It is possible that the business could have already suffered damage and losses from cybercrime before they have found the appropriate cybersecurity products or services. A smart and cost-effective way is to look for innovators, which are startups or scaleups that focus on cybersecurity products and these may be found through the Innovate with Startups and Scaleups program in Cybersecurity from the Early Birds Marketplace. The emphasise here, in times of volatile market changes is to offer efficient services that not only improve processes and technologies but at the same time looks to minimise costs where possible and while maintaining and increasing the end consumer experiences.

Jeff Penrose, the Cofounder for Early Birds Marketplace, explains, “Our B2B platform is designed to help innovators (startups and scaleups), and early adopters to exchange value early on. Innovators are able to list their ideas, products and services, with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or solution, as well as configure starting offers up to $25,000 for each sale. Meanwhile, early adopters can also buy innovations and list challenges on the marketplace to request innovators to develop a variety of products and services.” Companies and individuals can sign up with the Early Birds Marketplace and list their specific challenges, requesting innovators to offer solutions. Early adopters can also make a request for collaboration, schedule a trial or a proof of concept before they purchase a particular cybersecurity product or service.

One example of a cybersecurity expert and innovator with Early Birds Marketplace is Cydarm Technologies. They are located in Docklands, Victoria, Australia, and their focus is on secure case management for cyber incident response. Cydarm Technologies supports BSides Melbourne, a volunteer-led and community-driven event that offers a platform for information security professionals to learn and share their experiences. Another example of a cybersecurity expert at Early Birds Marketplace is Susie J from Cynch, which provides a tailored cyber fitness experience to small businesses. They provide everything that a small business requires for securely operating from home, in the cloud, or at the office. There are many other global disruptive cybersecurity startups and scaleups listing on the Marketplace.

Companies and business leaders can build their competitive advantage with actionable innovation in cybersecurity in 2020 and into the future. This is made possible through the Innovate with Startups and Scaleups (c) program in Cybersecurity launching in Australia. Jeff Penrose says, “We are calling on both innovators and early adopters to register themselves on the platform to access and interact with companies and individuals in the marketplace. Registration is free, but a subscription fee applies after having listed 1 innovation and 1 challenge".

Given the market volatility and growing fear and scepticism Early Birds have made their solutions easily available and quickly to adopt. Penrose pointed out that the process of registering on the marketplace is relatively fast and easy. Upon registration, users can follow a step by step guide on how they can post a product listing or a challenge. Users can post a general product or challenge overview, including photos, videos, and links for additional information. Most importantly, the company also has a special program where their experienced consulting team can work with users in identifying business challenges and offer relevant solutions.

For organisations looking to be leading edge with a competitive advantage can now subscribe to Early Birds latest program Explorer. This Program brings disruptive technology innovations on a weekly basis. The Explorer program is specifically tailored for usage across the whole organisation including business operations, innovation, IT, product, services, and many other business functions. A custom version of the program is available for enterprises seeking to access specific disruptive technology in their industry with the ongoing support of an Early Birds Subject Matter Experts.