AWS Partner Network (APN) Blog
Metal Toad launches Securitoad on AWS Marketplace – AI powered cyber threat prevention
By Mark Seaman, Sr. Business Architect, SaaS – AWS
By Peter Yang, Sr. Partner Solutions Architect – AWS
By Joaquin Lippincott, CEO – Metal Toad
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| Metal Toad |
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In a rapidly evolving landscape where digital technologies are deeply integrated into business operations and automation is essential for efficiency, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a linchpin in ensuring security.
Traditional security measures, which once relied on static defenses, are swiftly transitioning toward more dynamic and adaptive strategies. Why? Because artificial intelligence, with its capacity to analyze extensive datasets and identify anomalies in real time, is now the cornerstone of modern security and essential for safeguarding sensitive data and critical systems.
With an overwhelming number of constantly evolving risks, organizations can no longer rely on security updates which address known risks; they must detect and mitigate threats in real time. By leveraging AI security algorithms built by Metal Toad and trained on the frontline of the media and entertainment (M&E) industry, organizations of all sizes can deliver enterprise-ready security with the ease and simplicity of consumer grade software.
Metal Toad is an AWS Specialization Partner and AWS Marketplace Seller with Competencies in Machine Learning, Advertising and Marketing Technology, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). A leading innovator in artificial intelligence, Metal Toad has two decades of experience delivering technology solutions for leaders in the M&E and technology industries.
Securitoad is Metal Toad’s artificial intelligence-powered security offering that leverages a simple security solution—IP blocking—that’s powered by AI algorithms. It requires almost no monitoring or maintenance, and with an easy-to-use interface and reporting features, you may want to log in every day but you don’t have to because things are handled by an AI algorithm monitoring—and mitigating—24/7.
Working closely with the AWS SaaS Factory team, Metal Toad navigated business and technical decisions to build a new SaaS solution on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“When starting the commercialization of Securitoad, we knew we wanted to build an AWS-powered solution from the ground up. Working with AWS SaaS Factory made all the difference in the world. Before connecting with the SaaS Factory team, getting a SaaS product launched in the AWS Marketplace seemed daunting—we knew we had a great product but didn’t know how to get it to be turnkey for AWS customers. Over the weeks where we interacted, we were able to get all our questions answered: from the product perspective to the technical and everything in between. We now have plans to launch multiple products using AWS Marketplace as our default payment and master services agreement gateway.” ~ Joaquin Lippincott, CEO at Metal Toad
Recently, AWS SaaS Factory had the pleasure of sitting down with Joaquin Lippincott, CEO at Metal Toad, to discuss the Securitoad artificial intelligence security SaaS solution. Joaquin shared valuable insights about architecting their newest product based in the AWS Marketplace, offering key takeaways that can benefit other software providers who are looking to adopt this same delivery approach.
Q&A with Metal Toad
AWS SaaS Factory: Can you tell us about yourself and your role at Metal Toad?
Joaquin Lippincott: As the CEO of Metal Toad, my job is to get the right people in the room. I’m also lucky to be able to have these types of conversations with our partners.
AWS SaaS Factory: Can you share which solutions Metal Toad has built on AWS?
Joaquin Lippincott: As an AWS Services Partner, all of our solutions are built on AWS! While we are aware there are other cloud providers, AWS consistently delivers the best suite of solutions. Over the years, we’ve built AWS applications for major brands in the media and entertainment industry, as well as for smaller commercial businesses that are not household names. Since the cloud can scale up or down, there are almost no use cases where it’s not a fit.
AWS SaaS Factory: Who are your target customers, and what specific personas might benefit from leveraging your solutions?
Joaquin Lippincott: For Securitoad, we are targeting IT teams who would rather do something other than battling hackers day-in and day-out. We believe technologists want to do more than fight to keep their applications safe. They should be empowered to innovate and design new solutions, not constantly fight fires. This might include overworked and understaffed teams, or teams led by visionary technology leaders looking to do more than fight their way to a stalemate.
Metal Toad is also an AWS SaaS Competency Partner and we work with customers to help accelerate their journey to SaaS on AWS.
AWS SaaS Factory: What are the core features of Securitoad and how it addresses current security challenges?
Joaquin Lippincott: The three core features of Securitoad are:
- Artificial intelligence algorithm that monitors an application or website for threats in real-time via log activity.
- Intuitive interface providing administrators simplified tactical controls:
- What level of threat mitigation would you like the algorithm to pursue?
- What IPs would you like to include in the allow list?
- Ability to invite team members to collaborate, profile management, etc.
- Reporting on what threats have been detected and what steps have been taken to mitigate them.
By combining an always-on, always-learning AI algorithm with simplified controls, security is handled in real-time, faster and at a scale that is simply beyond human capabilities. By fully and seamlessly integrating the solution with AWS Marketplace, setup for existing AWS customers is a breeze. My question is: why wouldn’t you want easy-to-use and real-time security?
AWS SaaS Factory: What was the primary motivation behind transitioning to a SaaS delivery model, and how does it align with Metal Toad’s overall strategy?
Joaquin Lippincott: SaaS—that’s cloud-native applications available on a subscription basis—helps both customers and providers. For customers, the simplicity of a subscription model means they are leveraging an OpEx model rather than a CapEx model, reducing the need for upfront cash. Because SaaS is by definition a turnkey, it also helps avoid the trap of a prolonged customer setup. For providers, having a low friction sign-up process creates long-term recurring revenue opportunities vs. the feast-and-famine cycle of large onsite installs.
AWS SaaS Factory: How has the SaaS Factory team supported your business transition to a SaaS delivery model, and what specific contributions did they make to the process?
Joaquin Lippincott: AWS SaaS Factory was instrumental in the development of our SaaS pricing and packaging model, as well as developing our product-led go-to-market (GTM) strategy. They also assisted in the development of our free trial process and the realignment of our sales, marketing, engineering, and product management teams to help drive adoption and reduce churn.
AWS SaaS Factory: Can you walk us through the architecture? What AWS services are key?
Joaquin Lippincott: Securitoad is hosted on AWS, with a modern cloud-first architecture leveraging microservices and designed with multi-tenancy from the ground up. It uses many AWS managed serverless services like AWS Lambda, AWS Step Functions, and Amazon DynamoDB to allow it to scale to meet demand of increased users or log inputs coming in.
In addition, Securitoad uses AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) role-based permission throughout the stack to ensure customer data is secure at every step of the ingest process and at every level of the dashboard stack.
Figure 1- Securitoad architecture diagram.
AWS SaaS Factory: How does Metal Toad ensure the security and compliance of Securitoad, especially in an ever-evolving regulatory landscape?
Joaquin Lippincott: We are focused on setting high security standards for all of the products in the Metal Toad portfolio. One of the ways we maintain our commitment to customer data security is by implementing strong controls in alignment with SOC2 Type 1 and 2 certification.
We embed these fundamental principles and security best practices right from the initiation of a new product’s development to ensure security features are an inherent part of the product’s architecture and development process. This proactive approach significantly mitigates the risk of introducing security vulnerabilities or weaknesses at later stages in the product’s lifecycle.
AWS SaaS Factory: How has the SaaS Factory team helped to address technical challenges you’ve faced?
Joaquin Lippincott: The SaaS Factory team assisted us in evaluating our SaaS architecture, offering valuable insights into best practices. This guidance was instrumental in confirming the viability of our design and ensuring it wouldn’t pose potential technical challenges down the road.
AWS SaaS Factory: Metal Toad became an AWS SaaS Competency Partner last year. What motivated you to achieve the SaaS partner designation?
Joaquin Lippincott: Our mission as a company is to help people. As an AWS Services Partner that has built numerous applications for customers over the years, the AWS SaaS Competency was a natural fit. Getting setup in AWS Marketplace the first time can be a challenge, and building applications has a number of pitfalls we are looking forward to helping customers avoid.
AWS SaaS Factory: Can you share any success stories or case studies that illustrate the impact of Securitoad on a customer’s business or security posture?
Joaquin Lippincott: Our initial users of Securitoad have shared feedback indicating the platform enables them to promptly identify and address security threats without disrupting their regular daily tasks. While we can’t keep all of the fires an IT team has to handle at bay, we have heard there is great peace of mind knowing that Securitoad has their back.
AWS SaaS Factory: What advice would you offer to other software providers considering a move to a SaaS model, based on your own experiences?
Joaquin Lippincott: I’d like to emphasize that SaaS extends beyond mere technical implementation; it encompasses an entire business strategy. It requires a fundamental shift in the organizational mindset to ensure its success. This involves dedicating time to educate and foster discussions regarding the implications, value, and adjustments to workflows with all your teams.
That said, from our perspective we believe the return is well worth the investment. For anyone struggling with what steps to take next, I would say not to hesitate in reaching out to the AWS SaaS Factory team—they are fantastic.
Learn more about Metal Toad’s Securitoad product, access a free trial to see it in action, or learn more about Metal Toad’s complete list of case studies.
About AWS SaaS Factory
AWS SaaS Factory helps organizations at any stage of the SaaS journey. Whether looking to build new products, migrate existing applications, or optimize SaaS solutions on AWS, we can help. Visit the AWS SaaS Factory Insights Hub to discover more technical and business content and best practices.
SaaS builders are encouraged to reach out to their account representative to inquire about engagement models and to work with the AWS SaaS Factory team.
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Metal Toad – AWS Partner Spotlight
Metal Toad is an AWS Specialization Partner focused on artificial intelligence. The team includes experts certified in AI, application development, architecture, migration, and DevOps—all backed by 24×7 support. Learn more about Metal Toad’s Securitoad product, access a free trial to see it in action, or learn more about Metal Toad’s complete list of case studies.