That’s why today feels so special. I’m thrilled to introduce Orchid Security and our groundbreaking Identity-first Security Orchestration platform to the world. It’s a product designed to meet this moment, and I can’t wait to see how it transforms the way we think and consume Identity.  Read the news here.

Market Readiness

Even the most groundbreaking technology won’t succeed unless it addresses a critical, widespread problem that customers urgently need to solve. To build a sustainable business, it’s just as important to have a clearly defined and accessible target audience for the solution.

In the case of the market addressed by Orchid Security, the need is widespread and undeniable. Identity-related cyberattacks, escalating privacy regulations, and increased legal scrutiny have made weak identity security posture an urgent and costly issue for enterprises—especially in the U.S. and Western Europe, where analysts predict the market will reach $12B by 2025. This challenge is hitting home for a lot of organizations, especially large enterprises, which are grappling with sprawling application estates and the added complexity of tool sprawl, leading to fragmented identity controls. As a result, addressing identity security has become an urgent budgetary priority.

During the Team8 value creation process, we validated this need with over 300 CISOs, all of whom agreed: solving this challenge is critical and frankly overdue. Orchid Security is here to deliver.

Product Readiness

Market readiness is only part of the equation — technology may not yet be available to solve the problem in a compelling way. And even when it is, technology alone does not automatically make for a successful product.  The key lies in the concept of the “whole product”, which encompasses everything required for the technology to be effectively deployed, configured, managed, and maintained over time, providing a lasting solution to the customer’s pain.  

Orchid Security’s offering is a great example. Is it only made possible by the newest Large Language Models technology (LLMs), that is expert at both complex interpretation and reasoning of application code?  Yes, But it also requires a lightweight service be deployed on the application host- to discover applications, as well as effectively collect and stream telemetry about each application running to those LLMs- as well as a prompt engineering layer to present the right telemetry in the proper sequence to those LLMs for an accurate and actionable result.  Not only that, but the service doesn’t deploy itself, so a versatile installation package was needed—one that is compatible and ensures smooth sailing. 

And since observing market pain is not the same as solving it, out-of-the-box identity instrumentation and on-the-fly connectors were required to quickly modernize and integrate self-hosted applications into the identity and access management stack… without time-consuming and expensive recoding by humans.  

Add-in the necessary context of today’s common cyber security frameworks, privacy regulations and identity security best practices to provide actionable guidance, and we now have a viable and valuable “whole product” to understand and elevate an organization’s true identity security posture.   

Messaging Readiness

However, even the very best products that solve the most acute pains can struggle to stand out in today’s overtly crowded cybersecurity market, especially with all the hype around buzzworthy technologies (how many times have you heard “generative AI” or “Agentic AI” this year?). That’s why clear and compelling messaging is so important — it must be directly connected to the pain customers feel, explain the solution, and show real, measurable outcomes.  

At Orchid Security, we’ve continued our collaboration with the Team8 CISO village, especially the 30+ design partners who played a key role in deploying and shaping our solution before it became generally available. Thank you – you truly made the difference! They helped us understand that the source of their pain is the sheer volume and complexity of identity security across an application estate that continually expands with new applications, identity tools and regulatory requirements.  We found that the average organization:

1. Has 1,200 or more applications: some delivered yesterday but others delivered a decade ago. Some corporate standard yet others geo-, industry- or line of business-specific.
2. Utilizes 9 or more identity tools: some are basic like an identity directory service or single-sign-on, others are more advanced like privilege access management or passwordless authentication, with a whole host more in between.
3. Is subject to 3 or more regulations with privacy requirements: HIPAA, PCI, GDPR are most common, and we are not even factoring cyber security frameworks like NIST CSF, ISO 27001 and more.

The result? Enterprises face a massive challenge—managing hundreds of thousands of identity controls across applications, tools, and regulations. This often requires alignment and collaborations across multiple teams - from IAM team, Security team and professional services, and this is just to stay afloat.

Orchid Security cuts through the complexity and simplifies this chaos. With our solution:

• 83% of common identity security gaps can be closed out of the box
• Professional services costs drop by 75%
• New applications can be onboarded 90% faster
• Application owners can move forward without looking back

Even before our official launch in December 2024, we already had paying customers, including three Fortune 500 companies. Orchid Security isn’t just improving identity security — it’s fundamentally transforming how enterprises consume identity, making the process faster, easier, and far more cost-effective.

Sales Readiness

In enterprise sales, the personal touch still matters. While buyers today have access to overwhelming online information, having a trusted expert — whether through direct sales or channel partners—remains critical to navigating this complex world of identity we live in and making confident decisions.

At Orchid, we understand that “people buy from people”, but they also buy from certified value adding channels that deliver consistency, scalability, and expertise. That’s why we’re focusing on a balanced approach: leveraging both our experienced sales team and an expanding channel ecosystem to ensure customers receive the right guidance and support at every stage. Our sales team is deeply experienced in the identity space, with a proven track record of driving enterprise success. They’re joined by my fellow co-founders, who remain actively engaged in early customer relationships, ensuring a hands-on and consultative experience.  

Looking ahead, our channel strategy will enable us to scale this expertise while reaching more customers in a way that’s both efficient and impactful. As part of this effort, we are currently building out a “sales academy” to empower both direct sellers and channel partners with the knowledge and tools they need to deliver valuable, trusted guidance. Stay tuned for more updates on our channel play and how it will drive success for enterprises working with Orchid.

Support Readiness

As a general rule, especially in our industry, success isn’t just about making the sale—it’s much more than that. It’s about building trust and ensuring customer success both pre- and post-purchase, throughout the entire customer-vendor journey. From my many years of experience, no product is ever perfect. However, what truly matters is having a dedicated, proactive support team that acts as a trusted partner—resolving issues quickly, transparently, and setting customers up for long-term success.

At Orchid Security, we’re building a proactive, accountable team that treats customer environments as their own. With a “can-do” attitude, a focus on lessons learned, and a commitment to smooth deployments and lasting results, we’re ensuring that both our customers and our business thrive.

Final Thought

Orchid Security is tackling one of the biggest pain points for large enterprises, transforming what was once a complex, manual, and costly process into something fast, intelligent, precise, and painless—all powered by continuously evolving LLM technology. With a compelling value proposition, a rock-solid business case, and, most importantly, a passionate and dedicated team driving the vision forward, is nothing short of exhilarating.

And this is just the beginning—stay tuned, we’re just getting warmed up.

Read more here or see it for yourself.