Databook Labs, a pioneering company in AI, has revolutionized the enterprise sales landscape. Their exceptional ability to interpret vast financial and market data arrays has notably enhanced global strategic relationships for sales teams.
With users across 104 countries, the platform ingests and interprets billions of financial and market data signals to generate actionable sales strategies that connect the seller’s solutions to a buyer’s financial pain and urgency.
A successful product led to rapid expansion and a distributed workforce across 8 countries. Anne Simpson, Head of Privacy, Security, and Compliance at Databook Labs, walked us through how the company faced the pressing challenge of ensuring robust cybersecurity in a hybrid work environment.
The challenge
Scaling up securely in a global landscape
Databook Labs experienced accelerated growth, scaling from 12 to 100 employees and expanding to three global offices.
First, starting at the founder’s house basement, the company grew and got its first office before the pandemic. Changing team location and scale required an established security mindset.
Besides, this rapid development and a primarily remote workforce presented significant cybersecurity challenges.
Click to tweet“With a mostly remote workforce, Databook needed a way to secure data while working away from our known networks.”
Their primary concern was safeguarding data across numerous unknown networks, a critical issue given their large enterprise customer base with stringent security expectations.
The solution
Choosing NordLayer for comprehensive security
When Anne Simpson, Head of Privacy and Security, joined Databook Labs, she recognized the need for a robust VPN solution to protect their global, remote workforce.
Click to tweet“The majority of our customers are large enterprises that want to see high-security standards in place.”
Besides securing a remote workforce, Anne was also responsible for developing, maintaining, and enforcing Databook’s information security policies to meet client expectations.
Click to tweet“We encourage people to get out there and explore the world while working. When they appear on an unknown network, I can't guarantee the data transmission's security, so we had to get a VPN.”
The integration of NordLayer allowed the company to maintain a high level of security without the need for extensive in-house resources.
Click to tweet“We are a very small team, so we don't have the resources to build a VPN and maintain one in the house. And that's what we love about NordLayer.”
Compatibility, security, and simplicity are the key characteristics NordLayer solution proved to be the top pick.
Why choose NordLayer
After thorough research and peer consultations, NordLayer emerged as the ideal choice. Its ease of implementation, excellent customer support, and compatibility with non-technical users made it a perfect fit for Databook Labs.
The company already had SOC 2 certification, so adding NordLayer to our policies and procedures made it all about privacy and security at Databook Labs.
Click to tweet“After the demo, we felt that NordLayer was the easiest to implement. It gave us everything we needed, and the team was really helpful. We've never had a problem with any customer service support issues.”
As Anne Simpson claims, the tool doesn’t require manual handling, and the security manager doesn’t need to worry about it.
How NordLayer helps manage the expectations of different parties
Overall, NordLayer simplifies the experience of enabling and using a remote network access security tool. It's designed to be user-friendly for non-tech-savvy employees while meeting the high standards expected by clients and stakeholders.
The outcome
Enhanced security and operational efficiency
Implementing NordLayer had a profound impact on Databook Labs. Anne Simpson and her team found peace of mind in knowing that their data was secure and that they were in compliance with global regulations.
Click to tweet“NordLayer is very user-friendly. During onboarding, our team members receive training on using the VPN, and the Okta integration plays a crucial role. They are well-versed in when it is most beneficial to be connected to the VPN.”
NordLayer's solution, with its simplicity, allowed the team to dedicate more time to strategic objectives. It also made it easy for non-technical employees, eliminating the need to manage VPN complexities.
Click to tweet“I would recommend NordLayer VPN as it is simple to use and does not incur any upfront costs, such as setting up our own VPN and needing on-premises hardware.”
Additionally, NordLayer's performance causes any issues with the company's operations, easing initial concerns about potential slowdowns.
Pro cybersecurity tips
Everyday cybersecurity rules should become a mantra of every tech user in the modern world. But sometimes, it’s not that obvious where to start. Thus, here are the main recommendations from the Head of Privacy, Security & Compliance at Databook Labs, where it’s worth concentrating your focus to begin with.
Databook Labs' experience using NordLayer proves that being accountable for data security is challenging with remote teams yet achievable using the right solutions. Discover how compatible your cybersecurity strategy is with the NordLayer tool and enjoy the peace of mind it brings to every IT manager who uses it.
