UI may be the eye candy but without the right API, we're left hungry for more.
I was talking to a customer the other day – a global organization with dozens of geographic operational centers and a sophisticated, mature security operations discipline – and he said something that captured what I've been wanting to express for a while.
"I must see five to six security technology vendors a week," he said. "I tell them all the same thing: It's not about your technology – it's about how your technology integrates with what I already have."
But Can My Customer Use It?
This is something that's bothered me for years and I'm happy to start hearing it from buyers. Trade shows are full of interesting new security startups with attractive new tools. But can my customers actually use them?
When I go to security industry tradeshows, I make a point of seeking out the newest stuff. But what happens when I walk up to a new product vendor? Invariably, the first thing I'm shown is the user interface. The UI is clean-looking with colorful pie charts and curvy trend lines, each of which, it's claimed, allows security operators to immediately pinpoint exactly what's going on and what to do about it in a way that's never been done before and that no competitor could ever hope to equal.
And maybe the product is as awesome as the vendor says — it probably does some really cool and useful stuff. I also get that your new hotness is difficult to show in any way other than via the UI, especially on a trade show floor.
And I get that UI candy pulls people into the booth.
I just don't want you ..
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