Challenge
- Redis is a popular and widely used NoSQL database, but was struggling with immature and reactive approaches to customer-facing security engagement.
Solution
- The company implemented SafeBase Trust Center as a source of truth and structure for internal and external parties.
- Starting with the Trust Center, the security team built processes, developed automations, and centralized data ownership to ensure a consistent customer experience.
- Sales teams turned to the Trust Center to amplify their messaging, streamline buyer risk reviews, and gain visibility into customer interests.
Results
- Consolidated access requests from over 400 individuals in 12 months, eliminating a four-person dependency to gain information for each interaction.
- Freed sales cycles from being burdened by a weeks-long, intensive security information exchange process — 76% of Redis customers received automatic, secured access to the information they wanted and 97% of customers received access within 24 hours.
- Improved the Redis brand’s visibility and security reputation with Trust Center-first communication.
Understanding the Redis challenge with security and trust
Redis is an in-memory data store used by millions of developers as a cache, vector database, document database, streaming engine, and message broker. As one of the most popular NoSQL databases, Redis is used globally by companies across finance, healthcare, gaming, retail, AI, and other sectors.
“We are a key part of mission critical applications at some of the world’s most demanding organizations. From a security perspective we have to walk in the door ready to meet our customers’ expectations,” said Quincy Castro, CISO at Redis.
Given Redis’ criticality to customers, they had plenty of questions about the Redis security posture. “They say, look, your products are in a very privileged place in our tech stack. We want to make sure you’re following practices we’re comfortable with,” said Quincy.
Redis would never have reached the success and scale it did without thorough security infrastructure. Where the Redis team struggled, though, was in the formality and communication of security practices: “We didn't have the things we needed to build the trust that we wanted — we really struggled to do that in a way that was scalable.”
The Redis team needed to solve for customer trust before it became a bottleneck to growth.
Formalizing security structure with a Trust Center
Fixing the foundation was one of the first challenges the Redis team wanted to tackle. A lack of structure led to scattered documents, artifacts, reports, and other resources. Informal ownership combined with low awareness on where documents were located (and who needed them) created a significant gap in Redis’ security structure.
“SafeBase easily became the source of truth for all of our customers and internal team for any kind of documentation,” said Mindy Wilson, Senior GRC Analyst at Redis. Instead of handling security inquiries ad hoc, Redis could build a scalable structure and standard operating procedures for security communication.
The SafeBase Trust Center allowed Redis to evolve into a more mature structure, providing a single point of reference for documentation. Internal teams no longer bounced to and from email and Slack chains to locate information. External parties could readily request information without delays in access or communication.
“Part of what made us successful here was a cultural change — formalizing policies and controls, implementing a philosophy of openness and transparency around what we were doing on security. SafeBase was a solution that helped us create that transparency with customers at the same time we drove cultural change within,” said Quincy.
Driving ownership and automation
With the foundation built by the Trust Center, Redis was ready to scale its potential across the security function. Immediately, operational gaps became clear — “Not having clear ownership for security and customer questions… led us to having everything disparate in email. The trust center gave us one place to go,” said Mindy.
The Trust Center helped eliminate silos of information by centralizing ownership. No more inconsistencies in how customer security questions and inquiries were handled, just clear lines of ownership and consistency in inquiry response: “SafeBase was the tool that helped us create that transparency with customers,” said Quincy.
With ownership challenges handled, Redis could begin leveraging its Trust Center to reduce the workload for teams. Mindy commented on this shift in leverage, “It (the trust center) allowed automation… to sometimes completely eliminate the need for a more in-depth customer security review.”
Through the ability to self-serve documentation and automate inquiries, security reviews became a fraction of the previous operational burden.
Enabling proactivity
Redis was ready to redefine security in their organization. How? By tackling the most prescient issue created by their previously under-structured security posture: reactivity. Customer facing aspects of Redis’ security communication experienced the greatest challenges:
- Gated information behind people or inaccessible resources
- Multiple human interactions needed for customer inquiries
- Process complexity creating roadblocks during time-sensitive interactions
The Trust Center positioned Redis to make a change: “Speaking to the reactive mindset… the trust center really allowed us to shift into a more proactive mindset,” said Mindy. For the security team, this resulted in several benefits:
- Enhanced team efficiency
- Improved customer insights
- Increased data/insights to measure security ROI
Redis’ security team wasn’t alone in the changes and improvements. On the sales side, the Trust Center cut down on the back-and-forth needed with customers and security teams. With an approachable security posture, the Redis sales team gained confidence in their security communications and instilled that same confidence into their buyers.
The future of Redis and SafeBase
With the Trust Center in place, there are fewer barriers to customers accessing relevant information, less fragmentation in the security exchange process, and ultimately, less time needed to close the sales cycle. Mindy recounts the benefit of interacting with a SafeBase Trust Center outside of Redis:
“From my own experience, when I go to a vendor’s website and they have a SafeBase trust portal… the time it takes for me to research their company, their proper security controls, etc. — (it takes) a fraction of the time.”
SafeBase's Trust Center implementation transformed Redis' security program from reactive to proactive by centralizing and formalizing its security documentation. With the security team streamlining information exchange and becoming a value add for sales teams, Redis’ commitment to improving security and privacy looks sharper than ever.
Check out Redis’ Trust Center here:
SafeBase is the leading Trust Center Platform designed for friction-free security reviews. With an enterprise-grade Trust Center, SafeBase automates the security review process and transforms how companies communicate their security and trust posture.
If you want to see how fast-growing companies like LinkedIn, Asana, and Jamf take back the time their teams spend on security questionnaires, create better buying experiences, and position security as the revenue-driver it is, schedule a demo.
