Wombat operates in a very competitive marketplace as in recent years many cybersecurity companies have been developed or adapted in response to the ever increasing use of technology, as well as the increase in risk of cyber attacks. Cyber attacks can result in many negative outcomes: “direct financial loss, exposed proprietary information, fines, legal payouts, court costs, damaged reputations, plummeting stock prices, and more” (Gallaugher, 2015). Although risk to cyber attacks continues to increase each year, reports show that many US workers misunderstand cybersecurity and are one of the main targets and weaknesses to business IT security. Implementing various preventative measures, such as learning services technology to help educate employees on how to deal with cyber threats, is an invaluable resource to aid in business success. Wombat is one of the many companies that offer such services to business across the globe to help them manage their risk and educate their employees in regards to cyber security. Some of Wombat’s main competitors include KnowBe4, PhishMe, and Mediapro. Below we provide an overview of each of these systems and a competitive analysis.
KnowBe4
KnowBe is an IT security company that was formed by Stu Sjouwerman as a company that "provides self-service enrollment, and both pre-and post-training phishing security tests that show the percentage of end-users that are Phish-prone” (Sjouwerman, 2017).
PhishMe
Launched publicly in 2008, "PhishMe is the leading provider of phishing threat management for organizations concerned about human susceptibility and response to advanced targeted attacks” (Belani, 2017).
MediaPro
“MediaPro is a learning services company that specializes in the areas of information security, data privacy, compliance, and custom online courseware. We deliver the high-quality learning experiences that grow knowledge, change behavior, and support cultural change” (Purcell, 2017).
Wombat
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KnowBe4
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PhishMe
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MediaPro
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Value
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Risks
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Cost Comparison
Due to the fact that they operate in a very competitive market, each of these companies has similar pricing structures, often charging per user with the price per user decreasing as the number of total users increases. Also due to the competitive climate in which they operate, they do not readily disclose their pricing information on their websites. Each company, with the exception of KnowBe4, requires potential clients to request a meeting in which the company provides a demo of their services and discusses their pricing options. Though the typical method is to charge per user, some companies can also charge additional costs for certain functionality and service. For example, Wombat does not charge any additional costs for languages, customer technical support, implementation assistance, training, reporting, or software updates/upgrades, which are all built into the licensee fee, per user, however, KnowBe4 charges different prices for different subscription levels (Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond) which offer different levels of service and functionality. Due to the often customizable features of the products each company offers, as well as their inventive methods of assisting in cyber security in our evolving technological environment, they offer more premium pricing options that require investment by their clients, marketing themselves as premium brands to companies with a vested interest in their future security.
Value Comparison
Each company provides unique products designed to help companies reduce their exposure to cyber attacks through employee training and education opportunities. They each provide valuable services that potential customers must compare based on their individual needs and preferences. Each platform offers their services in a variety of languages, with Wombat and MediaPro offering their services in over 30 languages. Each company also offers a variety of products and services as well as additional resources, with MediaPro offering a security awareness material library, Wombat offering real-time reporting, KnowBe4 offering interactive modules, videos, games, posters and newsletters, and PhishMe providing a variety of free resources to customers.
Risk Comparison
Although the risk associated with not implementing practices that improve cybersecurity are far greater than any risks associated with partnering with any of the companies we discuss, there are still potential risks to consider when comparing the companies and the services they offer. Depending on the service chosen, there are different risks that customers face. When working with Wombat, customers must understand that Wombat and its partners use cookies or similar technologies to analyze trends, administer the website, track users movements around the website and to gather demographic information about the users as a whole. It’s important for the university to understand that they have the choice of accepting or declining the use of cookies through their web browser. Wombats information may include IP addresses, browser type, ISP, files viewed on their site and more. Wombat does employ or partner with other companies and individuals who perform functions on their behalf like processing credit card payments, shipping, web analytics, surveys and providing marketing assistance and have access to personal information. With KnowBe4, customers may be at risk because they are not seen as subject matter experts in the field. Additionally, their association with Kevin Mitnick may turn away certain customers who are not comfortable with his past experiences with hacking, including serving jail time for his offenses. The main risk with PhishMe is that they focus on providing phishing-only products, which could potentially leave customers vulnerable to other kinds of cyber attacks. Finally, MediaPro, due to its high level of customization, can be difficult for customers to use if they do not have advanced technical knowledge, therefore making it one of the less user-friendly options in the market.
Although there are many differences between these companies and the products and services they offer, they all have the potential to offer valuable security to companies at risk of cyber attacks. The figure below illustrates how each of these companies compete with one another in the market, placing them on the chart in relation to their performance in various aspects: Challengers, Leaders, Niche Players, and Visionaries. As the figure illustrates, Wombat, PhishMe, and KnowBe4 are closely clustered, with MediaPro also being in close relation to the others.
Retrieved from https://info.wombatsecurity.com/wombat-named-a-leader-2017
References
2017 User Risk Report (2017). In Wombat Security. Retrieved from https://info.wombatsecurity.com/hubfs/2017%20End%20User%20Risk%20Report/Wombat%202017%20User%20Risk%20Report.pdf?submissionGuid=3b127e11-45a8-4427-a760-88a7fce9e675
Gallaugher, J. (2015). Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Flat World Knowledge.
Ferrara, J. (2017). Wombat Security Technologies. In Wombat Security. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from https://www.wombatsecurity.com/
Sjouwerman, S. (2017). About Us. In KnowBe4. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from https://www.knowbe4.com/
Belani, R. (2017). Why PhishMe?. In PhishMe. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from https://phishme.com/
Purcell, R. (2017). About. In MediaPro. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from https://www.mediapro.com/?mko_source=google&mko_medium=cpc&mko_content=MediaProBrand&mko_campaign=MediaProBrand&gclid=CjwKCAiA9f7QBRBpEiwApLGUioyGPS0SkMNMLsxXhxafp91US6vck4qPJjnqG-pxsg6d_zwvGlv_ihoCmG
Purcell, R. (2017). About. In MediaPro. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from https://www.mediapro.com/?mko_source=google&mko_medium=cpc&mko_content=MediaProBrand&mko_campaign=MediaProBrand&gclid=CjwKCAiA9f7QBRBpEiwApLGUioyGPS0SkMNMLsxXhxafp91US6vck4qPJjnqG-pxsg6d_zwvGlv_ihoCmG
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