Empowering Small Businesses with Accessible Cybersecurity Tools and Real-Time Threat Intelligence

Ironfort main image
INTRODUCTION

Ironfort is a comprehensive platform that consolidates security operations across networks, endpoints, identities, applications, and the cloud. Leveraging machine learning, Ironfort autonomously detects and investigates potential cyber threats, aiming to make cybersecurity robust and accessible to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).

MY ROLE

User persona, research, wireframing, visual design, prototyping

COLLABORATORS

Abhishek Kumar | Product Designer

Ajay Kappa | Product Manager

2 Engineers

TIMELINE

November 2021 - February 2022

OVERVIEW OF THE FINAL DESIGN
Multi tenancy to support multiple workspaces
Multi-tenancy to support multiple workspaces
The storyline in the detailed view of the detected threats to surface real threats only
Storyline view for detected threats to prioritize "real" threats
Layout to enable Zendesk support service for ticket creation
Integration with Zendesk to facilitate ticket creation
Simplified visual representation of the onboarded product map
Simplified visual representation of the onboarded product map
PROBLEM STATEMENT

With increasing digitalization, businesses require robust cybersecurity solutions to protect their assets and operations. However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often struggle with high costs and complex security operations. The challenge was: How might we create an accessible, affordable, and effective security management solution for SMEs?

RESEARCH & INSIGHT

Understanding the business

To lay a strong foundation, we conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders at Ironfort, identifying their target audience, unique needs, and competitive landscape. This initial research shaped our understanding of how to position Ironfort as a viable, user-centered solution for SMEs.

Understanding Ironfort business
Key insights from stakeholder interviews
Constraint:
  1. Maintain Ironfort’s brand consistency, particularly red as the primary color.
  2. Focus on North American SMEs as the target demographic.
USER NEEDS

Identifying user goals and pain points

The Ironfort product team arranged interviews with 10 users from the target audience, allowing us to uncover key pain points and goals. Based on these insights, I developed user personas to inform the design.

User personas for Ironfort
Personas representing small (left) and mid-sized (right) companies
Key insights
Users valued:
  1. Transparent subscription plans: A clear overview of features, pricing, and options.
  2. Real-time threat intelligence: Visualized, actionable data on potential security threats.
VALUE PROPOSITION #1

Subscription plan

PROBLEM

Users found subscription information lacking in transparency, with minimal details on pricing, plan features, or differences between options. This caused hesitation and a lack of trust during the signup process.

APPROACH

I began by mapping out essential features in the subscription journey, from plan selection to trial sign-ups. Low-fidelity wireframes helped us test various layouts and gauge user reactions to the information hierarchy.

Layout exploration for subscription plan
Low-fidelity wireframe with mapped features
FINAL SOLUTION
  • Visible hierarchy: Clear display of savings, pricing, and subscription tiers to help users understand plan value.
  • Logical progression: Information was introduced step-by-step, enhancing users' ability to navigate choices and reducing cognitive load.
  • Seamless brand integration: Designed to align with Ironfort’s visual identity, reinforcing trust.
Select a plan screen gif
Prototype showcasing the workspace subscription user flow
IMPACT

The subscription flow, introduced through the beta program, resulted in a 20% increase in trial sign-ups and a smoother selection process.

VALUE PROPOSITION #2

Threat intelligence

PROBLEM

Users needed an efficient way to monitor, prioritize, and address cybersecurity threats in real time. However, existing tools presented overwhelming amounts of data without clear prioritization, causing delays in threat response.

APPROACH

To address this, I organized a design workshop with Ironfort’s analysts and engineers. Together, we created a Security tab structure focused on user-centered prioritization and intuitive data visualization.

Design workshop to identify product needs
Workshop snapshot in FigJam with team brainstorming
Security tab categories
Organized tabs - Detections, Investigations, Entities, Rules - with descriptions for each category.
For the MVP, we refined each category in the Security tab to serve as a foundation for real-time threat triaging.
FINAL SOLUTION
  • Intuitive data visualization: Developed an interface that visualized complex data in digestible formats, allowing users to quickly identify critical threats.‍
  • ‍User-centric information hierarchy: Simplified the threat detection page, helping users access vital information faster, reducing response times.
Dashboard as Solution 2
Detections section for improved navigation and prioritization.
IMPACT

The Security tab enabled faster triaging, with beta users reporting a 30% reduction in average response times and a significant increase in confidence handling high-priority threats.

VISUALS

Style Guide

To ensure consistency across Ironfort’s web application, I created a style guide that adhered to Ironfort’s brand guidelines.

Style guide for Ironfort

Learning and key takeaways

  1. Free trial plans are appealing to people: Free trial plans are highly effective in attracting users by eliminating perceived risk, boosting trial sign-ups significantly.
  2. Use of framing and anchoring effect: Presenting information strategically impacts user perception. Framing the subscription selection around Ironfort’s value-added features improved users' confidence.
  3. Value over cost: Emphasizing the benefits over the costs made users more likely to subscribe. In this context, focusing on advantages like simplified threat tracking and enhanced security insights was key.
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