In cybersecurity, few brands carry the same clout as Crowdstrike.
They’re a market leader that helps organizations manage, detect, and respond to cyberattacks by securing endpoints, data, cloud environments, identities, and more. In layman’s terms, Crowdstrike’s software protects the good guys from being breached by the bad guys. Nearly 30,000 customers globally, including Alphabet, Mercedez, and Target rely on Crowdstrike for mission-critical security which has helped them garner a market capitalization of over 80 billion dollars.
It’s not a stretch to say, they’re the name when it comes to enterprise security.
Mid-last year, Crowdstike made headlines for all the wrong reasons when a software update caused 8.5 million Windows devices to crash globally, resulting in the largest IT outage in history. Despite the public gaffe, the business remains resilient due to investments made into its platform product strategy. By maturing their product into a broad solution that solves multiple use cases for security leaders, nested under a unified user interface (UI), with an ecosystem of integrations, Crowdstrike has created a defensible moat that makes it difficult for competitors to replicate their value proposition.
A Quick Recap on The Largest IT Outage in History
Like all software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, Crowdstrike pushes updates to its customers multiple times per day so that they can use the latest version of the software. It’s an expectation of the SaaS business model, but particularly important in the security industry. Companies depend on vendors like Crowdstrike to keep up with the crafty tactics of cybercriminals and the regular releases provide timely countermeasures.
Before reaching customers, these updates undergo rigorous testing as part of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to minimize the risk of disruptions. In this case, a critical bug slipped through the testing phase and the result was, well—see above, 8.5 million devices crashing worldwide—not good.
Flights were grounded, transactions were halted, and health records were inaccessible as businesses came to a screeching halt. Crowdstrike shares plummeted 30% on the day and the estimated cost of damages to Fortune 500 companies amounts to over 5 billion dollars.
For many organizations, such an incident would be devastating. But at the time of this writing, Crowdstrike has recouped most of the value it shed, continues to win market share, and maintains the trust of its customers. And the numbers prove it. In the earnings release following the outage, Crowdstrike reported growth in revenue, net income, and net-retention showing they’re not only acquiring new customers but also expanding within their existing base.
The level of accountability Crowdstrike exhibited amidst the outage was refreshing and undoubtedly aided in its ability to maintain the market’s trust. However, their platform strategy is at the heart of how they continue to win.
A Platform Here, A Platform There, Everywhere A Platform
Platformization as a product strategy has gained momentum in SaaS over the past few years as it’s proven to increase revenue, scale offerings, and reduce customer acquisition costs. Companies like Salesforce, Shopify, and Workday are three examples of how a platform approach can reap massive organizational dividends but also prove to be mutually beneficial for customers; offering benefits in the form of less integration overhead, simplified vendor management, and cost savings. At its core, platformization involves maturing a standalone product into a unified solution that addresses multiple use cases, within a single UI, and creates value through an ecosystem.
While it feels like every company is a platform company these days—or at least claims to be—those are the three minimum requirements to be considered a platform. Let’s dive into how Crowdstrike meets all three requirements.
Build Horizontal
CrowdStrike’s strategy focuses on solving multiple use cases for its customers. Enterprise security is a broad field, but their Falcon platform consolidates value with 22 modules, addressing a different aspect of security—including endpoint protection, cloud security, and threat intelligence. This comprehensive approach aligns with an industry-wide shift among security buyers towards tool consolidation, helping customers reduce complexity and decision fatigue—a concept discussed in a previous post.
It’s also worth noting that Crowdstrike delivers excellence in the multiple product categories it serves. Buyers often lament that many platform vendors’ ancillary offerings lack functionality; innovation is sacrificed for cost savings. In cybersecurity, however, this trade-off is not an option—best-of-breed solutions are a necessity. Crowdstrike defies this trend, earning recognition as a leader across multiple categories, corroborated by industry analysts like Gartner and Forrester—the would-be gods of B2B. It’s no surprise that they boast a net retention rate of 115%, showing customers continue to invest in their platform.
Build Unified
The second crucial aspect of any platform strategy is to deliver value through a single, unified user experience. The design of a product directly impacts its usability, and subsequently, its value. Therefore, even if a company can solve multiple use cases with its technology, that value can easily be lost amid a disjointed experience. This is one reason why acquisitions frustrate customers: they’re sold on the promise of a “platform” but end up with a bundle of disparate products. Oracle’s acquisition of Netsuite in 2016 is a clear example of this pitfall. To this day, eight years later, customers still express frustration about the different design languages between Netsuite, Oracle, and their other products. Companies are better off taking the time to stitch their offerings into a cohesive user experience; as a fragmented approach not only compromises usability but also erodes customer trust and satisfaction.
In cybersecurity, the stakes for a unified UI—and realistically everything else—are even greater. Fragmented tools can lead to delays in threat detection and response, increasing the likelihood of breaches. That’s bad. Crowdstrike overcomes this issue by integrating all 22 modules under a single pane of glass. This cohesive design ensures that security teams can manage workflows easily, reducing complexity, and enabling faster responses to potential threats. In an industry rife with fragmented solutions, this approach is not just a convenience—it’s a crucial differentiator validated by customers and analysts alike.
Build Connected
CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform doesn’t stop at solving customer challenges directly—it amplifies its value through an interconnected ecosystem of integrations. With over 260 offerings from 140 partners, the Falcon Marketplace provides a wealth of third-party solutions tailored to address specialized needs. Open APIs empower developers to build on the platform, embedding CrowdStrike deeper into customer workflows. This approach ensures that customers can extend the platform’s capabilities without leaving the Falcon interface. In a meta sense, CrowdStrike is taking the concept of a platform quite literally—by building an ecosystem that elevates its value, it’s not just living up to the definition of a platform but standing firmly on it.
For buyers, this ecosystem strategy creates significant value. It delivers the flexibility to address unique challenges while maintaining the simplicity of a single-pane-of-glass interface. And the data shows that companies that leverage strong ecosystems, grow revenue faster and enjoy higher customer retention rates. I witnessed this firsthand early in my career as a sales rep at Vidyard, where customers who integrated our technology with at least three other solutions were significantly less likely to churn. The deeper the integration, the greater the perceived value of a solution, as the difficulty of ripping out the technology reinforced its stickiness. CrowdStrike’s connected approach turns the Falcon platform into a cornerstone of security operations, combining comprehensive functionality with adaptability—an essential combination in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
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CrowdStrike’s platform strategy offers a masterclass in how to evolve from a single product to a category-defining solution. By addressing multiple use cases, delivering a unified user experience, and fostering an interconnected ecosystem, they’ve built a foundation that is not only defensible but also adaptable to the fast-changing world of cybersecurity.
In a fragmented market where buyers are often forced to compromise, CrowdStrike’s approach stands out. It’s not just about selling a product—it’s about embedding itself into the core of its customers’ operations, ensuring they can protect their organizations while simplifying their workflows. As threats grow more sophisticated, so too will the need for comprehensive, cohesive, and connected platforms.
CrowdStrike has shown they’re up for the task, and for that, it remains a brand that others in the industry should watch and aspire to emulate.
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