AI-Driven Cybersecurity Product Launch Secured by Piper’s Rapid Deployment of Specialized Consultants

Client

A global leader in network, cloud security, and security automation, the client integrates security solutions into a unified, scalable platform. The company’s solutions deliver fast threat detection and response while also streamlining cyber risk management.

Challenge

The client had a 90-day window to begin project work on their new product solution, which uses artificial intelligence to detect, investigate, and respond to cyber threats. As anticipation for the product drove share value higher on the NASDAQ, customer demand exceeded expectations, and the client saw a surge in onboarding customers. Adding to the pressure of the launch timeline, customers who paid in full reserved the right to cancel their contract without penalty if the client did not deliver the solution on time.

With an internal hiring freeze on full-time employees, the client needed 30+ highly-trained consultants—across four key solution disciplines—SIEM, SOAR, DevSec, and XDR.* While the new product encompasses each of these four disciplines, consultants needed to master one while possessing strong knowledge of the other three.

Hired consultants would work on a 13-month contract and operate in teams of four, servicing multiple customers throughout the United States. Each team needed an even distribution of specialized skills for the four disciplines within each U.S. time zone.

The client’s major roadblock involved finding highly-specialized cybersecurity talent in an extremely limited candidate pool—while staying ahead of the impending 90-day window. Previous vendors could not source qualified candidates within the allocated budget fast enough, and any further delays would have major negative implications on the client’s financials and industry reputation.

Solution

With high stakes and a tight deadline, the client needed a partner who could move fast with precision. Piper stepped in with a strategic, process-driven approach, tailoring the Piper Engagement Process to align with the client’s needs and alleviate their challenges.

To maximize the quality and precision of identified consultants, the Piper Cyber & Cloud Security (C2) Division dedicated their entire delivery team of cyber-specialized recruiters. The C2 team has a proven track record of identifying these hard-to-find skill sets within the needed locations and a deep understanding of each of the four core discipline areas.

The Piper C2 Team collaborated directly with product managers and streamlined hiring by working through a single point of contact for resume reviews and scheduling interviews. To ensure even distribution for each of the four skill disciplines across teams and U.S. time zones, the C2 Team assigned recruiters to specific disciplines and regions, preventing delays and overlap in the hiring process.

Working internally with the client’s finance team, Piper constructed a payment structure for candidates that surpassed what the other firms offered. This fixed-fee payment model covered potential overtime work and eliminated the risk of exceeding budget or presenting consultants to the client who exceeded these rates.

Results

Through the Piper Engagement Process, the C2 team identified, vetted, and onboarded the required cyber talent across each core discipline area—filling all required consultants within the 90-day timeline. Piper also achieved a 4:1 submittal-to-hire ratio, which reduced hiring inefficiencies by ensuring only the most qualified consultants were presented to our client. Additionally, after 12 months, Piper achieved more than 90% retention and an extension rate for our consultants—with zero terminations.

By delivering all necessary resources on-time and within budget, our client met 100% of their project solution deliverables, launched all four development projects as scheduled, and avoided any reputational or financial losses from project delays due to resource shortages.

The success of the project coincided with our client’s need for additional resources on other projects. The client then expanded the partnership beyond the initial project and named Piper a preferred partner for all future project resource needs.

The partnership with Piper empowers the client to aggressively sell larger and more simultaneous solution engagements. With our dedicated C2 team, we efficiently support the client’s need for multiple resources and skill sets at high volumes—whenever the client faces tight timelines or develops new technologies.