Editors’ Note

Brian Murphy is founder and CEO of ReliaQuest, one of the largest and fastest growing companies in the global enterprise cybersecurity market. ReliaQuest increases visibility, reduces complexity and manages risk with its cloud-native security operations platform, GreyMatter. Murphy has grown ReliaQuest from a boot-strapped startup to high-growth unicorn with a valuation of over $1 billion, over $200 million in annual recurring revenue and more than 1,200 team members across six global operating centers. Murphy has received accolades for his leadership, entrepreneurship, and community engagement.

Company Brief

ReliaQuest (reliaquest.com) is the force multiplier of security operations. Its security operations platform, GreyMatter, automates detection, investigation, and response across cloud, endpoint, and on-premise tools and applications. GreyMatter is cloud native, built on an open XDR architecture and delivered as a service any time of the day, anywhere in the world. With over 700 customers worldwide and 1,000+ teammates working across six global operating centers, ReliaQuest is driving outcomes for the most trusted enterprise brands in the world. ReliaQuest exists to make security possible.

What was your vision for founding ReliaQuest and how do you define its mission?

When I founded ReliaQuest, I wanted to create a company where we could tackle large problems by focusing on the customer. There’s no larger problem than cybersecurity. I believe cybersecurity is the greatest technical challenge of our generation. It’s a fascinating field that attracts driven individuals who can grow within their careers by focusing on the customer. If a company like this existed when I was starting my career, I would have never founded ReliaQuest.

Our mission at ReliaQuest is to “Make Security Possible.” Everything we do is driven by a maniacal focus on helping our customers defend their organizations against cyber threats.

Will you provide an overview of ReliaQuest’s capabilities?

In working with enterprise customers over the past 15+ years, we’ve learned that what cybersecurity teams need most is visibility without complexity. Data is everywhere, and you can’t defend what you can’t see. Simply adding more tools doesn’t solve the problem because it’s not about the tools. It’s about visibility into the data.

ReliaQuest’s enterprise cybersecurity platform, GreyMatter, automates detection, investigation and response to cyber threats across cloud, endpoint, and on-premise tools and applications. It stitches together data from across any source to create a more complete picture for cybersecurity teams. This allows them to do more meaningful investigations and resolve issues quickly, rather than trying to respond to disconnected alerts from different technologies and piece a picture together manually.

What have been the keys to ReliaQuest’s growth into a leading firm and community partner in the Tampa Bay area?

ReliaQuest has a global footprint, with six operating centers around the world and over 700 global customers. As we continue to scale, we are proud to be a Florida-founded company and continue to maintain our global headquarters in Tampa Bay. It’s been a great place to grow a business, with plenty of talent from our state universities, a business-friendly climate, and a location that customers and prospects love to visit.

What led you to hire mental performance coaches with backgrounds in professional sports to work with all 1000+ ReliaQuest employees?

We began working with mental performance coaches over a decade ago, after I read an article about mental performance coaches being the secret weapon for high-performing collegiate teams. How you think impacts how you feel, and how you feel impacts how you perform. The professional sports world understands this and leverages it for high performance. I didn’t see any reason why the same tools wouldn’t apply to business – especially in cybersecurity, where high performance is expected, and pressure is part of the job.

Since then, our focus on mindset has become a key part of how we hire, train and develop our teams. We know there’s no such thing as perfect, but there is always a way to be better, and this belief makes a huge difference in how our teams solve problems with our customers.

Will you discuss ReliaQuest’s sponsorship of the once-longstanding NCAA Outback Bowl, now known as the “ReliaQuest Bowl”?

When we were approached about taking over the sponsorship of the Outback Bowl, it was an easy answer. Sponsoring an event of this magnitude gives us the opportunity to raise awareness of cybersecurity to a mainstream audience on a national scale. It’s also been a great way to engage and celebrate our customers, teammates, and partners.

Importantly, the bowl game’s mission aligns with our community focus, giving back millions of dollars each year to universities and charitable organizations.

How important is it for ReliaQuest to build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

It’s our belief that while there is a shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals in the workforce, there is no shortage of people who are willing to learn. Anyone can learn cybersecurity if given the opportunity, from any background. That’s why we’ve invested millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to youth education organizations such as Junior Achievement and Think Big for Kids. Through these partnerships we’re able to raise awareness of the challenges and careers within cybersecurity.

We also invest at the college level through programs like ReliaQuest Labs at the University of South Florida, which gives students hands-on cybersecurity training using real-world scenarios to complement what they are learning in the classroom.

What do you see as ReliaQuest’s responsibility to be engaged in the communities it serves?

Everything we do is driven by the problem we solve in cybersecurity, and we believe that cybersecurity is a team sport. Our partnerships in the community allow us to raise awareness of cybersecurity and career opportunities within it, which helps all of us.

We’re also invested in helping the next generation of entrepreneurs solve other technology challenges through Embarc Collective, now ranked one of the top business incubators in the world. Launched in 2020 as part of Tampa Bay’s new Water Street development led by Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investments, Embarc supports nearly 150 tech- and tech-enabled startups with 1:1 mentoring, coaching and startup resources.

Did you always know that you had an entrepreneurial spirit and desire to build your own business?

I’m from a small town in Florida, and as a kid I always loved the idea of business, at least from what I saw in movies. I liked the idea of solving problems for people and building something.

I was always willing to learn, and I’ve always been surrounded by hard work. I’ve always focused on being able to outwork anything in my way. My idea of “business” may have changed from what I saw in movies, but those values have been consistent and have made it all possible.