Brendan Hannigan

Brendan Hannigan is a former head of International Business Machines (IBM) Security Systems Division and helped develop the industry's first intelligent cloud computing security portfolio.[1] He is also an entrepreneur and an investor who focuses on security, cloud, and software as a service (Saas) startups.

Brendan Hannigan
Born
Dublin, Ireland
EducationUniversity College Dublin
Occupation
  • Technology entrepreneur
Years activeearly 1980s–present

Background

Hannigan was born in Ireland where he finished a BSc in Computer Science at the University College at Dublin in 1987.[2] At school, he became interested with FORTRAN programming on a VAX computer architecture.[3]

He immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s.[4] He first lived in Boston, Massachusetts and secured employment at Motorola.[3]

Career

Hannigan started working in Dublin where he worked for Digital Equipment.[4] His job at the Irish company involved writing terminal server and routing codes. When he relocated to the U.S., he joined Motorola and Wellfleet Communications.[3] He also worked for Forrester Research from 1996 to 2000 as Director of network research and implemented successful practices in the areas of enterprise networks, security technology, and product management.[2]

Hannigan was, however, known for founding the startup Q1 Labs, which was acquired by IBM in 2011. The company, which he co-founded with Sandy Bird, provided security software that can analyze and monitor events. In an interview, he said, "Our ideas are based on the simple realization that the perimeter protection paradigm that companies have relied on doesn't work in a world where the bad actors are so sophisticated. Built upon a foundation of intelligence, we must bring security closer to the data, person, and transaction.”[3] Q1 Labs' security features were seen as compatible with IBM's analytic capability, hence the acquisition.[5]

When IBM acquired Q1 Labs, the company created a new division that focused on helping clients address security challenges. Q1 Labs formed the basis of this security division[6] and Hannigan was tapped to lead it. According to Gartner, that division has established itself as the third largest security software company, and IDC lists Hannigan's group as a world leader in security services.[3] IBM would later acquire startups that reinforced the division's range of security services.

Hannigan retired from IBM in 2016 after four years working for the company.[7]

Startup ventures

In November 2016, Hannigan joined Polaris Partners as a venture partner and was involved in identifying tech startups for funding and founding.[8] As with his experience at IBM, he also focuses on cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity. Hannigan maintains that the business world is shifting from the traditional data center towards multiple cloud services.[9] In 2019, he co-founded Sonrai Security, a startup that offers organizations better data security across multicloud deployments through a software-as-a-service product offering.[10] Aside from being an investor, he also serves as the CEO of the startup, which was able to raise $18.5 million after going public.[4]

References
  1. Allen, Kevin (2014-11-30). "Cloud security: How to block and tackle". Cloud computing news. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  2. "Executive Profile: Brendan Hannigan". www.bloomberg.com. May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  3. Bradley, Tony. "In Their Own Words: Brendan Hannigan Of IBM Security Systems". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  4. Taylor, Charlie (January 16, 2019). "Sonraí Security marks official launch with $18.5m funding". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  5. Dignan, Larry (October 4, 2011). "IBM acquires Q1 Labs, creates security division". ZDNet. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  6. Huang, Gregory (2016-02-23). "Xconomy: Source: IBM Security to Acquire Resilient Systems for $100M+". Xconomy. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  7. Darrow, Barb (2016). "Two Other IBM Execs Hit the Road". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  8. "Twistlock Closes $17 Million Funding Round for Container Security". SDxCentral. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  9. Dowling, Brian (2019-01-15). "IBM Vets Launch Sonrai Security, Eyeing Multi-Cloud "Complexity"". Xconomy. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  10. Kerner, Sean Michael (January 15, 2019). "Sonrai Security Emerges From Stealth With Cloud Data Control Service". eWEEK. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
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