If there’s one thing that’s true of Rapid7’s India office, it’s that they “always try to walk that extra mile.”
So says Swami Nathan, country manager for India, who said before employees go home, it’s common practice for them to check with their colleagues in other geographies for a smooth handover.
“You will not find anybody in India who will say, ‘You know what? It’s the end of the day for me, so I’m closing my laptop and going home,’” Nathan said. “This is very core to India; we always try to walk that extra mile.”
Nathan said he’s seen India-based team members go the extra mile in a multitude of ways, driven by the core values that unite all of the company’s offices around the world: “Be an Advocate,” “Challenge Convention,” “Impact Together,” “Bring You” and “Never Done.” So while the offices represent different local cultures and time zones, the principles guiding each one are the same, empowering team members to work together in shaping the future of cybersecurity.
Inspired by these values, Rapid7 team members pursue not just solutions, but “rapid innovation.” According to Senior Vice President of Platform & Engineering Pete Rubio, agility goes hand in hand with out-of-the-box thinking, giving way to quick iteration, deeper understanding and, ultimately, better solutions.
“We are a security software company that has to stay on the bleeding edge,” he said. “We absolutely encourage all of our teams to challenge convention to ensure that we’re innovating in the most secure and expeditious way possible, but we don’t want them taking blind risks.”
As Rapid7 leads the industry in its development of cutting-edge solutions, the team members in India, under the guidance of Nathan and Rubio, play a critical role in driving the development of cutting-edge solutions with far-reaching influence.
“As we are building out the teams in India, we have a real opportunity to make an amazing impact not just on our customers in India, but on all of our customers globally,” Nathan said.
Inspiring Others to Succeed
Both Nathan and Rubio consider it their responsibility to empower their teams in India to play a key role in the company’s wider efforts to create a more secure digital world.
For Nathan, this starts with breaking down the “invisible walls” that people unwittingly put between themselves and other people, which hinders the ability to create great products and customer experiences. To break these walls down, those on his teams must be willing to confront issues head on.
“The moment we say, ‘OK, I will have the courage to approach conflicts with my fellow coworkers and address them by having a conversation with that person,’ then you actually build bridges rather than building those invisible walls,” Nathan explained.
That’s why he strives to create an environment of trust and openness, which encourages everyone to share ideas freely, question decisions and make meaningful contributions. Rubio does the same for the teams he oversees, guided by the belief that trust — coupled with responsibility — is key.
“Responsibility is directly tied to the level of autonomy I want them and all of my leaders to have,” Rubio said. “[They need] business context around what’s going on not just inside of the company, but outside in the market, so that they can make the best decisions on a day-to-day basis and lead their teams to the best outcomes.”
This goes hand in hand with accountability, which ensures that team members uphold their commitments to both themselves and the company’s customers. It also means they step up when things don’t go as planned — and find solutions as quickly as possible.
How the ‘Magic Happens’
“If there’s one thing that I would say about Rapid7 it’s that we are aggressive collaborators,” Rubio said. “Culturally, that’s built into how everybody works.”
Regardless of where they are in the world, every team member is driven by a determined focus on teamwork, which is critical to achieving the company’s transformational endeavors over the past few years. Rubio considers the company’s platform one of the most powerful in the industry, unifying a breadth of cybersecurity needs, from exposure management to threat intelligence.
From Nathan’s perspective, the approach to product development has evolved over the years. Rather than create software and “throw it over the wall” for the release management team to pick up and put into production, he notes the importance of engineering teams embracing continuous integration and development, proactively addressing quality issues earlier on in the development phase — all while leaning on a strong toolkit from the start.
“In today’s world and over the last few years in particular, it’s not just about time versus quality — it’s about playing smart with the usage of tools so that we achieve both,” Nathan noted.
Overcoming issues earlier on in the software development lifecycle is the “magic sauce” that ties everything together, enabling teams to stay agile and achieve the timelines they’ve committed to with the company’s customers.
But it’s not just processes and technologies that make Rapid7’s solutions successful. Nathan shared that the company is committed to hiring “A-plus” engineers in India and across its different offices. He considers it his duty to help foster collaboration across the company’s high-performing teams, forging global knowledge sharing and empowering team members to talk through — and solve — significant challenges.
“Once we build this kind of collaborative culture into the fabric of our globally distributed teams, magic happens,” Nathan said.
“Once we build this kind of collaborative culture into the fabric of our globally distributed teams, magic happens.”
‘An Incredible Ride’ Ahead
Rubio is excited to see the company’s India office flourish, believing that it will bring the company even closer to achieving long-term success.
“We’ve got such an incredible set of innovators distributed throughout the world that comprise our engineering teams. We’re really excited to bring India on board, because it adds another set of individuals and cultures that are really additive to who we are as a company and brings a different level of growth at scale.” he said. “I’m really excited about the opportunity there not just for the local presence, but to actually expand our business and serve customers in India. I think it’s going to be an incredible ride.”
What makes Rubio even more eager about the future is the growth he has witnessed with the company’s platform, particularly when it comes to the use of AI. He said that AI not only accelerates the company’s development efficiencies and speed to market, but it also boosts the efficiency and time to value for customers. It enables his teams to find better insights and uncover more “needles in the haystack,” ultimately delivering a strong security experience overall.
“We’re really excited about not just the elements that we already have and what we’ve been innovating in, but also the future,” Rubio said. “It’s extremely bright, and I think it puts us at a competitive advantage compared to others in the industry.”
As the company expands its product portfolio, local tech talent in India will have ample chances to impact the product roadmap and find novel ways to solve customer challenges. Nathan has already witnessed the company’s prominence in India firsthand, having recently met with partners and prospective customers in cities like New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai to discuss the ever-changing possibilities that exist in the cybersecurity world.
“Having the ability to create teams, build products and make a positive impact on our customers on a global level right out of India is something which is so exciting to me and to our teams here,” he said.
“Having the ability to create teams, build products and make a positive impact on our customers on a global level right out of India is something which is so exciting to me and to our teams here.”
This opportunity for innovation and impact stems from a culture so powerful, it’s the reason why Rubio considers the company “an incredible place to work.” He believes that the culture empowers team members to do the right thing for customers every day, regardless of their role, all while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in cybersecurity technology.
So as the company builds out its India presence, local tech talent will have endless opportunities to drive influence in a culture that empowers everyone — everywhere — to thrive.
“I would choose Rapid7 10 times out of 10 if presented with the opportunity again, and I think that most individuals that wind up joining us will hopefully feel the same,” Rubio said.
