--- title: 'Vendor Expert (Cybersecurity Products) at IANS' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/vendor-expert-cybersecurity-products-ians-united-states-ecmw6v57364g' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-14' --- # Vendor Expert (Cybersecurity Products) at IANS - **Company:** IANS - **Location:** United States - **Posted:** 2026-08-17 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ians/jobs/5213513007 ## Job description Vendor Expert (Cybersecurity Products) Help security leaders make better technology decisions. Share your expertise on the products you know best. IANS is building the Vendor Intelligence Database (VID), a next-generation cybersecurity practitioner intelligence platform designed to provide decision makers with practical, user written insights on cybersecurity products and services. Unlike traditional vendor profiles and analyst summaries, VID is built from the perspective of practitioners who have directly evaluated, implemented, administered, or operated these solutions in real-world environments. We're looking for experienced cybersecurity professionals to serve as Vendor Experts and contribute insights for products they know through recent use. ## What You'll Do As a Vendor Expert, you'll share your experience with specific cybersecurity products by: - Contributing structured assessments and practitioner insights - Reviewing and validating product information - Highlighting strengths, limitations, and real-world use cases - Helping ensure information remains current as products evolve Your contributions will help fellow practitioners cut through marketing claims and make more informed security technology decisions. Why Participate? - Contribute only to the areas you have expertise - Work entirely on your own schedule - Earn compensation for sharing your insights and experience - Help improve technology decision-making across the cybersecurity community This is not a traditional consulting or employment role. Most contributors participate on a flexible basis, providing current insight on products they already know well. This opportunity is designed to fit around your existing role and commitments. Some experts contribute just a few hours each quarter, while others engage more often depending on their availability and areas of expertise. Who We're Looking For You may be a good fit if you have recent hands-on experience with one or more cybersecurity products, including as: - Security leaders and executives - Security architects - Engineers and administrators - Product owners - Security operations professionals - Cloud and infrastructure security practitioners - Governance, Risk, and Compliance professionals - Consultants with direct implementation experience Experience may include evaluating, purchasing, implementing, administering, operating, or supporting cybersecurity technologies. ## About IANS IANS is a trusted cybersecurity research and advisory organization that helps security leaders make informed decisions through practitioner-driven insights and expert guidance. The Vendor Intelligence Database extends that mission by providing the cybersecurity community with deeper, experience-based perspectives on hundreds of security products. Interested? We'd love to learn about the security products you know best and explore whether you'd be a fit for our Vendor Expert community. ## About IANS ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: IANS delivers vendor-agnostic cybersecurity intelligence and advisory services to CISOs and security leaders, powered by a proprietary database of practitioner-validated conversations. - **Entity Type**: Private (self-funded / bootstrapped; no disclosed funding rounds) - **Headquarters**: Boston, Massachusetts, United States - **Founded**: 2001 - **Founders**: Phil Gardner ## Core Business - Primary industry: Cybersecurity (computer and network security) - Target customers: CISOs, security leaders, and their teams at Fortune 1000, mid-market, and enterprise organizations (B2B) - Mission / Purpose: To become the intelligence layer behind every security decision by providing governed, first-party data that generic AI cannot replicate – turning what peers actually practice into actionable insights. ## Products & Services - **[Ask IANS]**: An AI-powered, always-on intelligence platform that surfaces benchmarks, implementation guidance, and vendor insights drawn from 6,000+ anonymized practitioner conversations, 6,500+ content pieces, and proprietary surveys. Type: SaaS / Data Platform. - **[End User Decision Support]**: Subscription-based access to 170+ experienced Faculty (active CISOs and practitioners) for 1:1 consultations, curated research, and decision support. Type: Advisory Service. - **[Consulting Services]**: Field-tested advisory engagements including architecture reviews, program assessments, risk analysis, and incident response support. Type: Professional Services. - **[Professional Development]**: Leadership coaching, team training, and CISO development programs. Type: Education / Training. - **[Events]**: Annual conferences, roundtables, and peer networking events for security leaders. Type: Events. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company) - **Key Metric**: Estimated annual revenue of **$39.8M** (LinkedIn data); headcount of **329 employees** (+13.7% YoY growth) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Bootstrapped; no external investors disclosed. Partners include Fortune 100 companies and a network of 170+ active practitioner Faculty. - **Growth Signals**: Operating in 9 countries, revenue growth, headcount expansion, new product launch (Ask IANS AI platform), and growing demand for practitioner-validated cybersecurity intelligence. ## Competitive Advantages - **Proprietary Practitioner-Validated Data**: Intelligence base built from thousands of consented, anonymized conversations with real CISOs and practitioners – not scraped web data or analyst reports. - **Vendor-Agnostic Model**: Faculty have no vendor affiliations; insights are free from marketing bias, focused on what actually works under real constraints. - **Governance & Anonymization**: Strict protocols (consent, anonymization, human verification) make the data trustworthy and legally defensible. - **AI with a Moat**: General-purpose AI learns from published sources; IANS learns from practiced experience, giving it a durable competitive edge. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale the Ask IANS platform** to become the default intelligence layer for security decision-making. - **Expand data collection** through Research Interviewer roles that capture fresh, granular insights. - **Grow the Consulting and Professional Development** practices to deepen client relationships and recurring revenue. - **Maintain high-touch human validation** alongside AI to preserve data quality and trust. ## Why Work Here - **Culture & Values**: Guided by Grit, Results, Initiative, Passion, Positivity, Teamwork, and Curiosity. Emphasis on collaboration, ownership, and fast growth ("talent is the engine"). - **Work Environment**: Hybrid model – 2 days/week in the Boston office with a weekly lunch stipend. Remote roles may exist for some positions. - **Perks & Benefits**: Fidelity 401(k) with match, medical/dental/vision, deductible reimbursement, fitness stipend, Calm app subscription, dependent care and healthcare FSAs, transit/parking pre-tax benefits. Work/life balance includes PTO, paid holidays, sick time, and Summer Fridays (early close on summer Fridays). Social events: monthly "Club IANS", annual summer outing, team events. - **Volunteer & Community**: Paid volunteer day, employee-led community initiatives. - **Growth & Development**: Mentorship, real responsibility, transparent promotion criteria. Strong learning culture for cybersecurity professionals. ## Sources 1. [iansresearch.com – Careers page](https://www.iansresearch.com/who-we-are/careers) 2. [iansresearch.com – About page](https://www.iansresearch.com/who-we-are/about-us) 3. [iansresearch.com – Homepage](https://www.iansresearch.com/) 4. [Greenhouse job board – IANS](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ians/jobs/4665746007) 5. [LinkedIn – IANS company page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ians) ## Other roles at IANS - [Director of Sales Enablement](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-sales-enablement-ians-125-high-street-boston-5dhw3vze6qpg) — 125 High Street Boston, MA - [Office Administrator](https://feeny.ai/job/office-administrator-ians-boston-byjfv52e0h29) — Boston, MA - [Event Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/event-coordinator-ians-boston-pdabsgn6detw) — Boston, MA - [Client Services Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/client-services-specialist-ians-boston-j8sz57sep4n9) — Boston, MA - [Consulting Technical Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/consulting-technical-specialist-ians-boston-qmtzhppz5jdm) — Boston, MA - [Agentic Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/agentic-engineer-ians-boston-y4h2c2cgxr1y) — Boston, MA - [Head of Enterprise GTM, MCP](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-enterprise-gtm-mcp-ians-boston-zn4g4v70s4d4) — Boston, MA - [Research Interviewer](https://feeny.ai/job/research-interviewer-ians-boston-8hb5nepervqt) — Boston, MA - [Reporter](https://feeny.ai/job/reporter-ians-boston-sf05mvcdzf58) — Boston, MA - [Sr. Account Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-account-manager-ians-boston-4jm2xx3thx92) — Boston, MA