Protagonist

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the VP RND of a software company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We develop an AI-driven compliance platform that helps financial institutions automate policy management, monitoring, and issue resolution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Protagonist to accomplish?

• Implement Identify Services through OKTA
• Implement MDM & Antivirus on al employees endpoints
• Increase Security Posture through IT
• Manage employees onboarding and offboarding

SOLUTION

How did you find Protagonist?

Referral

Why did you select Protagonist over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Protagonist were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Protagonist was the first IT services provider we hired to manage our entire employee device fleet, onboarding processes, training, and security posture.

While we had some policies in place, there were significant gaps that needed to be addressed quickly as we scaled. Protagonist assigned top-tier professionals who worked closely with us to:

• Implement identity management across the organization and integrate it with all of our services
• Develop and implement onboarding and offboarding playbooks
• Deploy MDM and antivirus solutions across all employee devices
• Dramatically improve our overall security posture, guiding us through infosec questionnaires and helping us achieve SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

•  Successfully achieved SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications
• Established a streamlined, secure onboarding and offboarding process that scales with company growth
• Gained full visibility into our security environment through centralized monitoring and observability
• Implemented proactive risk detection and remediation capabilities
• Integrated systems across the organization, enabling more efficient operations and supporting business growth
• Significantly strengthened our overall security posture

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Protagonist attentively listens to our requirements, and as the collaboration has grown, they've become better at anticipating our needs. They consistently provide clear plans and timelines for implementations. When unexpected issues arise, they raise flags in advance and over-communicate challenges, which we appreciate—there are never any surprises.

What was your primary form of communication with Protagonist?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

• The caliber of their people—genuinely talented and knowledgeable
• Deep professionalism in everything they do
• A true partnership mentality—they treat our challenges as their own and are hungry to help us win

Are there any areas for improvement or something Protagonist could have done differently?

Nothing that occured to us so far 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO of Healthfully Inc

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Healthfully is a white-label patient engagement platform designed to empower healthcare providers and consumers throughout the entire health and wellness journey. By offering a unified, customizable, and branded digital experience, Healthfully enhances patient acquisition, engagement, and retention.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Protagonist to accomplish?

• Perform a comprehensive security review of our product before launching to new clients
• Identify critical vulnerabilities through both manual and automated testing
• Receive actionable recommendations to improve the security of our development process
• Gain an independent view of our security posture from an external expert perspective

SOLUTION

How did you find Protagonist?

Online Search

Why did you select Protagonist over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Protagonist were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Protagonist conducted vulnerability assessment and manual penetration testing of our application, infrastructure, and source code. They identified several areas for improvement and delivered a detailed technical report with prioritized remediation steps. In addition, they provided recommendations for enhancing our overall development process to better integrate security moving forward.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Discovered and addressed vulnerabilities that could have impacted user data and system stability

Received clear guidance on strengthening backend logic and access controls

Improved infrastructure and patch management practices across environments

Gained recommendations for integrating security checks and dependency scans into our workflows

Increased security awareness and ownership within the product team

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Protagonist collaborated closely with our development team and stayed highly responsive throughout the engagement. They delivered the final report on schedule and were available for detailed walkthroughs of their findings. Communication was clear, technically sound, and focused on helping us act quickly.

What was your primary form of communication with Protagonist?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their ability to perform deep manual testing while understanding practical attack scenarios really stood out. The issues they found were clearly relevant to our production environment and were explained in a way that made them easy to prioritize. They worked well with our engineers and stayed focused on security improvements that actually matter to the business.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Protagonist could have done differently?

We were very satisfied with the engagement. One suggestion would be to include a high-level summary or checklist of findings at the start of the final report — that would help streamline internal planning and prioritization.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Digital Experience and Innovation of ViewTrade Technology

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ViewTrade is a global leader in enabling fintech innovation and cross-border investing for financial services firms around the world. Founded alongside the emergence of online retail brokerage beyond the United States, ViewTrade has been committed to opening critical markets and providing electronic access to the U.S. financial ecosystem. Today, the company delivers the technology infrastructure, brokerage services, and strategic support that empower firms to rapidly launch, scale, and differentiate their retail investing experiences. With over 20 years of expertise, a client network spanning more than 20 countries, and a team deeply rooted in brokerage operations and technology, ViewTrade serves as a trusted partner to institutions seeking to deliver modern investment access and tailored financial solutions to meet the evolving needs of global investors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Protagonist to accomplish?

• Penetration testing
• Vulnerability scanning

SOLUTION

How did you find Protagonist?

Referral

Why did you select Protagonist over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Protagonist were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We needed regular security testing for our products to meet partner requirements and improve our overall security posture. Given the complexity of our infrastructure, we were looking for a security provider who could adapt their approach to our specific needs, rather than offering a standard service.

Our main concern was finding a security partner who could not only identify vulnerabilities but also help us effectively address them. We needed a structured and flexible approach that would allow us to integrate security testing without disrupting our internal teams.Solution
Protagonist conducted comprehensive security testing, including vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, focusing on our web applications, code, and infrastructure. We also appreciate their post-testing support, which helped us determine the best solutions for fixing findings and ensuring that we had addressed all vulnerabilities effectively.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The project resulted in several measurable outcomes:

• Identification and prioritization of vulnerabilities across our infrastructure.
• Each finding was accompanied by detailed remediation recommendations tailored to our environment.
• A follow-up retesting phase confirmed the effectiveness of the remediation efforts.
• Delivery of a comprehensive report, including both an executive summary and in-depth technical analysis, along with high-level strategic recommendations to further enhance our security posture.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project was well-managed from start to finish. The testing team worked independently, requiring minimal involvement from our side and only reaching out just with essential questions. They kept us informed throughout the engagement with clear status updates and promptly flagged any critical issues as they emerged. All deliverables were provided on time, and their communication was proactive, and aligned with our expectations.

What was your primary form of communication with Protagonist?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What stood out most was their ability to combine deep technical expertise with a pragmatic and business-oriented approach. Their ability to work independently while keeping us fully informed was also a major plus.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Protagonist could have done differently?

Everything was performed well, we did not experience any issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Artkai, a software engineering company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Protagonist to accomplish for Artkai?

We needed consulting services to participate in the AWS partnership program.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Protagonist conducted an audit of our specifics of working with Amazon infrastructure, certifications of our specialists, an audit report, and a presentation of the partnership program's capabilities. The team focused on assessment and reporting. We plan to proceed with the implementation in the future.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–5 teammates from Protagonist.

How did you come to work with Protagonist?

Someone referred Protagonist to me. We chose them because their pricing fit our budget, they had a great culture fit, and they offered good value for the cost.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November–December 2025.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Protagonist delivered a report, presentation, and knowledge sharing. The knowledge sharing was mostly strategic. For example, we understood the need to build a partnership with Amazon, the development of our specialists, and the feasibility of investing in this.

How did Protagonist perform from a project management standpoint?

Protagonist's project management was absolutely predictable, transparent, and on time. We communicated via virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by Protagonist's deep expertise, hands-on experience, and strict delivery processes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on. Our team was satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the COO of a healthcare company. We provide mental health and performance services and solutions for athletes and organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Protagonist?

We asked Protagonist to review our project from a security perspective and help us understand what HIPAA means for our product and processes. The goal was to identify compliance requirements and turn them into practical development actions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Protagonist has provided consulting on HIPAA compliance and security improvements. The team has helped define technical and procedural controls and supported our development team in applying them for a software we have created and are building past the MVP stage.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from Protagonist.

How did you come to work with Protagonist?

Someone referred Protagonist to me. I chose them because they were a great culture fit, and their company values aligned with ours. Moreover, they had a great team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Protagonist in June 2025, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Protagonist has delivered a clear list of compliance-related improvements, and we've implemented several of them during the engagement. The team's work has given our team a better understanding of how to handle security and privacy topics in future releases. For example, we've incorporated their data handling recommendations into our AWS backend systems to ensure compliance.

How did Protagonist perform from a project management standpoint?

Protagonist has delivered everything as planned. Our communication is straightforward and efficient. The team handles most of the discussions directly with our developers and doesn't require long questionnaires or excessive meetings. We communicate via virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Protagonist is independent and requires minimal supervision. We can rely on them to gather the needed information, work with the right people, and deliver outputs without additional coordination on our side.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, the collaboration has gone as expected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Engineering of Yalantis

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Yalantis is a technology partner that helps businesses design, build, and scale digital products

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Protagonist to accomplish?

• Strengthen our overall cybersecurity posture across infrastructure and product layers
• Achieve and maintain ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 compliance through a managed approach
• Integrate security best practices into our software development lifecycle (SDLC)
• Receive expert guidance and support for working with clients that have high cybersecurity requirements

SOLUTION

How did you find Protagonist?

Referral

Why did you select Protagonist over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Protagonist were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Protagonist worked closely with our internal teams to assess, implement, and manage our Information Security Management System (ISMS) and Quality Management System (QMS), aligning both with ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 standards.
They conducted comprehensive security testing across our infrastructure and product environments, performed risk assessments, and delivered practical recommendations with an actionable implementation roadmap.
They continuously monitored and improved our security practices, leading many operational improvements internally.
Key deliverables included detailed security assessment reports, compliance documentation, risk treatment plans, and direct support in driving internal security-related changes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We successfully passed external ISO audits with no major non-conformities.
Critical security risks were identified and mitigated across both infrastructure and delivery workflows.
Protagonist also played a key role in improving employee awareness around cybersecurity risks and strengthening our internal processes.
Additionally, the managed certification service opened up new business opportunities with clients that require high levels of cybersecurity from their vendors.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Protagonist demonstrated excellent project management capabilities, consistently delivering milestones on time and keeping communication clear and proactive.
They were highly responsive, adapted quickly to evolving needs, and collaborated effectively with both technical and business stakeholders.

What was your primary form of communication with Protagonist?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their deep expertise in cybersecurity, particularly in the context of modern software architecture, was outstanding.
They avoided generic, off-the-shelf solutions and instead focused on understanding our unique business context, delivering customized and practical strategies to address specific risks.
Their ability to embed security into our development and delivery processes was especially valuable.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Protagonist could have done differently?

Their engagement was exceptional. Any issues that arose were resolved quickly and proactively. We have no areas for improvement to note at this time.