How EX.CO Elevated Their Cloud Security with a Smarter UI and Unmatched Customer Care from Upwind Security
In today’s complex cloud environments, a comprehensive Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) is essential to maintain a strong security posture. Many organizations struggle with fragmented visibility, overwhelming alert fatigue, and poor alignment between security and development teams.
This case study explores how EX.CO, a machine learning video technology platform, transformed its cloud security approach with Upwind Security – a solution that not only addressed their critical challenges but impressed the team with an intuitive interface, intelligent alert management, and an exceptional customer-first approach.
About
EX.CO empowers media owners to monetize content across all screens-online video, connected TV (CTV), and digital out-of-home (DOOH).. Operating across five continents with team members located in New York, London, Tel Aviv, and Lviv, EX.CO operates on a truly global scale.
The Challenge: Overcoming a Fragmented Security Landscape
Two years ago, EX.CO launched a company-wide initiative to strengthen its security posture by developing new policies and embracing a DevSecOps strategy. Central to this effort was the need for a CNAPP tool that could effectively monitor all cloud environments and support secure, scalable development workflows.
Early tools fell short across several key areas:
- Limited Visibility and Alert Management: Configuring the platform was difficult, and alerts lacked clarity or actionable insights. Critical changes and risks were often missed, leaving the team unaware of key security events.
- Cumbersome User Experience: The platform’s interface was disorganized and difficult to navigate, making it hard for security teams – and nearly impossible for developers – to use effectively.
- Unmanageable Alert Volume: Thousands of critical issues were flagged with little to no prioritization. This led to analysis paralysis, as the team couldn’t easily distinguish between urgent problems and lower-risk items.
- Lack of Integration: Key tools like Jira and Slack weren’t integrated in a meaningful way, forcing teams into inefficient, manual workflows.
- Vendor Misalignment: EX.CO’s relationship with precious vendors felt transactional, with limited support or flexibility. EX.CO needed more than just a product — they needed a partner.
These challenges revealed a clear need for a modern CNAPP that prioritized usability, actionable insights, seamless integration, and a true customer-first philosophy.
The Solution: Upwind Security’s Intuitive Design & Partner-Centric Approach
EX.CO discovered Upwind Security and quickly recognized its potential. After a successful proof of concept, Upwind proved to be exactly what the EX.CO team needed: a solution that combined robust technical capabilities with a genuinely supportive partnership.
Reduced Alert Noise and Fatigue
One of the most immediate improvements Vestiaire Collective experienced with Upwind was a significant reduction in alert noise. By leveraging runtime context and environment-aware intelligence, Upwind filters out non-actionable findings and surfaces only those threats and vulnerabilities that are exploitable and relevant. This shift allowed the security engineers to move away from manual triaging of endless alerts and focus on critical incidents that demanded their attention.
1. Clean, User-Friendly Interface & Smart Alert Prioritization
The Upwind UI is much better than what we had before - it’s easier to navigate and work with every day.”
Upwind’s intuitive interface made an immediate difference. The security team – and, critically, developers – could quickly understand their environment and take action.
One standout feature was Upwind’s intelligent alert filtering. Instead of flooding the team with thousands of alerts, the platform prioritized and surfaced only the most critical ones. A previously unmanageable backlog of 2,000 alerts was reduced to just 30 actionable items, helping the team focus their efforts where it mattered most.
Another game-changer was Upwind’s real-time Topology Map, which offered a clear, visual overview of the entire environment. According to EX.CO’s DevOps lead, insights were accessible the very same day the platform was deployed.
Upwind enabled us to understand our infrastructure's activities on the day of initial deployment.”
2. Seamless Integrations & Workflow Automation
Upwind’s robust integrations significantly improved operational efficiency:
- Jira Integration: Teams can open and track tickets directly from the platform, streamlining remediation.
- Slack & Email Notifications: Real-time alerts ensure critical issues are seen and addressed quickly.
These features brought structure and automation to security workflows, reducing manual effort and improving collaboration across teams.
3. Exceptional Customer Service & a True Partnership
What truly set Upwind apart was their approach to customer success:
- Solution-Oriented Engagement: Upwind’s team focused on solving real problems, not pushing a product. They worked closely with EX.CO to align on goals and constraints.
- Ongoing Support: The relationship didn’t end after onboarding. Upwind provided proactive support, roadmap visibility, and regular check-ins to ensure EX.CO continued to get value.
- Direct Communication: A dedicated channel allowed EX.CO’s team to request features, flag issues, and get immediate feedback from Upwind’s engineers.
- Proactive Security Alerts: Even during the evaluation phase, Upwind’s team flagged potential issues in EX.CO’s production environment – without being prompted.
Upwind is actually listening and trying to fix problems - it’s clear they want us to succeed.”
Outcomes & Looking Ahead
Since partnering with Upwind Security, EX.CO has seen measurable improvements:
- Improved Security Posture: Clear, focused alerts have helped the team proactively address risks.
- From 2,000 to 30 critical problems: EX.CO’s previous CNAPP solution exposed 2,000 critical issues. Upwind focused this number down to 30.
- Operational Efficiency: Automation and integrations have cut down manual work and reduced response times.
- Stronger Developer Involvement: The intuitive UI and collaborative approach have empowered developers to take an active role in security.
- Trusted Partnership: Upwind has proven itself as more than a vendor — they’re a long-term security partner.
