That the “NeQter” in NeQter Labs is an abbreviated version of the term “network quantifier” is a play on words few outside the tech industry will appreciate. But the term has a second meaning, which refers to the product bees turn into honey.
NeQter Labs co-founder and CEO Richard Astle likened the company’s services to the honey-making process – turning a raw material into a sweet, consumable byproduct.
In this case, the raw material is the complicated, number-heavy data that comprises a business’s network. The honey is the visual and graphic results of that data, created using specific, preconfigured algorithms, which show any potential holes or anomalies that may open up a company to fraud or a cyberattack.
NeQter Labs grew out of McLoughlin Research Corp., where Astle worked as an engineering project manager. The Middletown engineering and technical support company, which contracts with the U.S. Navy, found itself grappling with how to meet complex and nuanced federal cybersecurity standards for government contractors. What started as an effort to standardize the federal compliance process for McLoughlin grew into a marketable product, and from there, a company intended to help other small and midsize government contractors facing similar struggles with federal cybersecurity reporting.
“From the government side, they have a blind spot when it comes to the little guys,” Astle said.
Astle’s understanding of the challenges faced by small and midsize contractors, and the technology needed to help them, made him a fitting choice to lead the new company, which was founded with investment from McLoughlin. But the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth mechanical engineering graduate found other aspects of the CEO role more challenging.
“As an engineer, you’re a control freak,” he said. “You want everything in your control, and owning a business means a lot of unknowns.”
Astle also learned the importance of hiring “people smarter than me” to offset his areas of weakness and strengthen the company as a whole.
His strategy appears to be working. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, NeQter has had its best year ever, replacing the canceled trade shows, in which it was scheduled to market its products, with new partnerships with managed information technology service companies and webinar presentations.
That U.S. Department of Defense contractors, which comprise a majority of its clients, will soon be subject to new standards under the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program has helped drive demand, Astle said.
But NeQter Labs has also worked to grow its client base and services beyond programs that meet federal compliance requirements for defense contractors. Its triennial subscription model, which ranges from $275 monthly for a small office to up to $1,100 for larger companies with more assets, can help companies across industries more effectively monitor and detect cyberthreats.
OWNER: Richard Astle
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Software company
ADDRESS: 163 Exchange St., Suite 201, Pawtucket
EMPLOYEES: 11
YEAR FOUNDED: 2018
SALES: $1 million (estimate for 2020)
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
