About ARMO

ARMO offers a runtime-powered, open-source first, Cloud Security Platform and the creator of Kubescape. Kubescape is a leading open-source Kubernetes security project and a Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) sandbox project, signaling its importance in the broader open-source ecosystem.

Kubescape helps developers identify and fix misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and compliance issues across the CI/CD pipeline and detect and respond to threats in runtime using eBPF based anomaly detection agent. It is deployed and tested across over 100K clusters in environments as small as a few workloads, and up to enterprise scales with over 50K running workloads. With over 10,000 GitHub stars, Kubescape has become a popular tool in the cloud-native community.

However, as Kubescape grew in popularity, ARMO faced a new challenge: visibility into how their project was being used, especially after donating it to CNCF. This is where Scarf came in.

The Challenge

While maintaining Kubescape, ARMO had access to basic metrics such as GitHub stars and download numbers. But after donating it to the CNCF, they were faced with new layers of privacy that made it harder to track who was using their project. Without this visibility, ARMO found it difficult to convert open-source users into paying customers for their commercial solutions.

"After donating Kubescape to the CNCF, we lost the ability to track conversions to our commercial solution," explains Kaftzan. "It became hard to know who was using it, when they transitioned to our platform, and what kind of opportunities we could develop."

ARMO’s marketing, sales, and DevRel teams all wanted better insights into user behavior, but they needed a solution that respected the privacy policies of the CNCF while still delivering actionable data.

The Solution: Scarf

Scarf, a platform designed to provide open-source projects with deeper insights into their users and usage patterns, was the answer ARMO needed. By integrating Scarf into Kubescape, ARMO was able to regain visibility into which company has been using Kubescape, filling the gap left after their CNCF contribution.

"We installed Scarf in Kubescape and immediately got visibility into which companies were using it and how frequently. This was a huge ‘aha’ moment for us," says Kaftzan.

Scarf also provided ARMO with insights into user engagement on their website, including visits to high-intent pages like the pricing and demo pages. This gave ARMO a clearer understanding of which users were not only using Kubescape but also showing interest in ARMO’s enterprise solutions.

"The combination of Kubescape usage data and website visits is extremely valuable. When a company uses Kubescape and then visits our pricing or demo pages, it’s a lead we need to chase," Kaftzan emphasizes.

The Value of Scarf

Scarf provided ARMO with the visibility they needed to effectively target and convert high-intent users. Here are five key outcomes from their use of Scarf:

Five Key Outcomes

  1. Enhanced Visibility: Scarf revealed which companies were using Kubescape, offering ARMO insights they hadn’t previously had access to.
    • "Scarf gave us visibility into companies we didn’t even know were using Kubescape, revealing just how many regular users we had," notes Kaftzan.
  2. Prioritization of High-Intent Leads: By tracking users who visited high-value pages like the pricing page, ARMO was able to identify companies with serious interest in their commercial solutions.
    • "When a company uses Kubescape and also visits our pricing page, that’s a lead we can’t ignore," says Kaftzan.
  3. Improved Sales Strategy: Armed with Scarf data, ARMO’s sales team could prioritize outreach to users with clear intent, resulting in more focused and effective sales efforts.
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  4. Stronger Marketing Campaigns: With insights from Scarf, ARMO tailored marketing campaigns to target companies already engaged with Kubescape, which led to stronger results.
    • "We ran campaigns targeting companies identified by Scarf and saw stronger results, especially when we combined that data with other marketing tools," shares Kaftzan.‍
  5. Pipeline Generation: Scarf contributed directly to ARMO’s sales pipeline by surfacing qualified leads from Kubescape users, helping move them closer to conversion.
    • "We’ve already seen several advanced opportunities thanks to Scarf’s insights, adding real value to our pipeline," Kaftzan adds.