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CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz opened Fal.Con 2024 thanking customers and partners, saying the company could not have weathered the events of earlier this year without their help, while emphasizing resilient design, a framework Kurtz introduced during his keynote. In July, a software update from the company caused a global IT outage that affected many industries.
“My goal on July 19 was to be as transparent and clear about what happened, to face the issue and move on,” Kurtz told the audience. “And I think an effective response can transform a business. I know it will change CrowdStrike, and if you go beyond CrowdStrike, the right response can change an industry,” Kurtz noted.
About 30 minutes after the keynote, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella participated via conference call and highlighted the partnership between Microsoft and CrowdStrike at the recent Security Summit. Nadella elaborated on the importance of secure deployments and allowing Windows to adapt as an open platform that supports cybersecurity partners.
Nadella shared the outcome of the Security Summit and how CrowdStrike and other cybersecurity companies are working with Microsoft. “Can we have a new abstraction layer where we can determine if it’s the detection, the tamper resistance and some other things that security innovation needs, right? Nadella said, referring to one of several technical discussions at the summit driving the security strategy.
CrowdStrike introduces Resilient-by-Design
Kurtz emphasized during his keynote that resilience is more than just recovering from incidents. “It’s not just about bouncing back – it’s about staying ahead in a culture of resilience,” Kurtz emphasized during his keynote. Kurtz says the “resilient design” framework is now a core principle across their entire ecosystem.
“It’s about embedding resilience into every node and endpoint, and ensuring that every part of our infrastructure can withstand and adapt to any disruption,” Kurtz explains. He noted that ISAC discussions with various industries highlighted the need to continuously learn and adapt.
“When you think about the power of the audience and CrowdStrike, it’s really like continuous learning, right? We always learn from what is happening in the environment. We always understand the threat environment and create this feedback loop so that we can keep getting better,” Kurtz told the audience.
The Resilient-by-Design framework focuses on three key elements. First, fundamental resilience ensures that resilience is embedded in every process and system. Second, its adaptability allows CrowdStrike to tailor solutions to the unique security needs of different industries. Finally, continuous learning ensures continuous improvement by analyzing evolving threats and customer feedback to stay ahead of future challenges.
Cloud security and strategic acquisitions
A key highlight of the keynote was CrowdStrike’s continued investment in cloud security, driven by recent acquisitions including Bionic And Power protection. Both acquisitions provide critical components in building out Falcon Cloud Security, which Kurtz said provides “real-time visibility and protection” and helps customers consolidate technologies for more streamlined cloud operations.
Kurtz also expanded the company’s updates to Falcon Cloud Security Licensing, which allows customers to avoid unnecessary payments for multiple technologies by letting them choose modules based on their needs.
Flexibility with Falcon Flex and Financial Services
Another critical announcement at Fal.Con 2024 is the unveiling of CrowdStrike financial servicesdesigned to simplify platform adoption by offering flexible financing solutions. This, combined with the Falcon Flex licensing model, offers customers a customizable approach. Kurtz says Financial Services and Falcon Flex are driven by what CrowdStrike hears from customers asking for more flexibility in adopting and deploying modules, as hyperscalers offer.
Falcon Flex is CrowdStrike’s licensing model, designed to provide customers with flexible access to the company’s full portfolio of modules. Kurtz explained during the keynote how it was developed in response to customer feedback. Falcon Flex simplifies the process by allowing companies to commit to a fixed dollar amount and granting them pre-negotiated discounts across the platform. Customers can use the modules they need immediately and add others as their requirements change.
“Eliminating complexity doesn’t stop with technology. In our mission to stop breaches, we strive to make every point in the security process frictionless for our customers and partners,” said Kurtz.
“The Falcon platform consolidates disjointed point products, Falcon Flex gives customers the flexibility to deploy what they need when they need it, and now CrowdStrike Financial Services is transforming the financing experience by offering seamless and flexible options for adopting the Falcon platform.”
CrowdStrike looks ahead to a collaborative, resilient future with Microsoft
Satya Nadella’s appearance at Fal.Con 2024 underscored how CrowdStrike and Microsoft’s commitment to working together and collaborating continues at the engineering team level. Reflecting on their partnership in front of the audience, Nadella said, “I am very proud of how the CrowdStrike team and the Microsoft team came together in a moment of crisis to support our customers. That is the spirit we need to move forward.”
Kurtz asked Nadella about Fal.Con 2026, asking, “What would success look like for you in the next two years?” Nadella replied: “If we’re back here in two years, we should have made tangible progress on secure deployment practices and the kernel mode abstraction layer we discussed.” Nadella concluded his comments by saying: “It’s about making sure we stay on top of platforms like Windows, creating secure, resilient products that benefit all our customers.”
Creating a culture of resilience is crucial
“My commitment to our company and to the industry is that CrowdStrike will never stop innovating,” Kurtz said as he concluded his keynote. CrowdStrike’s Resilient-by-Design framework, Falcon Flex and CrowdStrike Financial Services demonstrate how the company continues to drive itself in a customer-centric direction.
“So it’s not about bouncing back; it’s about really staying ahead through a culture of resilience. It is more than just adapting,” Kurtz emphasized during the keynote. “One of the things we’re focused on at CrowdStrike is at every level of our organization, for every level of our connected ecosystem and for society as a whole, to use July 19 as an opportunity for all of us, not just CrowdStrike . , but to all come out stronger, which is one of the reasons I wanted to introduce resilience by design,” Kurtz emphasized to the Fal.Con audience.
