An 8-figure application security deal, and nobody to deliver it. Discovery calls in seven days.
A national reseller with more than 300 people and no application security practice won a very large deal. We were on discovery calls with their client a week after signing, and application security is now a service line they sell every day.
8-figure deal value
10+ portfolio organisations planned
- deal value
- 8-figure
- from signing to discovery
- 7 days
- portfolio organisations planned
- 10+
- closed, more planned
- 2 phases
A huge opportunity, with no one to deliver it.
A national reseller was pursuing an 8-figure application security program with one of the largest betting and gaming companies in the world. The client needed the lot: tool selection, program design, vulnerability management and ongoing delivery across many organisations.
The reseller had no application security practice. No practitioners, no method and no track record in the area, and the client expected work to start straight away.
the options on the table
Hire a team
Twelve to eighteen months to build from scratch, and the client wanted delivery now.
Find freelancers
Too much to stake on individuals they hadn't worked with, on a deal this size.
Walk away
Hand a deal this size to someone else? Not an option.
so they called us.
How it went.
start to now
Week 1
Signed to discovery in seven days
Partner agreement signed, and CWS on discovery calls with the client within seven days, the fastest start in the partnership so far.
Weeks 2 to 4
Pre-sales and tool selection
CWS led technical discovery, validated Snyk and identified the other tools the program needed, which widened the scope and added product resale for the partner.
Phase 1
The program, delivered
Application security program designed and delivered: code review process, pipeline integration and vulnerability detection across the main organisation.
Phase 2
Deeper, and wider
Deeper implementation, more tooling and wider coverage, with rollout to more than ten portfolio organisations planned.
In their words.
the partner's team
We had an 8-figure AppSec deal and no one to deliver it. CWS didn't just fill the gap. They built the entire program.
We didn't need a body shop. We needed someone who could walk into one of the biggest gambling companies in the world and build an AppSec program from scratch. CWS did exactly that.
This deal proved something to our leadership team. We don't need to build every practice in-house. We need the right delivery partner. CWS is that partner.
What changed.
- Deal kept8-figure
- Services revenue for the partnerMultiple six figures
- Portfolio reach10+ organisations
- New service lineApplication security
- Signing to discovery7 days
- Product revenueAdded resale
Why it worked.
the short version
Experienced people, from day one
CWS had the practitioners and the method to design and deliver an enterprise application security program, and was in front of the client within days.
Pre-sales and tool selection, done with them
CWS ran technical discovery and validated and widened the tool selection, which added product resale for the partner.
A program, built to repeat
A method built for several phases across more than ten portfolio companies, well beyond a single assessment.
Calm under real pressure
A large global client, real reputational stakes and the first project together. CWS delivered it.
what's next
Rollout to the client's portfolio organisations is planned. Application security is now a permanent service line the partner offers its wider customer base, with CWS delivering each engagement, and the two firms have built further offers together, including AI security posture assessments and M&A cyber risk assessments.
Got a deal that needs a new service line?
We deliver as CWS, by name, under your relationship. The client stays yours.