From compliance to competitive edge: How RegScale is transforming network security with AI
Travis Howerton co-founded AI startup RegScale because he wanted to solve the inefficiency and manual burden of a common issue in the computer and network security industry: risk and compliance.
As CEO for RegScale, Howerton said the idea arose from his own experience as a chief information officer and chief technology officer where he was buried in paperwork.
“We overcame it by treating compliance as an engineering problem, not a policy one, and by surrounding ourselves with people who believed it could actually be automated,” said Howerton.
RegScale, based in Tysons, Va., is a continuous controls monitoring platform designed to be the operational risk tool for the chief information security officer. It replaces first-generation governance, risk, and compliance tools with a modernized solution that makes risk and compliance real-time, automated, and actionable in fast-moving, cloud-native or air-gapped/on-premises environments.
RegScale’s partnership with Microsoft for Startups — and access to Azure credits and priority AI tools — allowed the startup to build and prototype quickly, Howerton said. Engineers from Microsoft Research also helped RegScale think through architectures for internet-scale systems.
Microsoft’s go-to-market team opened doors to new accounts and buying centers, Howerton said, and Azure Marketplace simplified procurement, helping RegScale accelerate sales. Howerton credits Microsoft’s support with helping the startup gain credibility and turn an ambitious idea into real growth.
Tom Pauly, a success manager with Microsoft’s Pegasus team, said RegScale’s go-to-market success can be attributed to the startup’s attentiveness to details of the process.
“They put in the work required to reap the rewards of the program and continue to find new ways to enhance the Azure experience for our joint customers,” Pauly said.
As a cloud-native solution, RegScale delivers hybrid and on-premises solutions so customers can integrate compliance as code into CI/CD pipelines and speed certification, reducing costs and future-proofing security.
As he looks to the future, Howerton sees a shift toward continuous monitoring, compliance as code, and AI-driven automation, where real-time telemetry replaces static reports and compliance becomes a daily, dynamic part of development and security operations rather than an annual audit exercise.
“Compliance leaders will move from being paperwork administrators to strategic advisors who make real-time risk decisions and drive business enablement rather than just regulatory adherence,” Howerton said.
Tune in Dec. 19, 10 a.m. PT, for a LinkedIn Live session featuring Travis Howerton and Kevin Magee, global director of security startups at Microsoft for Startups, as they highlight how RegScale enables automated compliance, continuous monitoring, and secure scaling across complex regulatory environments. Join the conversation — register here.
Follow Microsoft for Startups on LinkedIn for more Founder Friday highlights and visit Microsoft for Startups to learn more about how to get started building with Azure.
