Doug Merritt

CEO @ Aviatrix. Thinking about cloud, AI, security, and what comes next. Husband, father of four, athlete, and lifelong believer in technology’s impact.

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

Full piece, with the three numbers I'd take to your CFO and the questions I'd ask Monday: https://t.co/KeDhFGy8dR

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

I ran Splunk from 2015 to 2022. I sold more detection-era infrastructure into the Fortune 500 than I'd like to admit.

So hear me out: the next dollar in your security budget should not go to faster detection.

Most intrusions now ride valid credentials through legitimate channels. You can't catch that in time. LiteLLM, PyTorch Lightning, TanStack didn't beat detection. They beat the absence of any limit on how high a compromised workload could go.

Not detection speed. Reach.

If a workload were compromised right now, would your architecture stop it, or would you find a log tomorrow?

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

I helped build the Detection Era. The cloud changed the approach: it's no longer about how fast you detect; it's about how far a compromise can reach.

So, we reordered the cycle: Contain. Detect. Eliminate.

Aviatrix joined OSIF, the organization behind Suricata, and we are open-sourcing our cloud detection rules.

https://t.co/mIO8TqVyGx

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

AI agents need more than runtime guardrails.

They need containment at the network layer, where workload communication can be controlled, and blast radius can be limited across clouds.

Proud to see Aviatrix extend @Microsoft Agent Control Specification through Cloud Native Security Fabric.

https://t.co/z5TtfxNDMk

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

The industry has spent a lot of time talking about what agents can do. We need to spend just as much time on where they should be allowed to go, and what happens when they cross a line.

https://t.co/HVU4rfRZf6

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

Cloud security needs to get back to first principles.

Cloud environments have become harder to reason about: more workloads, more identities, more connections, and more ways for an attacker to move once inside.

Prevention and detection still have a role, but they are not enough on their own. If everything can still talk to everything else, the blast radius is already too big.

Containment gives teams a way to limit movement before an incident becomes much larger.

I talked more about this on @TechstrongTV with @ashimmy: https://t.co/4pWd2aJtZy

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

Maybe it’s the endurance athlete in me, but I have always believed preparation matters most when the environment gets faster and less predictable.

That’s what’s happening with AI agents.

They retrieve information, call tools, take actions, and move across systems at machine speed, and that makes containment an architecture issue, not just a security concept.

Validated Containment Architectures are about giving teams a clearer way to limit blast radius before something goes wrong.

https://t.co/LkYOnvGmQi

[Aviatrix Threat Research Center @aviatrixtrc]

Today, Aviatrix is declaring the Containment Era.

A new architectural standard for enterprise cloud security in the age of AI.

Not detection first.
Not patching first.
Containment first.

🧵

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

Excited to join Ken Tinsley and Brent Thill at @Jefferies next week.

AI is quickly changing the cloud security conversation. When something goes wrong, companies need to know it can’t move everywhere.

That’s the containment conversation we’ll be having.

https://t.co/U33RAwoah7

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

@aaditsh AI

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

At @Accel’s developer-focused event, #DX2022, I sat down with Sentry’s CEO @Milin Desai, to discuss building, packaging, and scaling companies. You can watch the recap here: https://t.co/I8Z52rj60T

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

I’m so proud of our #SPLKQ3FY22 performance as we hit a significant milestone with Splunk’s first $1 billion cloud ARR quarter. Learn more about our financial performance and customer success on the $SPLK earnings call at 1:30pm PT: https://t.co/KLdjjzG7ap

[Splunk @splunk]

#SplunkNews: Splunk Inc. announces Q3FY’22 financial results. Total ARR of $2.83 billion, up 37% year over year; Cloud ARR grew 75% to $1.11 billion. $SPLK #SPLKQ3FY22

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

I'm proud to take the #CEOAction pledge. It’s an important step on @splunk's journey to make our workplace & our communities more diverse & more inclusive for everyone. Read the pledge here: https://t.co/vSRusevWEP

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

It's hard to beat chatting with an amazing leader like @CMMcgowan at @TD_Canada! Thanks for having me on C Suite to discuss both the dilemma & the amazing opportunities brought on by #data. Listen here: https://t.co/wPNlzQ6Mt7

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

Thanks @caitlinhhansen for the great conversation about hybrid work, human connection & all things data during @siliconslopes #SlopesSummit21! #turndataintodoing https://t.co/OmdaPiqd72

[CEO.com @CEOdotcom]

@douglasmerritt talks with @caitlinhhansen backstage @siliconslopes Summit about the importance of human interaction in the work place. Tune into https://t.co/DsUfYUAffV at 2PM MT to view the full interview!

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

What a view w/ @teresacarlson! Hard to beat a front row seat at the #USGP to cheer on our favorite Formula 1 team @McLarenF1! This is definitely the fastest way to #TurnDataIntoDoing

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

Goooo Lando! Great practice yesterday. Excited for today!

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

The amount of data used in Formula 1 racing is incredible & literally drives results! I'm so excited to cheer on @splunk's data-driven partner @McLarenF1 this weekend during the #USGP in Austin, TX! #turndataintodoing

[Splunk @splunk]

The fun just keeps on comin'. We're still on a high after #splunkconf21, but we're thrilled to be making a splash at the #USGP with @McLarenF1. Our CEO @douglasmerritt shares a sneak peek at how we're shifting into overdrive this weekend on #SplunkBlogs: https://t.co/sgz41vLwoJ

[Doug Merritt @douglasmerritt]

Massive thanks @jeffreyFThomas & @Nasdaq for the great conversation at #SlopesSummit21 about accelerating digital transformation & how $SPLK is helping our customers around the world remove the barriers between data & action! #turndataintodoing

[Nasdaq Exchange @NasdaqExchange]

@siliconslopes @Machiz @iHeartMedia In honor of @SiliconSlopes Summit 2021, @Nasdaq’s Jeff Thomas (@JeffreyFThomas) speaks with @Splunk CEO Doug Merritt (@douglasmerritt). #SlopesSummit21

Watch here: https://t.co/YdC8LOpMrR