In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Rene-Sylvain, Founder and CEO of Indominus, shares how his company is helping Canadian SMEs rethink cybersecurity through simplicity, innovation, and trust. With over 30 years in IT and 20 years of close partnership with Microsoft, he launched Indominus Managed Security in 2017, which was recently recognized as Best Cybersecurity for SME at the 2025 Canadian Business Awards. Author of SECURE by Design and an award-winning technology speaker, Rene-Sylvain is on a mission to democratize cybersecurity—showing small businesses that security is not just protection but a lever for growth in today’s digital economy.
Rene-Sylvain is an IT veteran now covering three decades in technology. He also was blessed with 20 years of close partnership with Microsoft. Founder to Indominus in 2017, he brings his deep technical and business knowledge to assist SMEs with cybersecurity. Indominus Managed Security was recognized for Best Cybersecurity for SME in 2025 by the Canadian Business Awards.
Indominus embraces the motto “less is more” when it comes to cybersecurity. Can you elaborate on how simplifying security—rather than adding more layers—actually makes small businesses safer in today’s digital landscape?
We witnessed how technology has evolved over the past decades. Gartner, which used to be a lighthouse pointing us in the right direction, has become volatile. You can not build a long term solution, on a volatile foundation. You need something that is solid, something you master. Over a decade ago, I looked at the technology portfolio of a government organization, and they had over 800 distinct technologies over 35 verticals. Through months of architecture and design, we brought it down to 3. Microsoft, Palo Alto and Dell. With those three, we were able to cover everything they were doing. Imagine the reduced contractual complexity, the rapid capacity to gain a deeper understanding of the solutions and improved relation with the partners, now that you only had 3 to manage, instead of 800.
When we chose our architecture model, “Less is more” became evident. It meant that by reducing the number of technologies, you reduce the blind spots in which cybercriminals can hide, and, your operation’s team does not need to try to keep up with 800 technologies, but they can start mastering a unified stack.
This then got applied everywhere, including our product line, which is based and specialized on Microsoft 365. We created products that automate the deployment and allow us to add intelligence and remote management to the Microsoft cyberdefense tools. This helps us focus on customers that are using this cloud solution, and never complexify their environment.
Your SECURE methodology emphasizes empowering executives and company cultures. What inspired this people-first approach, and can you share an example of how this philosophy transformed an SME’s security posture?
Through our years of working with small and medium businesses, a pattern emerged. Cybersecurity would become a priority after a scare, but the owners, who are mostly non-technical, would delegate it, and check the box, without giving it proper attention. Without understanding.
This is when I chose to write a book, to create value and to enhance my personal mission, to democratize cybersecurity. The goal was ambitious, to make SME owners accountable for their own cybersecurity. Afterall, if a cyberincident occurred, they would be blamed. So I chose to give them tool so they could understand not only the lingo, but the concepts behind cybersecurity, with insights into past incidents, and into the mindset of a cybercriminal.
When we looked at the transformation, we were surprised. Originally, the goal was to make SMEs more resilient, for them to repel and attack. Turns out that it became a tool for growth.
Readers are getting back to us with stories such as:
- As we were able to deploy cybersecurity, we were able to drastically reduce our cyberinsurance fees;
- As we were able to demonstrate our cybersecurity posture, we were able to sign in larger customers, who used to be out of reach due to their cybersecurity surveys and requirements;
- Thanks to the book, we launched a compliance effort that got us to be ISO 27001, which allowed us to bid, and win government contracts
As you can see, they transformed cybersecurity from a cost center into an investment. And one that paid off.
Spartan Guard has been called a “smoke detector” for business devices. How does this technology stand apart from traditional cybersecurity tools, and what has surprised you most about how SMBs interact with automated cyber defense?
Spartan Guard is a member of our portfolio that protects devices. The analogy to the smoke detector is also to the fact that we are acting as our customers’ alarm central.
The technology stands apart mainly due to its lack of impact on a user’s productivity. It is transparent and seamless. But in the backend, the sensors correlate thousands of events per day. Every time a website is compromised and tries to take advantage of your device, each file you may click or archive you plug in, can send an alert.
For example, one of our customers plugged in an email archive he had not touched for over three years. Within a minute, he received an incident report. One of the trademark mentions of our report is simple: Don’t worry, we are taking care of it.
He was impressed, but wanted to know more. As he explored the report, he found out that deep within that archive, a ransomware laid dormant. Not only did we caught it, but we warned the user, extracted it for archive, analyze it and provide a full report to management once it was done.
As Canadian SMBs face ever-evolving cyber threats and the new National Cyber Security Strategy takes shape, what final advice would you share with small business owners eager to secure their digital futures?
Leaders must lead. Cybersecurity and the responsibility for creating a cybersecure culture. Business owners must educate themselves first, then their management team, and only after, once all the goals are aligned, should the staff be added to the learning effort.
Our vision is to eradicate cybercrime within the next decade. To do this, we must, together with SMEs create this safe space, where business can happen with a managed risk. Where partners will know they can trust each other, and be SECURE.
That is why, cybersecurity must be worked on daily. It has to become a living asset within your company. Much like sales. Would you consider come Wednesday, to stop selling? We sold enough for this week? Never!
The same logic must apply to cybersecurity. When you create a new service or a new process, is it SECURE?. A new employee comes in, security training, this is how we keep our environment SECURE. Moving to a new system, what are the security baselines. It needs to be ever present, and to do so, it must come from the top. Then, and only then, will it percolate to all layers of the staff. The owner, CEO, leaders, are already acting as role model within their companies. If they say, top priority for this month is Sales, then everything else becomes second. Even cybersecurity. So it must become one of their top priorities, so that it remains top of mind for everyone else.
