From VPN to Hyperscale: Island Transforms the Browser Experience

As demand for browser-level security increases, Island is enhancing its enterprise browser with new capabilities. CEO Mike Fey highlighted that the company has shifted from using traditional data centers to hyperscaler infrastructure to elevate uptime and operational efficiency by optimizing routing paths.

Fey emphasized that integrating intelligent networking directly into the browser enables real-time decision-making regarding the fastest and most secure routes for web traffic. This functionality parallels GPS navigation in vehicles, allowing for proactive traffic management. He also noted that Island supports secure access to AI platforms while ensuring user privacy and control. The incorporation of AI aims to streamline user experiences and bolster threat detection alongside business process analytics—strategies that are crucial in the current threat landscape.

“Much of the SASE infrastructure operates on the principle of collecting traffic before determining its path,” Fey remarked. “This analogy is akin to arriving at a traffic jam only to devise a new route. Our goal is to establish an efficient pathway from the outset. An outage would necessitate simultaneous failures across multiple hyperscalers, a level of vulnerability I doubt exists elsewhere.”

In a recent interview with Information Security Media Group, Fey discussed various applications of enterprise browsers, particularly within call centers and for anomaly detection. He elaborated on the importance of device verification and identity governance, which have become increasingly vital not only for businesses but also for three tiers of federal, state, and local government and educational institutions, all of which are showing heightened interest in emerging browser technologies.

Before co-founding Island, Fey held positions as President and COO at Symantec and Blue Coat, where he spearheaded product and go-to-market strategies. His extensive background includes tenures as Executive Vice President and General Manager of enterprise products at McAfee and as Chief Technology Officer at Intel Security, where he was instrumental in shaping the vision for network, endpoint, and analytics security.