African cybersecurity, built by operators.
Founded in 2026 in Johannesburg by two African cybersecurity operators. A structural answer to a structural problem: incumbent MSSPs are too expensive, too opaque and too offshore for the regulated mid-market that needs them most.
Four words. Defended in every engagement.
Clarity
We publish what incumbents hide — SLAs, architecture, pricing logic.
Evidence
Every claim supported by a number, a standard or a source. No marketing fog.
Humanity
Named operators. Real relationships. You know who answers the call.
Sovereignty
African data on African soil. By architecture, not by promise.
The people accountable.
Two founders. Combined: decades of technology leadership, security operations and market development across Africa. Both named. Both reachable. Both in the work.
Ralph Albert Vraagom
Experienced Managing Director and ICT technology sales executive with a proven track record of building market access and partner ecosystems across Africa. Harvard Business School alumnus and Top 5 Accenture Rising Star in ICT for South Africa (2020). Member of the CMO Council and the Institute of Directors Southern Africa. Ralph founded OpenCyOps to close the structural gap between enterprise-grade cyber capability and the African mid-market.
Thammy Shipalana
Cybersecurity professional with over 12 years of operational experience in security operations, including 7 years in SOC management at enterprise scale. Thammy has led Security Operations Centre functions carrying accountability for detection, incident response, analyst leadership and regulatory reporting. He brings the operational rigour that makes OpenCyOps a real SOC — not a marketing promise.
Supporting the founders: Njabulo Mhlongo — Sales & Product Director. A senior technology executive with 23+ years across Africa, spanning product, cloud, strategy and digital transformation. Njabulo owns the commercial function, the product roadmap and the go-to-market motion. Reach him at njabulo@opencyops.africa or via LinkedIn.
We hire for evidence, not pedigree.
Open roles at launch. If you see your discipline here, email Njabulo directly.
Send Thammy a line.
Or Njabulo.
You'll hear back today.
No bot. No form-to-void. Named leadership. Direct accountability. Four business hours.