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Perimeters while retiring increasingly vulnerable and expensive Virtual Private Network technology .
• Pivot to the cloud : Organizations will accelerate their retirement of expensive and failing onpremises technology as they migrate to IaaS , PaaS and SaaS . As they make that pivot , the demand for a Zero Trust security implementation in the cloud will continue to swell .
• Workforce Development : With ISC2 ’ s 2020 Annual Cyber Workforce Study indicating a worldwide cyber workforce gap of 3.1 million , organizations are investing in a variety of initiatives to attract , recruit , retain and develop the skilled workforce they need to execute their missions .
• Simplicity : I ’ m finding that both public and private sector organizations are rethinking how they execute their Information Technology and cybersecurity missions . Complexity of architectures , systems and devices is crushing them , driving up frustration , cost and risk . As such , I ’ m seeing the ground swell of what I believe will be a large wave of investments as organizations retire ageing , expensive and brittle infrastructure in favor of technologies that are less complex for both the users and operators , less expensive and more secure against modern threats .
What are the region-specific challenges when implementing new technologies in North America ?
Recognizing that North America is comprised of Canada , Mexico and the USA , the challenges generally are focused on the infrastructure sector and country . For example , the United States and Canada have linked their electrical distribution grids so , in that sector , the industry must take into account the regulatory regimes of both countries . In the transportation sector , where ground systems are used to ship goods and products across the national borders , companies are sensitive to spectrum management between the countries to maintain continuity of operations . Now , with GDPR and other privacy legislation having a global impact , North American businesses are sensitive to the challenges associated with managing data . healthy . My team and I have had to be creative with things like business development activities , customer engagement and support , thought leadership , product development , sales and sales engineering , marketing , etc . We ’ re fortunate to be 222.6 % over last year at the end of the third quarter yet recognize we can ’ t become complacent . We must continually strive for ways to better serve our customers when we are separated by computer screens .
What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to obtain a C-level position in your industry ?
A couple of thoughts :
• Be flexible : The job you ’ ll have in 10 years from now hasn ’ t be invented yet . You ’ ll invent it . Invest in developing your understanding of business , finance , law , communications and psychology in addition to your technical skills . Stay current in your tech skills yet don ’ t forget that breadth and depth of experience makes the best C-level officer .
• Be resilient : Nobody wants to hire a C-level officer who hasn ’ t learned how to maintain their composure in times of crisis or adversity . I highly value the executive who has failed , got back up , applied lessons learned and excelled .
• Be curious : Expand your bubble to better understand the world around you . As a C-level leader you are not expected to be an expert on everything except being able to put together great teams that execute together well . You can ’ t develop that ability by staying inside your own bubble . Ask a lot of questions . Seek out the experts and learn from them .
• Be genuine : Most of the people in the technology industry have a strong sense of smell ; they know BS when they come across it . Ensure you treat people with dignity and respect at all times . People respect leaders who are forthright and honest . They admire and follow those who are modest and subordinate themselves for the team and the mission . p
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months ?
While I haven ’ t had an actual change in my job role in the last year , how I ’ ve executed that role has changed significantly due to the COVID19 pandemic . Like many others , I ’ ve had to make the pivot to a work from home environment while still being expected to engage in the necessary business functions to keep our organization
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