The Holtz Story

Mark Romano, Senior Director of Worldwide Channel Programs and Field Engagement at WatchGuard, joins "The Holtz Story" to discuss the state of cybersecurity today. 

The podcast opens with a discussion of WatchGuard’s Internet Security Report and some current trends, including increases in ransomware and malware. Tracy and Mark discuss the need for multiple layers of security and the focus on Zero Trust. Mark shares how the acquisition of Panda Security is helping WatchGuard with Zero Trust. He also shares some of his thoughts about WatchGuard’s acquisition strategy. 

The conversation shifts to MSP needs. WatchGuard is paying close attention to the needs of MSPs such as SOC and detection and response. Tracy and Mark also discuss how MSSPs are working with MSPs to evolve their service offerings. 

The conversation concludes with a discussion on the talent gap, burnout, and the need to develop more talent.

We hope you enjoy the show. Please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (I.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.).

Victor Monga, a Senior Technical Architect for the Network & Advanced Security Business Group at VMware, joins The Holtz Story to discuss today's market and what is happening with VMware. Victor's experience in Healthcare, Aerospace and with the Department of Defense (DoD) has given him an in-depth understanding of specific industry needs. 

The podcast opens with Tracy and Victor discussing how much has changed through and after the pandemic. Victor points out that remote work changed how enterprise leadership views security and workspace solutions. He also adds that partners play an increasingly important role in enterprise success. They also discuss how some companies put band-aids in place for remote work and now wish they had taken a longer-term approach.

Tracy and Victor discuss the application of a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and the challenges companies have faced in integrating it into their cloud infrastructures. Later in the podcast, Victor and Tracy discuss VMware Explore and topics being discussed between peers, co-workers, partners, and customers. These conversations included Zero-Trust and a security-first mindset.

We hope you enjoy the show. Please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (I.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.).

Bryan Keeper, Director of Channel Sales Americas at OpenGear, joins "The Holtz Story" to discuss Out-of-Band Management. Bryan helps partners become trusted advisors to their customers while driving channel programs and new business development.

This podcast opens with Bryan describing Out-of-Band as an alternative access to devices. It allows IT managers to achieve remote access and remediate issues through an alternative path. 

The conversation evolves into channel relationships, with Bryan stating that Out-of-Band falls under network resiliency, making it a perfect complement to cybersecurity. This has led the company to develop relationships with vendors of some of the industry's top cybersecurity suites.  

There is also a significant opportunity for MSPs to increase upfront fees while providing better support. OpenGear enables MSPs to charge for the device and a set-up fee while making it easier to achieve SLAs. Out-of-Band lowers MSP costs by eliminating the need to go out to the customer. Bryan states the biggest challenge with MSPs is awareness. 

This informative podcast provides an excellent overview of Out-of-Band Management and how OpenGear approaches the market. We hope you enjoy the show.  We hope you enjoy the show. Please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (I.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.).

Jonathan Nguyen-Duy, Vice President, Field CISO Strategic Services at Fortinet, joins The Holtz Story to discuss the latest solutions in cloud cybersecurity. Jonathan brings extensive experience working with global enterprises and nation-states and is responsible for developing innovative security solutions with partners at Fortinet.

This podcast opens with a discussion of emerging cybersecurity threats. Jonathan discusses how threats are similar to last year but have grown in complexity and sophistication. In fact, 99% of vulnerabilities exploited at organizations were known vulnerabilities for at least a year beforehand. The challenges are a lack of integration, automation, and visibility. 

 The conversation concludes with a discussion of what comes next. We’re moving to more distributed, cloud-connected platforms, and it all needs to be frictionless. Jonathan and Tracy discuss how partners will become the key to this, but they need to move up the value chain and become the customer’s trusted advisor. 

We hope you enjoy the show. Please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (I.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.).

Janet Schijns, CEO & Co-Founder of JS Group, joins The Holtz Story to discuss trends in the channel. Janet offers wisdom gained from building, optimizing and evangelizing channel programs and go-to-market strategies for over two decades. 

Our podcast opens with Janet and Tracy discussing the level of investment in the channel, both in consolidation and buildouts, how this is creating new pressures and the urgent need for new talent. The podcast then segues into how the channel sees more partner-to-partner collaboration to fill gaps and the increased involvement of non-transactional partners.

The conversation shifts to where vendors and partners need to focus now. Janet recommends that partners concentrate on training and enablement to fill the talent gap, improve digital marketing, and retain customers and their people. These suggestions lead to a conversation about the growing talent gap in the channel, what tech companies need to do to close it, and the role older workers are playing in it. 

The podcast closes with a discussion on the evolving needs of customers and channel partners and the role distributors are playing in this evolution. 

We hope you enjoy the show. Please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (I.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.).

In this episode of the Holtz Story, Britt Norwood, SVP of global channels and commercial at Trellix, discusses the latest trends in cybersecurity threats.

The podcast opens with a discussion about the driving force behind the recent influx of ransomware attacks. The ransomware attack in Ukraine is one of the most recent incidents. Norwood indicates we’re already seeing copycat attacks, and the pervasiveness of ransomware is only getting worse.

Customers are desperate for new ways to detect breaches before they enter their business. Customers know attacks will continue, and compliance isn’t the only path forward. Addressing emerging threats is made even more difficult by the skills shortage in cybersecurity and not having enough people to troubleshoot and automate detection and response.

The conversation then shifts towards Trellix, the merging of McAfee and FireEye, how it came together, and what it means to customers. Norwood indicates it is going to be about learning and adapting (bringing together AI & ML), being native and open, and using the telemetry of a billion sensors to identify threats faster and more intelligently.

We hope you enjoy the show. Please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (I.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.).

On this episode of the Holtz Story, Tanja Omeragic, Technical Sales Manager and cybersecurity subject matter expert at ConnectWise, joins the Holtz Story to discuss the latest trends in cybersecurity threats and solutions. 

A staggering 72% of MSPs report security incidents with clients, and cybercriminals are now targeting MSPs to reach their customers. These “Buffalo Jump Attacks” are causing MSPs to heighten their security knowledge and spend more time focusing on security. 

The conversation then shifts towards remote workers and the increased risk of data breaches with this new level of work flexibility. Tanja explains that it is essential for many IT professionals to keep up patch management, keep an inventory and keep up with vendors to combat these risks. Tanja then discusses ConnectWise’s CRU (Cyber Research Unit) as a solution for end customers. 

The conversation moves to cloud integration and cloud solutions. Tanja explains the need for full transparency. Security is not simply one solution but rather a team sport consisting of education, risk assessment, and visibility. She describes some changes that ConnectWise has made in regards to cloud security. 

The conversation ends with a discussion about EDR and the need for education around EDR. Tanja discusses a solution of coupling EDR with a SOC service and bringing it to the SMB market. She dives further into education about endpoint security.

We hope you enjoy the show. Please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (I.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.).

Sunil Choudrie, Product Marketing lead (DLP and Email) at  Broadcom Software and part of Symantec’s global information protection practice, joins the Holtz Story to discuss the latest attack vectors. 

The podcast opens up with a discussion about changes in the industry and what has been learned throughout the pandemic. Sunil shares how the pandemic has caused many organizations to move to the cloud from on-premises and some of the challenges faced. Employees are leaving offices and taking data with them. According to a recent survey by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), about 1/3 of staff will be working in the office full time in the “new normal.” 

The conversation then shifts towards building cloud security by adopting SASE and Zero-Trust elements. Sunil explains SASE and where it fits. He discusses the meaning of Zero-Trust and why we may see Zero-Trust and SASE potentially replacing VPNs.  

The conversation ends with a discussion about how Symantec plans to utilize SASE and Zero-Trust with customers. Sunil discusses the recent launch of the Symantec Enterprise Cloud Platform, which brings together the principles of SASE and Zero-Trust.

We hope you enjoy the show. If you do, please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (i.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc.).

Frank Lento, Managing Director in Cisco’s Global Security Sales Organization and Global Head of the Global Security Sales Partner at Cisco joins The Holtz Story to discuss the latest solutions in cloud cybersecurity. 

This podcast opens with a discussion of the change from looking at cybersecurity as a technology stack to seeing it more as a strategy. The conversation then shifts to how attack vectors are changing due to the change in the way we work. 

Companies are now looking at architectures such as SASE to address new exposure planes. Traditionally, architectures only had to deal with a single-threaded backhaul, the data center. Now we have multiple access points to connect to the Internet or to the corporate environment.

We've moved from business continuity to business resiliency environment. Even if the environment is up and running, it needs to be secure and protected. Business Continuity focused on VPN, MFA, and firewall. Where business resiliency is now focusing on the platform of architecture in total.

The discussion shifts to Zero Trust which has heightened visibility due to the threat attack vectors that are out there today. Protecting a business requires a more comprehensive security platform, so the focus is on continual trust. Frank adds that we see customers moving to have that secure environment across the entire architecture, not just individual points within it.

Frank shares how the Cisco security portfolio is evolving to ensure a comprehensive security architecture and solution set. He discusses acquisitions and shares Cisco’s focus on four key areas: network, user endpoint, cloud edge, and application. 

The conversation concludes with Frank and Tracy discussing how Cisco and Tech Data are working together to make sure partners and customers deal with the necessity for a strong security posture, and how they enable partners to be knowledgeable and sell across the entire platform.

We hope you enjoy the show. If you do, please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (i.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, etc.).

Paul Mezzera, Vice President of Strategy at Saviynt, joins The Holtz Story to discuss protecting your people, data, and infrastructure with Zero Trust. 

This episode opens with a discussion on the future of Identity Management (IM). Paul points out that there are too many devices and files to have people looking at logs. We now need machine learning to figure out what people need, want and have the rights to access. 
 
 As the conversation shifts to Zero-Trust, Paul discusses that it’s not a one-time solution or project, but more of a mindset of questioning access. Tracy and Paul discuss how you always need to be revisiting access rights, understand your risk and focus on high-value opportunities.
 
 The conversation touches on the skills gap, and the need to get more business skills involved in IM and security. IM relies on people who can interface with other people within an organization.

As the discussion turns to the future of Saviynt, Paul says he sees the company focusing on enablement: making configurations and workflows easier to get up and running to show value quicker, making the UX more business-friendly and processing information with machine learning. 
 
We hope you enjoy the show. If you do, please share it with colleagues and remember to subscribe using your favorite podcast platform (i.e., iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, etc.).