Patrolling the Channel

Social network security issues drive consulting and education projects

Jane McPherson — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:20:21 +0000

Solution providers are being called upon to guide their customers through the security maze of social networking. Whether building a Facebook page to evangelize their brand, or forming a LinkedIn group to connect with their customers, businesses must balance the benefits of social networking with social network security issues such as identity theft, social engineering attacks and other malware that thrives on social networks. But is social media security training much of a revenue driver yet, or is it really just a hot topic that customers want to talk about, but not pay for?

In this Patrolling the Channel podcast, Joseph Guarino, president of Boston-based security solution provider Evolutionary IT, talks about how his company has handled security issues around his customers’ Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus activities, and what this has meant to his company’s bottom line. Guarino also discusses the special social networking security risks for solution providers supporting customers in the health care industry.

How long does it take to get a client into compliance?

Jane Wright — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:08:03 +0000

Very often, the process of going from zero compliance to full compliance can be a long and bumpy road, for the enterprise client and for the solution provider helping them. Whether it’s HIPAA, PCI, or other regulation, these projects can sometimes last two to five years.

But some security solution providers have developed ways to speed their clients to compliance in record time. In this podcast, Andrew Plato, president and principal consultant of Anitian Enterprise Security in Oregon, talks about:

the ways his company has helped clients achieve full compliance in as little as nine months
the importance of fostering a team spirit within the customer’s organization
the reason why vendors and resellers aren’t always helpful in achieving compliance.

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Tips for selling data leakage prevention solutions

Jane Wright — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:46:21 +0000

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Data loss prevention implementations are often complex, time consuming and difficult to manage. For security solution providers, a data loss prevention (DLP) project raises a lot of questions. What should be included in a data loss prevention policy? What is the best data loss prevention strategy?

Michelle Drolet, CEO and co-founder of Framingham Mass.-based Towerwall Inc., answers these questions and discusses more issues involved with selling data leakage prevention solutions. Other topics in this podcast include:

Is it best to seek a “quick win” even with limited functionality?
How can you frame success early on and then work toward achieving that outcome?
What should the solution provider do if the DLP product uncovers disturbing or unethical employee activity?

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Marketing security services: Ideas for marketing your business

Jane Wright — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:27:36 +0000

With all of the well-publicized data breaches and targeted malware, customers are probably clamoring for your help. So do you really need to invest much time or resources in marketing your IT security products and services?That’s the question that kicks off this Patrolling the Channel podcast, which features Stuart Crawford, president of Calgary, Canada-based Ulistic Inc.

Listen to the podcast and see if you agree with Crawford’s response.

In the pocast, Crawford answers such vexing questions as

How to base your marketing strategy on the age and size of your business
How much of your revenue should be reinvested into marketing your business
Riding the wave of publicity surrounding a widely reported security breach
Creating security awards to build your business’ reputation

Podcast: MSSP on running SIEM in a cloud

Jane Wright — Mon, 09 May 2011 23:06:57 +0000

Considering offering cloud-based SIEM services? This podcast covers the pros and cons of offering managed security event management software services in the cloud.

Listen to the podcast.

Selling security staff augmentation services

Jane Wright — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:19:17 +0000

Sometimes customers need extra security expertise for a short time – either for a special project, or to cover a staffing shortage. Security solution providers may offer short-term IT security staff as a service to their customers. Security staff augmentation, as it’s called, can be a profitable extension of your business plan.In this Patrolling the Channel podcast, SearchSecurityChannel.com spoke to Gordon Shevlin, executive vice president of vendor relations at Kansas City, Missouri-based Fishnet Security Inc. Fishnet has been offering security staff augmentation for a few years now, and they recently added an executive-level security staff augmentation offering. Shevlin shared details about his company’s security staff augmentations, and talked about the lessons Fishnet has learned from the experience.

Read podcast excerpts or listen to the full podcast.

How one solution provider chooses vendors, handles support

Jane Wright — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:26:06 +0000

In this edition of SearchSecurityChannel.com’s Patrolling the Channel podcast, we went on-site to PC-Plus Technologies Inc., a Massachusetts based security solution provider and managed services provider. Greg Abrams, vice president and chief technology officer of PC-Plus Technologies, discussed how his company helps customers tackle IT security challenges. Abrams talked about the security challenges his company faced last year, as well as his security plans for the next few years. Abrams also discussed the endpoint security vendors he considered, why he chose the one he did, and how he handles situations where vendor support may not be up to par. Finally, we delved into PC-Plus’ use of events to generate exposure and potentially attract new customers.

Read excerpts or listen to the full podcast.

Going to RSA 2011? Advice and suggestions for the conference

Jane Wright — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:16:56 +0000

RSA Conference 2011 is taking place in San Francisco next week, and it’s always an important event for IT security professionals. But with so many sessions, exhibits, peer groups and keynotes, you could miss out on the areas that are most important to your job as a security solution provider.

So in this podcast, SearchSecurityChannel.com spoke with Kevin McDonald, executive vice president and director of compliance practices at California-based Alvaka Networks Inc. McDonald shared his suggestions and tips for getting the most out of the RSA Conference 2011, as well as other IT security conferences.

Read excerpts or listen to the full podcast.

3 predictions + 2 strategies = successful IT security business

Jane Wright — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:20:48 +0000

Spotting trends in security and adjusting accordingly can help security solution providers survive and even thrive.

In this Patrolling the Channel podcast, we interviewed Jerry Jalaba, vice president of channel sales at Boulder Colo.-based Webroot Software Inc. Jalaba discusses his company’s top three predictions that will impact security solution providers, and suggests two strategies that solution providers should be doing now to grow their IT security business in the next 12 months.

Read excerpts or listen to the full podcast.

Podcast: Global business expansion for security VARs

Jane Wright — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:38:04 +0000

IT spending is growing at a strong pace in some countries, which may prompt IT security resellers and consultants to turn their sights outside of the U.S. in the pursuit of revenue growth. But is this the right time for a security reseller or consultant to embark on global business expansion?

In this edition of SearchSecurityChannel.com’s Patrolling the Channel podcast, Jess Ricther, director of sales for Lieberman Software Corp., discusses the obvious, and not so obvious, challenges that come with global business expansion for IT security consultants.