“Spoofing, malware, and ransomware is all rely on user trust in one shape or another and also rely on end-points using antiquated solutions.”
Hi, Bodgan. Please tell us about your journey into the technology industry?
I have been passionate about personal computing since my teens programming as well as building computers to pay my way through college. Then, after a decade consulting to Fortune 500 companies in the 90’s, I had the opportunity to work at Dell to lead the launch of several apps and services installed on millions of PCs. That experience got me hooked on helping end users get more out of their tech.
How did you cope with the disruptions brought by the pandemic? How did you leverage technology to stay on top of your product development roadmap during the peak of the pandemic months?
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically grown the number of remote workers worldwide. Businesses had no way of being prepared for this virtual shift and now workers face continuous IT support issues in an ever-growing, sophisticated PC landscape. The lines between personal and professional privacy have also been blurred, with Americans switching from personal Gmail, to work applications like Slack and Outlook. While it’s helpful that so many people can work remotely, IT directors are struggling to keep up with end-user and end-point support because there is no longer a division between personal and work technology. Now that remote workers are switching between personal and work applications all day, traditional on-premise IT support resources aren’t reliably protecting network infrastructures. More organizations are needing real-time improvements across all major PC-based applications to resolve common issues with a combination of targeted updates and solutions to common problems. Solve iQ is an independent service provider that keeps users productive and focused by optimizing the apps they are focused on, protecting them from unwanted apps or websites harboring malware that will slow systems down, and providing the right device updates that will keep them productive.
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Could you tell us the latest trends in the Managed Security Services industry that are influencing the enterprise data management policies / framework?
While there are various trends driving growth in this space such as managed IAM, Zero Trust proactive security, and Unified Threat Management in general, the managed services security industry to this day only targets SMBs and large enterprises leaving the small office home office market largely unaddressed. This market has grown tremendously since COVID, but current marketing efforts, pricing, and general adoption requirements of existing offerings fail to meet basic acquisition criteria to reach this market. The number of small businesses that are not in the technology business that are don’t have an IT staff and who’s staff are all working remotely is massive.
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How should IT companies of various sizes cope with the growing security hazards?
IT companies need to make it simpler and more affordable to adopt the newer and more secure technologies that bring better security to small businesses. The number one reason a company might not be as secure as it should is the cost associated with the changes required to adopt the stronger security stance available to them. Even the simple security enhancements such as DNS security are costly and difficult to deploy and adopt by small businesses. DNS security represents a fundamental layer of security and should be the easiest thing to deploy and yet still remains a niche offering in the market. And I have yet to see a managed security service’s DNS security offering that can be adopted and deployed by a non-technical business user or without a complex deployment.
What is the most contemporary benchmark for IT modernization process? How does SolveIQ enable companies to get more from PC networks?
I believe the most contemporary benchmark for IT modernization is coming from the concept of Zero Trust which is boils down to not trusting anything or anyone as well as simplicity. Microsoft’s Zero Trust framework includes measuring Security simplicity as a way to track progress toward Zero Trust. Items such as security interruptions in user flow such as number of MFA prompts in a day, drops in app usage due to poor security related experience, boot time, etc. Solve iQ is focused on precisely this simplicity aspect. While we have been a consumer managed-service-provider, the large number of customers representing the small office home office community has us launching a service explicitly targeting that market in the fall. Solve iQ for Business will include DNS security as well as deceptive app protection, real-time app-triggered optimization, human-assisted incident response, among other services all installable and deployable without involving technical personnel.
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Tell us more about PC security technologies available in the market? How do these meet the data protection / data privacy guidelines, especially in times of spoofing, malware and ransomware?
Spoofing, malware, and ransomware is all rely on user trust in one shape or another and also rely on end-points using antiquated solutions. So technologies focused on simplicity for both endpoints and end-users will be most successful in the long run. For example, I’m a big fan of streaming Windows solutions such as AnyDesk or Windows 365 that simplify the adoption of enhanced security postures automatically. So much of the IT and managed services approaches still used today rely on antiquated architectures its no wonder we’ve seen breaches like SolarWinds and Kaseya. Businesses need to take a hard look at their chosen solutions; apart from their promised value prop, is the solution based on the latest cloud technologies, how do they manage DevSecOps and their supply chain for example. The Solve iQ solution is entirely architected with the latest serverless, cloud, microservices, IoT, and security technologies available allowing us to grow and scale without technological constraints while providing a resilient and secure solution to our customers.
Your favorite podcast / webinar that you have listened to in recent times:
I’m a big fan of a podcast, called the Unleashing your Story Podcast.
Tag a person in the industry whose answers you would like to see here:
I’d like to give a shout out to my colleauge, Richard Booth VP of Marketing at SolveiQ.
Thank you, Bodgan! That was fun and we hope to see you back on itechnologyseries.com soon.
[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]
Bogdan Odulinski has been the Senior Director of Strategy at Solve iQ since 2010. In this role, he helps execute on initiatives that support the company mission including shifting to a SaaS model and strategic partnerships. He has a history of thought leadership in the tech industry.
Asurvio’s Solve iQ solution brings a better technology experience to anyone who wants it. Headquartered in Austin, Solve iQ was founded on the guiding principle that everyone deserves technology that works. Going far beyond the ability to automatically optimize, protect, and detect updates and repairs for both consumers and businesses, Solve iQ is a sophisticated IT support on-demand utility for users of any PC competence level. Solve iQ’s focus is to improve productivity and reduce costs for consumers and small businesses while creating additional value to their OEM partners
