Chris Brenes, Director of IT and Security
Chris joined Entech in 2009 and is responsible for all aspects of Entech’s internal technology, IT security, and providing IT security to clients. He focuses his time and talent on our organizational security/policy, and he’s often called upon as a subject matter expert speaker in the areas of cybersecurity and compliance. In combination with his technical expertise, Chris also provides executive leadership and oversight. In 2019, he helped lead Entech’s development of a new foundational security platform that will strengthen the security suites and postures of small and medium sized businesses.
He also serves as a fractional CIO for several of Entech’s clients, and is called on frequently to provide design, analysis, and cybersecurity troubleshooting to firms throughout Southwest Florida.
Connecting the dots
May 30th, 2020 marked the return of human spaceflight launched from United States soil. The launch was a joint effort between NASA and SpaceX. What does this have to do with your business? Everything. Industry stalwarts were long entrenched in the business of launching rockets. The lack of competition led to lack of innovation and efficiency. Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts in 2014 to return manned spaceflight to this country. Boeing was awarded $4.2 billion with SpaceX receiving just $2.6 billion. Fast forward to today and Boeing likely faces another year before it reaches the same milestone SpaceX has already reached despite decades of experience and a much larger contract value.
Operating your business to excel
When you look at your business, are you operating business as usual or are you looking over your shoulder knowing a competitor is hungry and looking to overtake your market share? Russia lost so much market share selling launches that it cried foul, accusing SpaceX of price dumping. The fact is that SpaceX innovated, while the rest of the industry did not. Russia is still launching the Soyuz, a vehicle designed in the 1960’s. While the incumbent rocket industry players sat largely idle in innovation and reusing old technology, SpaceX passed them by, leaving them so far in the rearview mirror they are struggling to fill their manifests and losing revenue.
Technology and innovation
While not any single thing led to the success of SpaceX, technology and innovation were instrumental in making it happen. On Earth, and in our respective businesses, technology can serve to propel us forward, or hold us back. It may sound cliché, but technology does move forward at a blistering pace. Does your company embrace it to increase efficiencies and embrace innovation? Can the technology in your business truly support your efforts to widen the gap between you and your competitors?
Things to consider
- Does your business invest in the technology to widen the competitive gap? Technology must be viewed as an investment, otherwise the incentive to spend won’t exist. Will your company model Boeing or SpaceX?
- Is your intellectual property secure? Are you sure? The threat landscape today is vastly different than just a few years ago. It was announced on June 3rd, 2020 one of NASA’s contractors (DMI) was breached and their data (HR documents, project plans, etc.) released. If you’re not investing real dollars into security, you’re either already breached or will be breached. There is no silver bullet, as demonstrated by DMI’s breach, but burying your head in the sand isn’t the answer. Your business is a target, period.
- Are your employees slowed by outdated equipment? If your employees have slow computers prone to issues related to age, they are. If your server is running slow due to age, anyone that is using it is handicapped. The list goes on and on (firewalls, switches, wireless, etc.)
- Does your company have a roadmap to ensure it remains competitive in the coming years? Your technology partner should work with you to build a plan that gives your company the edge over your competitors for the foreseeable future.
How do we help?
Creating a technology road map for your company can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. At Entech, we thrive in technology and help business innovate their IT infrastructure every day. If you are a client of ours, please reach out to your Client Success Manager to talk about how we can implement a business agility strategy catered to your business. If you are interested in creating a technology plan to improve your normal business operations, please contact us today!
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