Nearly all organizations heavily rely on technology. An important business matter for organizations to ask themselves when evaluating their network and IT needs is – Should I capitalize on an outsourced, third-party IT provider or continue using in-house services?
In this episode of Cherry Bekaert’s Digital Journeys podcast, Jerry Hereden hosts Dan Hulen, Director, and Chris Martin, Senior Manager, in our Digital Advisory practice to discover the value of Managed IT Security Services and its benefits. As you decide whether outsourcing your IT infrastructure is the right direction for your organization, our advisors provide a holistic viewpoint of today’s cyber terrain.
Listen in to find out about:
- Outsourcing your IT operations and applications for efficiency
- Proactively monitoring, detecting, solving problems and making decisions that compliment your IT infrastructure
- Establishing internal controls 24/7 to ensure security remains in place across your environment to inhibit cyber attacks
If you have any questions specific to your situation, Cherry Bekaert’s Digital Advisory advisors are available to discuss your situation with you.
Cherry Bekaert offers IT infrastructure and managed services to ensure your systems run smoothly, stay secure and up-to-date, and deal with the day-to-day technical issues so that you can focus on your core business and productivity.
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HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Cherry Bekaert's Digital Journeys podcast. I'm Jerry Hereden, and I will be your moderator.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Today we will learn how managed IT services can help your organization and give you a competitive edge in today's marketplace. Joining me today is Dan Hulen, director of Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory Services, and also joining me is Chris Martin, senior manager for Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory Services. Without delay, let's get this kicked off.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Dan, tell me about yourself. What do you do for Cherry Bekaert, how long have you been at Cherry Bekaert, and what gets you up in the mornings?
DAN HULEN: Thanks, Jerry. I've been doing IT-related services for about 30 years, and I've seen pretty much every aspect of IT, from strategic consulting and regulatory compliance to large program management.
DAN HULEN: I've been a practitioner in global infrastructures, building data centers, systems, communications, and databases. I have experience with vertical applications, whether HRMS, enterprise resource planning in manufacturing or professional services contexts, as well as cybersecurity.
DAN HULEN: I have served Cherry Bekaert for about six years. I serve as a fractional CIO for some of our customers, and sometimes I put on my technical hat and do CTO-type work. I also have responsibility in managed services and help private equity companies with potential acquisitions. I head up that initiative for Cherry Bekaert with various folks around the organization, including Chris Martin and other members of Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Thanks, Dan. I'll add a plug: we recently did a podcast on fractional CIO services with Steve Holliday. For listeners, if you haven't listened to it, go to cbh.com and check that out. Chris, same question for you: what do you do for Cherry Bekaert and what gets you up in the mornings?
CHRIS MARTIN: Thanks, Jerry. My name is Chris Martin. I've been working in IT for just over 20 years. My career started in programming and development, which is where my initial degree was focused.
CHRIS MARTIN: I then did break-fix IT services, providing outsourced IT to local companies in New England. After about five years, we evolved into a managed service provider, and that business has grown nationally since Cherry Bekaert acquired us about five years ago.
CHRIS MARTIN: I've worked in engineering, architecture, end-user support, client relationship management, and managing services for about 15 years. I was recently promoted to Managed Service Leader for Cherry Bekaert, and I've been with Cherry Bekaert for about five-plus years now.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Congratulations on the promotion. Dan, why do businesses need managed IT services? It's broad and complicated.
DAN HULEN: Managed services in an IT context essentially frees the business to do its primary work by outsourcing IT. There are traditional functions: data centers, servers, desktop support, backup and recovery, and monitoring, but security is a critical component today.
DAN HULEN: Managed detection and response provides 24/7 monitoring, zero-day attack controls, and agents across the environment so alerts flow up to practiced engineers who can remediate incidents, including nights and weekends. That capability is essential today.
DAN HULEN: In the middle market, many organizations have one or two people trying to perform all IT functions, including critical business applications, which stretches them thin. Leveraging a team that does this regularly provides economies of scale, better quality, and broader security coverage.
DAN HULEN: Outsourcing non-differentiating tasks lets a company's technical people focus on making products and services differentiated in the market, driving innovation and growth. Deployments of PCs, for example, are not a strategic use of time for most businesses.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: So some companies think they can do it in-house, but it could take them years to perfect compared with Cherry Bekaert's professionals who hit the ground running. Is that fair?
DAN HULEN: Exactly. The days of a one- or two-person IT shop doing everything are not a recipe for growth and success.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Dan, what market pain points are companies facing today? You mentioned security earlier.
DAN HULEN: Security is a major pain point. Over the last decade, cloud technology, social technology, and advanced data have made tech more sophisticated. Remote work increased with COVID, shifting how businesses operate and creating greater opportunities for data exfiltration when employees use personal devices or home computers.
DAN HULEN: Companies need skilled practitioners who can protect their environments. We see convergence and consolidation of managed service providers and a broad shift to the cloud because it's faster and cheaper.
DAN HULEN: For example, building global data centers used to take months for equipment, shipping, and export processes, whereas now a data center in another region can be provisioned in a day. These are game-changing factors driving client demand for help.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Chris, you meet with clients. What services and products does Cherry Bekaert offer, and what's your goal when meeting clients?
CHRIS MARTIN: At Cherry Bekaert, we see ourselves as a strategic partner and an all-in-one shop for IT services. If we don't have a service in-house, we have strategic partnerships to provide it. That ensures clients get a solid platform and deliverables with a structured team that works well together.
CHRIS MARTIN: We provide proactive monitoring and detection for IT infrastructure so environments are constantly watched. Our network operations center monitors systems to catch issues before they affect end users.
CHRIS MARTIN: We manage IT policies and processes, vendor relationships, and provide advisory services for IT security. We have a fully staffed service desk from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST with expanded hours to 8 p.m. to cover coast-to-coast clients, plus weekend support for critical business issues to ensure operational continuity.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Anything to add, Dan?
DAN HULEN: Yes. For government contractors, cybersecurity is especially important. Customers must adhere to NIST standards like 800-171 and CMMC. We help customers access alternative cloud providers that are FedRAMP certified and ensure policies and controls are developed.
DAN HULEN: We offer fractional CISO services and collaborate with our Risk and Accounting Advisory Services Group for compliance assessments. We are a provisional assessor for CMMC and provide penetration testing, social engineering testing, SOC services, and cyber liability coverage. It is a full-stop shop beyond our digital advisory, MSP, and MSSP capabilities.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: When you meet clients, do you encounter "aha" moments where they realize they didn't know something important?
CHRIS MARTIN: Yes, we encounter those moments often. Many clients understand their business but not how technology applies or what they truly need. They receive advice from vendors who aren't strategically aligned, and no single person understands their operations and infrastructure fully.
CHRIS MARTIN: Vendors can throw solutions that don't fit together, like trying to force a round peg into a square hole. Without a strategic, aligned partner providing advisory services and the right vendor recommendations, technology solutions won't improve business processes effectively.
CHRIS MARTIN: We differentiate ourselves as a managed partner, not just a provider. We aim for a win-win where clients get good advice and we bring the right vendors and solutions to improve their processes.
DAN HULEN: Because Cherry Bekaert is historically a CPA and advisory company, we understand business. Our practitioners are business leaders in an IT context, not just engineers. We view technology as a way to grow the company and impact the top and bottom lines.
DAN HULEN: We take a holistic approach, creating scorecards that assess governance, core infrastructure, cybersecurity practices, application development and DevOps, and compliance programs. We also drive into core financial and value chain processes: quote-to-cash, procure-to-pay, record-to-report, demand-to-available, and available-to-delivery.
DAN HULEN: Those assessments may lead to ERP solutions, cybersecurity improvements, or outsourced managed services. We provide scorecards and roadmaps that act as true business advisory.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: One client you helped was Film Child and Family Services, which works with over 1,400 infants, toddlers, and families throughout Massachusetts. What work did we do for them, and how did the engagement start?
CHRIS MARTIN: Film Child is a great story. It started with a relationship I had with John Beavers, their current CIO. He realized the managed IT service provider they had was not meeting the organization's needs.
CHRIS MARTIN: Prior to the pandemic, Film Child operated largely on paper with minimal IT infrastructure. When the pandemic hit, they needed to scale technology quickly. Their existing provider implemented a traditional VPN topology connecting about 10 to 11 locations, but that setup created pain points for a largely remote workforce of about 700 of 1,000 employees.
CHRIS MARTIN: They struggled with IT support and infrastructure maintenance. John reached out for advice, and I recommended they look for a different provider. At the time I had moved to Cherry Bekaert, and we were able to align our services to meet their needs.
CHRIS MARTIN: We started with many IT projects, realigned their services, moved them toward cloud services, and improved end-user support. We received very good feedback in the first 60 to 90 days of service.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Working with nonprofits like Film Child must be rewarding.
CHRIS MARTIN: It is. The people behind the mission are incredible. Nonprofit staff who deliver services to children make sacrifices to support families. I have enjoyed working with them and helping deliver services more effectively because happy clinicians lead to better outcomes for their clients.
DAN HULEN: I agree. Personally, I have a connection to early childhood education through family, and in our initial presentations we emphasized the importance of relationships. That resonated with Film Child's executive leadership, and we continue to enjoy that mutual commitment today.
HOST: JERRY HEREDEN: Thanks, Dan and Chris. I found today's conversation insightful. I hope the audience did as well and learned about managed IT services and the importance of doing it the right way. Please like, share, and subscribe to our Digital Journeys podcast. For more information about Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory Services, please visit cbh.com/digital. Thank you.
