Category: Blogs

Why outsource Technical Communication? To most of our clients, outsourcing their Network Engineering services, Data Centers, or Help Desk services makes financial sense. They can evaluate their Information Technology (IT) needs, perform a cost/benefit analysis, and contracting out the services can be traced to a specific cost saving.

Technical Communication, on the other hand, is seen as more of an overhead expense than a revenue-generating or cost-saving measure. Why not let the vendor who is offering the Network Engineering services take care of the documentation? Why not create the necessary documentation in-house? Why not let the technical people in charge of the systems write their own documents? This blog explores the pitfalls that come with this reasoning, and next week, in Part II we will provide tips on finding the right Technical Communication-as-a-Service team.
Industry Challenge
The problem, poorly documented systems, stems from many sources. Typically:

  • Engineers and developers are too busy working on the systems to document
  • Some engineers and developers lack writing skills and avoid the task
  • Many engineers and developers hate writing or view documentation as a “waste of time”
  • Documentation is viewed as an “extra” task to be accomplished rather than an important part of the development lifecycle
  • Documents are viewed as a non-revenue generating activity and tend to be low on the priority list

In most cases, systems operate without proper documentation until some exigency brings the gaps to light:

  • A senior engineer or developer suddenly leaves, and there’s no knowledge transfer and nothing documented to help the person coming on board
  • Reviews or accreditation cycle due dates create external pressure for documents to be in place
  • A poorly documented system breaks down, and issues with systems that are poorly documented are harder to diagnose
  • A poorly documented system needs upgrades, and It becomes difficult to keep track of what’s the baseline versus what’s being added, creating layered and opaque systems that are hard to navigate

Bottom Line Consequences

At first glance it may seem like documentation is an unnecessary overhead expense, but poorly documented systems actually cost money. Here are some ways you are increasing your cost in developing and maintaining poorly documented systems:

  • Scope creep: Developing systems without proper documentation makes it harder to keep track of the scope and know when the system is considered “Done.”
  • Cost of maintenance: Senior Engineers spend more time diagnosing and fixing problems that could be delegated if the system is properly documented.
  • Compliance: The government mandates standards on documentation of system to qualify for continued accreditation. Non-compliant systems are costly. They increase pressure on the IT teams, who should be focusing on getting other aspects of the system ready for accreditation. Outsourcing documentation at the last minute will actually cost more.
  • Perception of quality of system: Even outside of the government sphere where a minimum standard of documentation is not enforced, users perceive poorly documented systems to be inferior in quality and that perception affects the price they are willing to pay for it.
  • Increasing burden on IT Team: End users rely on the IT Team for support when documentation is not readily available.  IT systems with excellent documentation create a “self-service” platform for end users to access the information they need reducing reliance on the IT Team for every minor request.

Clearly, documentation is both a necessary component to your bottom line, and one that is often difficult to produce in-house. It may make perfect sense to leverage your IT team’s skills, allowing them to turn documentation over to the experts so they can focus on what they do best. When freed up to focus on the systems themselves, engineers can attack the actual never ending list of work they have to do including development, upgrades, maintenance, and more.  But how to choose the right team of experts?

In Part II, we’ll examine the criteria to use in selecting the right Technical Communication-as-a-Service team.

“Imagine if all members of your team could independently and confidently wing it in their roles in a way that you knew would be consistent with the company culture and objectives.” This quote on page 176 of “Scaling up: How a Few Companies Make it…and the Rest Don’t” by Verne Harnish is at the heart of the Execution section and was literally music to my ears.

In the book, the analogy Harnish uses is the synchronicity of jazz, with its mix of improvisation and rhythm. It brought to mind my favorite Jazz band, The Robert Glasper Experiment and how they defy all genre norms while bringing a fresh brilliant spin to their compositions. When we identify specific tasks and habits to  set the stage for flawless execution, we free Techies to improvise and “riff” through their workday, minimizing the need to check in for direction. My goal is to use these principles to free up 80% of our leadership team’s time, and to shift their attention from day-to-day management to pursuing new clients and markets.

Do a Reality Check: The section opened with the “Rockefeller Habits Checklist” which painstakingly covers different functional areas of an organization. The checklist gave us a taste of what the full scale Team Assessment kit will provide. We are exploring the option of assessing our Executive Team to see how healthy and aligned we are by December of this year.

”Keep the main thing the main thing:” Harnish quotes the late Stephen Covey in opening the section.  The number 1 priority for us, is to literally determine what our most important and measurable priority (Critical Number) within a 90 day to one-year focus would be. This would be the main goal that will anchor all of our execution planning and activities.

Collect Solid Data: One main execution activity related to the Critical Number is Data. After all, there’s no way to ascertain any measurable achievement without solid data. We are going to start with a really quick and easy survey to our clients, employees and shareholders, asking three simple questions:

  • What should we start doing?
  • What should we stop doing?
  • What should we keep doing?

The most important part of the survey will be a feedback loop, where we will update the employee on whether we implemented their suggestion or not (and why not).

Facilitate Ongoing Communication: When meetings are centered on the key Critical Numbers and routinely scheduled with a purposeful agenda, they “bring focus, alignment, provide an opportunity to solve problems more quickly and ultimately save time.”

One of my goals is to work closely with my Executive Assistant and finalize my  2018 calendar before the next year begins.  We also plan to reassess the purpose of all our recurring meetings and  group our weekly meetings together (so that all 1:1’s are scheduled on the same day, for example). And as part of bringing our techies together, we discussed implementing a peer coaching system at WhirlWind.

The path is laid for us to take on our Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) one priority at a time, one celebration at a time, one meeting at a time, one challenge at a time, and ultimately one single step at a time. Or to put it in Jazz terms, we will perfect one musical note at a time, one composition at a time, and empower our techies to improvise and play in concerted harmony.

“This [game] is chess, it ain’t checkers!” The classic quote from the movie Training Day came to mind when I was reading the section on Strategy in “Scaling up: How a Few Companies Make it…and the Rest Don’t” by Verne. It was by far my favorite part of the book.

Sometimes people tend to think running a business is as straightforward as checkers. You make move X, Y, and  it leads you directly to your expected outcome Z. In business this usually translates to the simplistic logic of, “If I produce more, I will increase my revenue.” This is only partially true. In my experience, running a business mirrors the complexity of chess. Sometimes, you have to step back and think three or more moves ahead. Sometimes, it’s counter intuitive, you must sacrifice a pawn for the queen down the road. Sometimes, you have to reverse engineer your moves and it may not make any sense to a lay observer. And most of the times, you have to reevaluate your strategy, as chess is a dynamic game and unexpected moves from your opponent could result in unforeseen obstacles.

The section on Strategy spoke directly to me as a leader, and I was heartened that we have intuitively adopted some of the ideas Verne introduces. The flip side of that is I am enjoying the challenge to work with the other concepts we haven’t yet  defined. I’m particularly excited for the chance to step back and reassess, redefine, and articulate our overall strategy.

As in all the sections, Verne provides specific tools and a framework for our discussions. In Strategy, he speaks to the athlete in me by discussing the importance of “core” strength. A company’s version of lower back and oblique muscles and a six pack of abs is its:

  • Core Values
  • Core Purpose
  • Core Competencies

Core Values

Although we have defined core values, I found myself looking forward to creating a space where we can explore our original core values again and test whether the same ones will stick or new ones will emerge.

One key takeaway from the book is that core values define the company’s culture, and provide a final “should/shouldn’t” test for all the behaviors and decisions by everyone in the firm. Core values also express a company’s personality. Our company is relatively young and fast growing, so this is an opportune time to step back and discern our core values.

Core Purpose

The core purpose, according to Verne, expresses the “heart” of a company and answers the “Why?” A powerful purpose tends to revolve around a single word or idea (e.g., Happiness = Disney, and  Innovation = 3M).

I have some ideas around our core purpose revolving around how we do technology differently to positively affect people’s lives, whether it is our employees, clients and shareholders, and being a remote/Distributed first culture that allows us to work in atypical and agile ways.

One thing that burns me up as a CEO, is when I find us doing something just to be typical. This process has me reflecting on how we can infuse the word different in everything we do and making it concrete. I look forward to applying the 3 “Why?” questions, to our purpose to drill down into our core purpose.

Core Competencies

According to Verne, a core competency has 3 attributes:

  • It is not easy for competitors to imitate
  • It can be reused widely for many products and markets
  • It can contribute to the benefits the end customer experiences and the value of the product or services to customers

What’s important about defining and articulating our strategy lies in understanding what we don’t do and in this way coming to a mature space where we may decide we don’t want to pursue a certain client or line of business because that’s not in line with our strategy.

Verne makes a note in the book that if defining the strategy were an easy process, every company would have a killer strategy. This process is actually harder for CEOs who think they have all the answers, since it is necessarily a messy and creative process. This really spoke to me, and I realized that much of my journey so far has been intuitive and I am willing to trust this process.

He then goes through a specific framework, by far my favorite tool, called the 7 strata of strategy to help the strategic thinking team to create and maintain a competition-crushing, differentiated approach to a specific market.

It will be hard work to wrestle with these questions and articulate our own vision summary, as these are atypical questions for growing businesses to face. More importantly, this work can not be done behind closed doors by a handful of executives. It will require a sustained engagement with you: our frontline employees, our clients, and our managers. The payoff will be huge as we all get on the same page and create an unstoppable momentum with the WhirlWind we create. And like a good game of chess, we may not have all the answers at the beginning of the game, or even the middle. This is going to be one of those drawn out, long term games and we are “in it to win it”.

People inspired me to found WhirlWind Technologies, including  mentors, supervisors, and clients. I wanted to do technology differently by forging long term relationships with clients and customizing technology to their needs, rather than selling them solutions for the sake of increasing revenue. I  also wanted to  provide a platform for other talented IT professionals, offering them the tools to grow and succeed. My vision was to create an environment where skills, dedication and growth are championed and a safe space where no one would be overlooked or stymied due to bias. So on that auspicious day, January 1st  2009, I founded WhirlWind Technologies, LLC  in my old childhood bedroom at my parent’s house.

We have come a long way since then, and reading “The People” section in “Scaling up: How a Few Companies Make it…and the Rest Don’t” was timely for us. Verne poses a couple of questions as a call for reflection:

  1. Are you happy?
  2. Would you enthusiastically rehire everyone knowing what you know today?

The People section of the book  was broken into three chapters:

  • The Leaders: How do you define senior leadership accountabilities, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and outcomes?
  • The Team: How do you attract and retain A players, and use Topgrading interviews to recruit “strange” people to fit a “strange” culture?
  • The Managers: How do you turn managers into coaches who motivate rather than dehassle their teams?

In sharing this book internally as a map, our aim is to give WhirlWind Techies the tools to grow with us as we scale, rather than prescribing what they need to do. Although it is not required reading for everyone, I recommend you check it out to gain insight into our direction.

Leaders:

One definition that popped out was how to recognize leaders in the company. Verne says, once you’ve found people that fit your culture,  leaders pass two tests :

  1. They don’t need to be managed
  2. They regularly wow the team with their insight and output

I would like to challenge every WhirlWind Techie to apply these two tests to yourself and ask: Am I a leader? And if not, what would it take for me to step up my game?

One point resonated with me personally, is when Verne notes that the CEO’s greatest strength can be the company’s greatest weakness, especially when everyone depends on the CEO for what they bring to the table. In my case, my expertise is in Network Infrastructure, and I have to make sure I am not the achilles heel for the company by recruiting and empowering other Network Infrastructure Techies to serve as Subject Matter Experts.

There’s also a fine distinction between Responsibility, Accountability and Authority. Many people can be responsible for different facets of a project, but only one will be held accountable (usually the team lead or functional area manager). But having accountability for a project (or even a task/process) does not mean you have full authority. The person with with final decision-making power is the one authorized. For instance, a CFO may be accountable for the cash, but the CEO still maintains the authority over the cash.

The Team:

We discussed Topgrading Interviews at length, since this methodology requires an upfront investment of 3-5 hours for each candidate (on interviewing alone)! Yet, we concluded that our goal is to select the best hire, and in order to do so, we have to put in the time. Beyond that, hiring the wrong person would cost the company a lot more in the long run than the initial time investment to verify the fit.

Verne provides a number of tools for managing and coaching different aspects of People, their KPI’s  and Outcomes associated with them. We have already allocated time in our next Strategy Meeting to work through the full details.

The Managers:

Verne has specific advice for managers (or coaches as he prefers to call them). Some of the pointers were more intuitive such as helping people to play to their strengths, setting clear expectations and giving recognition. Others gave us pause, for instance in preventing “dehassling” and “demotivating” he discusses firing a client who may be unreasonable and mistreat your employees. Or another example is not to demotivate “A” players by having them work with “B” and “C” players who suck their energy and slow them down. The best managers, according to Verne, are those who lead, coach, and actively remove obstacles from each of their team member’s path to ensure their success.

So, going back to the questions that Verne posed in the very beginning:

  1. Am I happy? Unequivocally yes! My business mission is an extension of my own personal purpose which is to master my own mind and body, and furthers my own personal vision to embody personal and professional success to my family and community. I feel aligned in both my professional and personal life.
  2. Would I enthusiastically rehire everyone knowing what I know today? Yes! We finally have the right people in the right seats. I challenge each of you to get your A-game on for this WhirlWind ride.

Leicester city winning the 2016 season English Premier league champions despite a 5000:1 odds when they started the season. The top teams in the English Premier League all have one or two players that make more money than Leicester’s whole team combined.  This win demonstrates the synergy between clear roles, priorities and teamwork.  (Photo attribution: Wikipedia) (Youtube video link on the story)

At WhirlWind one of our core values is Innovation: To think and act differently in a useful way. During our 4th Quarter meeting, we participated in group activities,  applying innovative solutions to hypothetical (yet practical) issues at work. In our group, the issue we looked at was “recruiting”. Even as we examined  possible solutions, we realized no matter how well intentioned we were, most of the solutions we suggested were still within the box.

The exercise was meant to prime us for the Ted-talk style presentation on Innovation delivered by our globe-trotting CEO. KoJo recently attended the Growth Forum hosted by the Entrepreneur Organization (EO) at the London School of Business (LBS)  and was buzzing with excitement and ideas.

One of the sessions at the Growth Forum was facilitated by Amnon Levav, the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT). Levav has developed a highly structured approach to “Inside-the-box” idea creation.

“Inside-the-box” is not the first thing that comes to mind when we think of innovation, which underscores Levav’s first mantra: Do not “do” innovation, do what you do in an innovative way. Our innovation sweet spot, he says, lies far enough from our existing service to attract real interest, but close enough to fall within our company’s existing position and capabilities.

According to Levav,  what he terms “Structural Fixedness” (or mental roadblocks) prevent most of us from thinking innovatively. Structural Fixedness makes it hard to see the possibilities, and we end up being stuck in a rote fixed sequence, one step after another.

Levav’s idea on breaking through Structural Fixedness is to:

  1. Start with the product or service, rather than a customer’s unmet needs
  2. Focus on its characteristics, environment and attributes (color, type of use, location etc.)

A brilliant example to illustrate the above steps is the development in the transportation arena from Taxis to the now ubiquitous Uber.

The key to breaking out of Structural Fixedness is to follow Systematic Innovation Patterns rather than Preconception. Levav outlines-

Five Patterns/Templates of Innovation:

  • Subtraction/Reduction: Avoid “feature creep” and simplify rather than add features (e.g. the difference between an old DVD player full of buttons and new sleek one)
  • Multiplication: Add copies of a feature but alter them in a significant qualitative way  (e.g. doubling the trash bins to allow people to separate their recycled trash from regular trash)
  • Division: Breaking down a product to its parts, allows us to see it in a different light and to reconfigure it in unexpected ways (e.g. the gradual evolution of the old hi-fi, with its speakers and turntables into one cabinet)
  • Task Unification: Assign a new task to an existing element (e.g. integrating the antenna into the back windshield of a car)
  • Attribute Dependency Change: Create or modify dependencies of a product to its environment (e.g. lenses for glasses that darken in the sun, eliminating the need for switching glasses)

KoJo wrapped up the talk by illustrating how some combination of the patterns were used to transform a regular business card into a more inventive version. He left us with one last reminder: Function follows form.

So don’t be alarmed if what emerges initially seems bizarre.  Only after visualizing the revamped version of a product can you assess its likely success in the marketplace and viability of producing it. And remember, the fact that we are starting with an existing product or service reduces the chance that we will come up with impractical ideas that we are unable to produce or market.

What are your thoughts on innovation? Have you applied Innovative thinking to your work? What are your strategies for escaping your own mental roadblocks? Please comment and join in  this important conversation.

First time in a tech company can be intimidating, so here are a couple of things I have learned that really helped me along the way…

1. Asks questions so you don’t waste time!

Before, I used to think “I can figure this out” and “It’s only a matter of time that I will debug this”. Now that I know better, I would suggest that you should ask all questions as soon as possible. Yes, you should be proactive and make a concerted effort to research and use Google or try to figure it out.  But as soon as you get stuck, ask right away.

I use to hold off on asking questions and it would set me back so far behind schedule, so learn from my mistake. 5 hours googling or 5 seconds asking?
Time is too precious to waste.  Ask everything and ask right away.

2. Know the difference between a workaholic and high performer.

I use to try to learn code by doing crazy amount of reading here and there. This seems okay at first because I am a junior developer and my main job is learning.  The problem was, I barely saw any progress with my skills. I then learned that I was obsessed with coding. I was trying to code nonstop and learn without a purpose.

I took a step back and decided that if I am going to use 100% of my efforts, I can’t let any of that effort go to waste. So, I then focused on my given task at hand (which was an internal project at the time). This allowed me to be more specific and have a purpose when learning new material.

3. The workload + learning curve.

Being a junior developer comes with tons of learning and new challenges.
I felt like there were infinite amount of materials that I needed to learn that would require lots of time. I really wanted to know all of the material and quickly so that I could perform the task given to me, but tackling learning curves that way could get very messy. I ended up skipping and taking too many shortcuts. So, sure I completed the work I was given, but I left with very basic understanding about the material.

Take your time and get past that learning curve. As a junior developer, your workload isn’t as intense as a veteran entering the job. So, take this time to really climb those learning curves.

4. Learn from your neighbors.

Before working for WhirlWind Technologies, I learned from books, articles, YouTube tutorials, etc. Lots of people learn this way. Now, being with a tech company, I figured that I could do the very same in my cubicle. Well, so I thought. After my experience working on a project with several other developers, I learned that people are the best resources. Why? People are like a network of resources. All of the best articles and information that I read are from my co-workers’ recommendations. I, too, contributed great links and references to valuable information. It is like a give and take situation. When people recommend resources, they usually recommend something they found very useful or truly believe it has great value to be helpful to others. I encourage every junior developer to collaborate with your team as much as possible and start a sharing community by offering tips and tricks that could help others around you.

Are your technical documents overly complex? Or perhaps, your technical documents are consistently plagued with content and grammatical errors? Is there room to streamline your technical documentation process? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, then check out the WhirlWind Technologies Documentation Team’s top ten tips for more effective technical documents:

  1. Research, Research and More Research!: A disjointed, ineffective and unpolished technical document is almost guaranteed when you have no clue what you’re talking about. Therefore, read all of the provided subject material and any relevant information resourced from the Internet, databases, etc. Researching your subject material tells you what to include and what can be left out of your document, and provides vital information to identify gaps.
  2. Create Repeatable Processes: A streamlined, repeatable technical documentation process will yield better time management, reduce workload redundancy and alleviate any confusion among team members regarding roles and responsibilities. A standard, repeatable process should include researching, drafting, reviewing and final editing phases. Suggested roles in the technical documentation process include the lead writer, QA specialist and final reviewer.
  3. Collaborate with Technical Leads/SMEs: These are the individuals who know the “ins-and-outs” of the subject material; therefore, they are essential in the technical documentation process. During the research and writing phase, the lead writer and other contributors should consult with the Technical Leads/SMEs to gain clarity on subject material, ensure content accuracy and resolve any additional questions or concerns. Remember that they also have a vested interest in making sure your documentation is technically sound and effective.
  4. Create Checklists (Consistency lists, Quality Assurance (QA) checklist, etc.): Technical documentation differs from creative writing in that repetition is favored over imaginative text. For example, “WhirlWind Technologies” should always be written as “WhirlWind Technologies” and not “business,” “contractor,” “company,” etc. in a technical document. The repetition may seem redundant, but it will alleviate confusion to end users. For a polished technical document, maintain a consistency list that defines acronyms, specific terminologies, etc. and how they should appear in your technical document and all related documents. A QA checklist that addresses what to look for during the review phase will also ensure a polished and cohesive technical document.
  5. Collaborate to Draft Document: The lead writer should prepare the initial draft of your technical document. Reviewers and SMEs should provide input and raise questions to avoid major content overhaul during the latter phases of the technical documentation process. It is necessary to appoint someone to lead, approve and disapprove changes to ensure a cohesive document. Consider having the lead writer also lead collaborative efforts.
  6. Ensure That Your Document Has One, Cohesive Voice: Oftentimes, there are many people (e.g., business analysts, SMEs, other writers, stakeholders, etc.) involved in reviewing your technical document who have different writing styles. While their input is invaluable, your technical document should not read as if there were multiple authors because it can be distracting and appear unpolished to the end user. Acronyms, spelling and/or grammar inconsistencies in concentrated areas, and overly verbose sections are clear giveaways of multiple authors. The lead writer, while involved in almost every phase of the technical documentation process, should also ensure that your technical document reads as if it were written by one author, with one voice.
  7. Review, Review and More Review: This is pretty self-explanatory. Remember that your reputation hinges on the quality of your output. Glaring content and formatting errors may negatively affect future business opportunities.
  8. Separate Content Review from Formatting/Grammatical Review: It can be overwhelming to perform a content and formatting/grammatical review simultaneously, and important errors often fall through the cracks. Review content first, since substantial document changes may also impact scheduling and submission deadlines. Review the document’s formatting/grammar last, since these errors are generally easy fixes.
  9. Did We Say More Review?: By now, you can probably recite your technical document from memory. Take a break, or work on another project, and then return to your document with “fresh eyes.” Review once more for overlooked errors and resolve remaining document issues.
  10. Conduct a Lessons Learned Survey at the End of Major Projects: Solicit and incorporate feedback from the client, SMEs, writers and reviewers to improve and streamline internal process. Remember that there is always room for growth.

The prevalence of cyber security attacks is alarming, with data breaches occurring across all industries and company sizes. Privacy laws and government regulations have been set up to protect data, but often a combination of “human oversight” and “technological failures” results in breaches. The consequences of a data breach go beyond the event itself and may include legal as well as financial ramifications.

In this blog we delve into the devastating consequences of cyber attacks, the need for vigilance, and the value in keeping a finger on the pulse of the IT security vitals of your systems. Choosing the right Cyber Security Posture Assessment team is key, ensuring the health of your IT systems and saving you time, money, and unnecessary headaches in the process, and most importantly, protecting your most valuable data assets.

Impact of a Cyber Attack on your business
A cyber attack on your business can lead to  devastating consequences, including:

  • Financial: The true cost of a cyber attack goes beyond the immediate losses suffered in breach notifications and protection costs, including regulatory fines, lost sales and repair costs. The impact could ripple for years if cyber criminals access your strategic assets or intellectual property. In May 2017, Target paid out an $18.7 million settlement over a large-scale data breach that took place in 2013. The company said that the total cost of the breach, however,  was over $202 million. In some cases of ransomware, even the immediate payout can be costly, as in the case of the South Korean firm, Nayana, that paid over a $1 million dollars in Bitcoins.
  • Legal: The government may launch an investigation into a large-scale data breach, to determine if the company had reasonable security protections in place. Was due diligence demonstrated or was it gross negligence?
  • Reputation:  The most significant cost is tied to the loss of trust from your customers. Online businesses can face a significant loss of reputation from cyber attacks, which eventually impacts revenue as well.

Beware of Regulators 
If the impact of loss on your business is not enough of a motivating experience, consider the regulations around cybersecurity. In the U.S., the three main cybersecurity regulations are the:

  • 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
  • 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
  • 2002 Homeland Security Act, which included the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).

These three regulations mandate that healthcare organizations, financial institutions, and federal agencies should protect their systems and information. More recently, there are additional Cybersecurity requirements mandated under Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (DFARS) Subpart 204.73. If your systems are attacked and compromised, you want to make sure any investigation would show  due diligence by your organization to protect your IT assets and data. If your business has clients in the European  Union, then your organization is subject to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

In demonstrating due diligence, keep in mind the three most important cybersecurity principles for protecting IT Systems which are Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability commonly referred to as the CIA triad. Given the steep cost of cybersecurity attacks, we recommend conducting a regularly scheduled Cyber Security Posture Risk Assessment as a best practice approach to keeping a finger on the pulse of your organization’s IT systems to ensure data confidentiality and integrity, while maintaining the highest level of system availability for your clients and stakeholders.

WhirlWind’s Cyber Security Health Experts
At WhirlWind Technologies (WhirlWind) we have assembled a team of experts in Cyber Security, Network Engineering and Project Management to deliver a detailed and actionable Cyber Security Posture Assessment. Our team will:

  • Assess your overall security/network architectures
  • Scan and analyze your network traffic, IT devices, and IT systems
  • Identify and document your asset vulnerabilities
  • Identify internal and external threats
  • Provide actionable insight into steps you need to take for remediation in order of priority
  • Model your policies for information security within your organization in line with the CIA triad.

Our distinguishing factors include:

  • Fast Turnaround on Service: A lot of our clients hear the word “assessment” and become immediately concerned with the amount of time it would take. Our team can perform a full assessment in as little as 10 days with minimal impact on your operations and staff.
  • Actionable Data: The tools we use provide near real-time visualization of a client’s network and systems for situational analysis and proactive vulnerability assessment and prioritized remediation. Our reports will identify and prioritize the high-risk elements in your IT systems footprints including vulnerabilities, processes, employee behavior, and policies you have in place.
  • Reliability: Our proprietary footprinting process looks at all facets of your IT systems, maximizing the reliability and accuracy of our results in identifying and analyzing risks (threats and vulnerabilities) and providing recommendations.
  • Compliance: Government agencies are required to follow Cyber Security regulations and guidelines, and private companies have to comply with certain laws (domestic and international).
  • Trusted Long Term Partners: We create long term relationships with our clients, so we can help them protect the health of  their IT security. We will create a best practices checklist to ensure you have the daily, monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual vital checkup to keep your IT systems secure. We also offer ongoing follow-ups and post-remediation assessments as well. We are committed to creating sustainable relationships with our clients and to work with them for the long-run.

Do you consider cyber security threat serious enough to warrant action? What other recommendations do you have to take a pulse on your IT Security vitals? Leave us a comment!

Last November, our company donated 10-laptops to Calvin Coolidge Senior High School (Washington, DC). The laptops are currently being used in Math classes for the facilitation of Agile Mind, a software that provides an on-line collaborative approach to help raise student achievement. Below is a note we recently received from Ms. Martin (a Math teacher at Coolidge); also below are pictures of some of her students using the laptops.

Thank you so much for your donation!! My students are very eager to learn and do not have the technology used today to make it more fun and appealing! Now we are one step closer to being prepared for the 21st century technology they will use throughout their futures.

The students love the computers! They are constantly looking for new ways to learn the information faster and more efficient. The school’s lack of resources has made it harder for them, but my class has decided to not let it stop them from learning and moving forward in their studies. They have used the computers to access the curriculum online to work at varied paces, access online quizzes and practice exams, and study for tests. The students went above and beyond to complete Math-based research on the computers to prepare presentations for class.

The computers have really encouraged the students to have faith in their school. Many students were discouraged about the lack of materials but are now thrilled to have the tools they need. These computers will allow them to move forward in school this year and in future grades. Their outlooks have improved greatly and we truly appreciate your donation.

With gratitude,

Ms. Martin

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