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VikingCloud is a cybersecurity and PCI compliance organization that tech professionals ought to know about. Led by CEO Jim Burke, a Marine Corps vet who’s helmed firms like Advanced Discovery, Workforce Logiq (now Magnit), vRad, Global Compliance (now NAVEX Global), and Dun & Bradstreet before coming to VikingCloud in March 2023, the company is known for providing a single, integrated solution to help small- and mid-sized businesses mitigate cybersecurity risk.
Burke sat down with Profile to talk strategy, growth, and what’s needed to keep pace with the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity.
What skills have you found most valuable in leading VikingCloud?
VikingCloud is the fifth technology-enabled services business I’ve had the privilege to lead. What I’ve learned along the way is that both sides of the business—technology and service—require equal energy but different focus.
Our standard for service cannot be any lower than [what] we expect in our own lives as consumers. The phone must be answered promptly. The voice on the other end must be friendly and knowledgeable. The digital interfaces must be attractive and intuitive. Outstanding service is a rightful expectation of our customers.
What sets VikingCloud apart?
Our technology is where we differentiate. We must have an informed point of view as to how customer requirements are changing and then ensure our technology gets there first. Additionally, the focus of our technology must be making our clients, and their end users, smarter about their businesses so they can make timely and accurate decisions that reduce their cybercrime risk. To put a sharper point on it, the focus of our technology must be capturing data and delivering it back to clients in a way that is actionable for cybercrime risk reduction.
The common threads within VikingCloud that tie together consistently excellent service and informed technology innovation must be our people and culture. One hundred percent of our team must have the requisite “will and skill” for their roles, and we must create an environment where they can thrive.
Tell me about your growth strategy at VikingCloud, and how it’s able to drive your vision for the organization.
We operate at the intersection of PCI Compliance and Managed Cybersecurity Services for small- and medium-sized businesses. We have three points of view that inform our growth strategy.
First, we believe PCI Compliance leads directly to managed cybersecurity services. This is straightforward. PCI Compliance exists to ensure merchants are protected from cybercrime, and protection from cybercrime requires cybersecurity capabilities.
Second, we believe cybersecurity protection is increasingly a requirement, not an option, for small- and medium-sized businesses across all industries and geographies driven by both business need and regulation.
Third, we believe small- and medium-sized businesses lack the scale, time, and expertise to assemble and maintain their own cybersecurity capabilities. Our vision is to be their trusted partner, helping them understand and mitigate their cybercrime risk.
Cybersecurity is evolving at increasingly exponential rates, which can make it tough for even the most well-versed professionals to keep up. Based on the depth of your experience, what helps an organization stay competitive and avoid falling behind in the space?
As you can tell from my previous answer, I tend to think within frameworks of “threes,” and VikingCloud has three advantages that helps us stay ahead—and take advantage—of rapid market shifts.
First, as a technology-enabled services provider, we are able to invest in our own proprietary innovation while also making use of other best-in-breed capabilities.
Second, we have an enormous amount of data flowing through our platform every day—literally billions of online events that we capture, anonymize, and analyze. Our technology platform and expert advisors turn data into information and insight, which we then share with our customers and with which we inform our product road map and investment decisions.
Third, we have an incredible team of experts: people who are highly trained, are highly skilled, and have spent their careers in the field. Their understanding of the past and the present informs our view of the future. The bottom line is VikingCloud is well-positioned to not only stay ahead of the curve but also to help set it.
