We are absolutely passionate about helping not-for-profit organizations to stay out of the crosshairs of threat actors. Our core values are as follows:
- Honesty and Integrity
- Supportive and Respectful
- Commitment to Excellence
- Always Accountable
- Innovative and Open to Possibilities.
Our mission is to create awareness of the cybersecurity risks that each of our clients has, provide FREE security assessments that educate our customers as to their vulnerabilities, and then provide SMB cost-effective security solutions to help the organization stay out of harm’s way. Most importantly, we provide a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness training platform, phishing campaigns, and a robust cybersecurity portfolio of products to properly protect each and every client – providing nation-state-level security at an affordable price.
Tell us about yourself?
I started my career 33 years ago as a Developer in the Health Care Industry. I worked eight years in health care and developed stomach ulcers due to the stress of providing 24/7 service 365 days per year to hospitals all over the world. I decided to start I.T. Ideas in 1999 and grew the company from there. 12 years ago, I decided to focus on not-for-profit/charitable organizations because they have all the same needs as ‘for-profit’ organizations, but often without the business education and certainly without the IT knowledge to leverage IT to help them grow their business and optimize the delivery of their programs to those in our society who need them the most. This was a calling for me. I needed to turn IT from a cost centre into an asset and indirectly help as many people as I could in the process.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
You have a ton of knowledge and experience. Always show up 100 per cent and impart that knowledge – even if you perceive it is not being accepted or recognized. Don’t play small. You can make a massive difference in the lives of so many.
What problem does your business solve?
We help small businesses (focusing on not-for-profit organizations) to understand their cybersecurity risk and provide solutions to mitigate that risk while ensuring they can get cybersecurity insurance. In addition, we can completely outsource their IT department and provide a full range of IT services for any organization of any size.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
I was an IT consultant for over 20 years, and I was dismayed at how underserved the not-for-profit sector was. Many Executive Directors have minimal knowledge of IT, and most were seconded into the position without any formal business training. My skill and passion is to help these Executive Directors to reduce/remove their cybersecurity risk and show them how to turn IT from a cost centre into an asset. Simply put, I care about the success of the organization, and I have a team of cybersecurity experts and IT experts to ensure a successful outcome at an affordable price point.
What is your magic sauce?
Three simple steps:
- Ensure that a client is sustainable by focusing on identifying risk and implementing tools and techniques for risk mitigation.
- Ensure that there’s productivity, growth, and success by focusing on people, tools, and processes.
- Help our clients to become a visionary/leader in their vertical. They know they’ve achieved that status when other organizations from around the world seek out and consult with them as to how they became successful and how they leveraged IT to accomplish that.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
After COVID-19, we realized that the way we can help organizations from all verticals is to provide free cybersecurity assessments to identify their risks and to provide a cost-effective and comprehensive cybersecurity stack of platforms of products that will keep them safe from modern-day threat actors. This has to be done at a reasonable price point, and that is where we shine. Over the next five years, we intend to evolve as a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) and provide extreme benefits to all of our customers. The cybersecurity industry is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy, and every business needs to be protected from Nation State Threat Actors.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
Most organizations have no clue how vulnerable they are. The number one existential threat to their business is a staff member (or consultant) clicking on a malicious link which deploys a payload within their environment. 90 per cent of organizations overspend on cybersecurity defence tools, but under-spend (usually 0 per cent) on tools to detect and repel a threat actor that gets into their environment. We see it all the time. 911 calls because a client has been ransomed or their data exfiltrated to the dark web, and by then, the damage is done (it’s too late). Our security products stop that activity in its tracks… and give our clients a fighting chance.
How can people get involved?
If you are even questioning how vulnerable you might be, ask us for a free security risk assessment. We make the process as painless as possible, and you don’t even need to tell your IT department that you’re doing due diligence. 100 per cent of our customers who have leveraged our security assessment tool – are better protected today than before the assessment. And it cost them nothing. If you’d like a free assessment, go to www.itideas.com or call us at 604 986-8568 extension 2. We’d be happy to help you to better secure your business FOR FREE!