Q&A with Amy Barzdukas, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at Poly

MEDIA 7 | November 21, 2019

Amy Barzdukas, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Poly is a marketing and communications leader with extensive experience in setting strategy, shifting perceptions, advising customers, digital marketing, revenue marketing, integrated marketing communications, and public relations in highly competitive product arenas.

Amy is known for her ability to create and execute winning turnarounds on a global scale.

MEDIA 7: What inspired you to get into marketing?
AMY BARZDUKAS:
I was always destined for marketing, even if I didn’t know it. As a child, I collected promotional brochures. I was fascinated by how the words and pictures were used to drive action. My first job was as an advertising copywriter, and I’ve never looked back.

M7: How is Poly redefining the video conferencing experience for modern businesses?
AB:
 We’re in an unprecedented time of change in our industry. Voice and video services are moving to the cloud, and companies are changing how they approach their communications needs. Poly is the largest provider of the devices – video conferencing, audio conferencing, headphones and desk phones – you use to connect to these services so you can collaborate with your colleagues. That uniquely positions us to shape the video conferencing experience, and we’re doing so in four ways.

First, Poly has made both the Zoom Rooms and the Microsoft Teams video conferencing experience better than ever with our radically simple Poly Studio X video bars that deliver these experiences with no PC or Mac required. We’ve got decades of experience in understanding what makes meetings more human – for everyone in the room and those dialing in from other locations – and we’ve packed all of that into easy-to-install, easy-to-manage, and easy-to-use all-in-one powerhouses.

Second, we are bringing the world of AV and video conferencing into the modern app economy. Our Studio X series and Poly G7500 video conferencing devices run a common platform that can be updated and enhanced through a series of regular software updates. This Poly platform, built on Android, can run applications like a smartphone does today.

Third, Poly has introduced innovation that makes any video conference better. Our new Poly MeetingAI features use AI and machine learning to address the distractions that hit your senses in a meeting. We make it easier to hear what’s being said by blocking out the annoying noises that people make while talking, and we make it easier to see what’s going on in the room with the most advanced speaker tracking and framing, and our built-in production rules.

Finally, we are pricing our solutions in a way that completely resets the calculations on what it costs to outfit a room. The Studio X30, for huddle room and smaller spaces, costs just about $2,100, including the Poly TC8 touch controller. All you add is the cloud service and a monitor, and you have a room up and running for under $2,500. That’s easily under the cost of other solutions and with better audio and video quality.


"Baby Boomers and more than half of Gen Z say they are most productive when they were working around noise."

M7: As the CMO of Poly, what were the major challenges in rebranding and transforming two separate organizations (Plantronics and Polycom) under a single brand Poly?
AB:
One of the greatest challenges of bringing together Plantronics and Polycom was doing so in a way that honored their brand equity, history, and positive associations while establishing a new story for the new company. Plantronics was already an audio pioneer– the first headset that transmitted Neil Armstrong’s famous words during the first moon landing. Polycom was the leader in audio and video conferencing – the conference phone used by business leaders and industry captains.
We had to figure out how to build a stand-out narrative in a crowded space for the general market. For customers and partners, we found a way to carry through the legacies and histories of both companies into the new brand. And for our employees, we had to inspire them to believe in the new brand and the new combined mission. These different challenges with different stakeholders took different approaches to confront, but in the end, we brought everyone to the same conclusion that Poly was moving forward, unified and stronger.

And like any acquisition, integration takes time. We’re proud of our accomplishments since rebranding to Poly in March 2019. Since then, we’ve refreshed our video conferencing line of products, broken new ground with a mobile phone station called Elara 60 Series and showcased our continued commitment to expanding the ecosystem with partners such as Zoom, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and more. As Poly, we bring a new level of quality, simplicity, and flexibility so that every communication can easily become a place for collaboration and innovation for the enterprise.


"Gen Z and Millennials came up in an era of digitization, so they are more accustomed to the tools and technology to deal with distractions in the workplace."

M7: A recent study by Poly reveals that employees prefer noisier open offices to closed, quiet spaces. What do you think is responsible for driving these unique demands in the workplace today?
AB:
Our research shows that Gen Z and Millennials tend to prefer open offices compared to Gen X and Baby Boomers and that more than half of Gen Z say they are most productive when they were working around noise. What we’re seeing is that Gen Z and Millennials came up in an era of digitization, so they are more accustomed to the tools and technology to deal with distractions in the workplace. For example, they’re used to wearing noise-canceling headphones to block out the background noise, and similarly at home with video. They’ve been doing it all their lives!

Now that we can work from anywhere – coffee shops, airports, waiting rooms – we are more accustomed to dealing with distractions and working through them. We take that mindset into the office along with the tools we may use to address distraction, from a pair of comfortable headphones with ANC to deciding to do different types of work in different settings.

M7: What features have made Poly Studio win the 'Best of Enterprise Connect' award in the '2019 Communication/Collaboration Device'?
AB: 
Poly Studio is our answer to the need for easy-to-use video conferencing devices for smaller spaces called huddle rooms. Poly Studio is a video USB bar with premium audio and video capabilities. Its standout features include NoiseBlock, which mutes distracting background noises, Automatic Group Framing and Speaker Tracking, which zooms in to focus on the speaking participant. This board-room like audio and video transforms small meeting rooms into a center for collaboration. We’re also pleased that it was recently certified for Zoom Rooms and Microsoft Teams. The device also works with Skype for Business, Google Meet, Cisco WebEx and Amazon Chime, and virtually any cloud-based video collaboration service.


"Poly combines legendary audio expertise with powerful video and conferencing capabilities to help our users overcome the distractions, complexity, and distance, making communication in and out of the workplace challenging."

M7: What traits make Poly a global leader in communications and a leading choice for every kind of workspace?
AB:
Our in-depth expertise, tireless innovation, and emphasis on partnership make Poly a global leader in communications and a leading choice for every kind of workspace.

Poly combines legendary audio expertise with powerful video and conferencing capabilities to help our users overcome the distractions, complexity, and distance, making communication in and out of the workplace challenging. When the world was on a race to space in the ’60s, NASA approached us—Plantronics back then—with a seemingly impossible task: create a headset that would equip astronauts to communicate with Mission Control from the earth to the moon, and back again.

Fifty years later, we share the same mission today: to create powerful connections that unify people the world over. We’re designing technology for the different ways people work – open offices, remote locations, mobile-first workers. We are the largest provider of headsets, video and audio-conferencing devices that you use to communicate and collaborate for your work, whatever that may be. And we continue to innovate with products like Poly Studio X that change how people collaborate.
Through partnerships with industry leaders like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Zoom, Poly takes an open-architecture approach that allows users to seamlessly connect across all the best technologies. Whenever and wherever people connect with these services, we will be there to provide the best-in-class audio, video and voice technology to make the experience that much better.

M7: What’s your superpower or spirit animal?
AB: 
My superpower is the ability to read amazingly quickly, thanks to the experimental elementary school I attended. I don’t know how anyone gets through their workload without it, honestly. My spirit animal? I told my husband the other day that I think it is Tom Petty. I’m a huge fan. If you have a problem, there is a Tom Petty song that can solve it, or at least make it more fun.

ABOUT POLY

Plantronics, Inc. (“Poly” – formerly Plantronics and Polycom) (NYSE: PLT) is a global communications company that powers meaningful human connection and collaboration. Poly combines legendary audio expertise and powerful video and conferencing capabilities to overcome the distractions, complexity, and distance that make communication in and out of the workplace challenging. Poly believes in solutions that make life easier when they work together and with our partner’s services. Our headsets, software, desk phones, audio and video conferencing, analytics and services are used worldwide and are a leading choice for every kind of workspace.

More C-Suite on deck

Q&A with Ben Lamm, Founder and CEO at Hypergiant

Media 7 | February 23, 2021

Ben Lamm, Founder and CEO at Hypergiant, has been launching and building disruptive businesses for over a decade. Prior to Hypergiant, he was the CEO and founder of Conversable, the leading conversational intelligence platform that helps brands reach their customers through automated experiences on all major voice and text platforms. In addition to leading and growing his companies, he is active in angel investing, incubators, and startup communities, with investments in the software and emerging tech space. He has served as an active voice in the tech community, as well as an active mentor to fellow entrepreneurs on how to build disruptive businesses through accelerators and corporate programs.

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Q&A with Sangram Vajre, Co-founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus

MEDIA 7 | January 9, 2020

Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus is also an author and host of the podcast FlipmyFunnel. He is one of the leading minds in B2B marketing. MEDIA 7: What are you passionate about? SANGRAM VAJRE: Three things: Lead professionally. Grow personally. Love family. M7: Terminus has been recognized as one of Georgia’s 40 fastest-growing companies by ACG Atlanta. What factors contribute to this pace? SV: One of our core values is #OneTeam – which means we think and act as one team and know that if we treat our team right, they will treat our customers amazing. There are no great companies, only great people that make those companies.

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Q&A with Andrea Lechner-Becker, Chief Marketing Officer at LeadMD

MEDIA 7 | December 5, 2019

Andrea Lechner-Becker, Chief Marketing Officer at LeadMD is an experienced Marketing and Sales Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Skilled in Business Process, Marketo, Sales, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and IT Service Management, Andrea is also a strong business development professional and a storyteller. MEDIA 7: What inspired you to get into marketing? ANDREA LECHNER: Frankly, not having better options. I originally attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse thinking I’d major in Archaeology. I wanted to be Indiana Jones! But, after visiting the archaeology building – i.e. the cold, dark basement of the science building – where a girl sat to piece together pieces of an old Native American vase, I knew archaeology was not going to be the right path for me. And so, without being good at science and a major in art or art history was unlikely to pay my bills, I decided to go into “business”. I originally registered as a management major, but took my first marketing class and thought it was more interesting and switched my sophomore year. That was pretty much it. I’d never been involved in business classes or DECA in high school – I didn’t really know what to do or what jobs in marketing were even possible. I dumb lucked myself into it really. M7: As a storyteller, do you relate the brand to a story or story to the brand? AL: Both? Neither? I think there are stories in every brand, because there are people working on the brand and people engaging with the brand and people using what the brand creates. People, most often a single person, are at the heart of great stories. You can start with the “point” of the story you’re trying to tell. Say you have a software that help accountants better create reports for board meetings. It’s likely you’ll want to tell a success story about an accountant getting promoted to CFO in part because your software helped better communicate their work product to the board. You could have the idea for that and go looking for that story in your customers. OR, you could hear that story, and say, “That’s amazing!” and share it with customers, partners and internal people. Stories are all around us – the most important thing is to keep your ears and eyes open for finding them.

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Q&A with Ben Lamm, Founder and CEO at Hypergiant

Media 7 | February 23, 2021

Ben Lamm, Founder and CEO at Hypergiant, has been launching and building disruptive businesses for over a decade. Prior to Hypergiant, he was the CEO and founder of Conversable, the leading conversational intelligence platform that helps brands reach their customers through automated experiences on all major voice and text platforms. In addition to leading and growing his companies, he is active in angel investing, incubators, and startup communities, with investments in the software and emerging tech space. He has served as an active voice in the tech community, as well as an active mentor to fellow entrepreneurs on how to build disruptive businesses through accelerators and corporate programs.

Read More

Q&A with Sangram Vajre, Co-founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus

MEDIA 7 | January 9, 2020

Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus is also an author and host of the podcast FlipmyFunnel. He is one of the leading minds in B2B marketing. MEDIA 7: What are you passionate about? SANGRAM VAJRE: Three things: Lead professionally. Grow personally. Love family. M7: Terminus has been recognized as one of Georgia’s 40 fastest-growing companies by ACG Atlanta. What factors contribute to this pace? SV: One of our core values is #OneTeam – which means we think and act as one team and know that if we treat our team right, they will treat our customers amazing. There are no great companies, only great people that make those companies.

Read More

Q&A with Andrea Lechner-Becker, Chief Marketing Officer at LeadMD

MEDIA 7 | December 5, 2019

Andrea Lechner-Becker, Chief Marketing Officer at LeadMD is an experienced Marketing and Sales Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Skilled in Business Process, Marketo, Sales, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and IT Service Management, Andrea is also a strong business development professional and a storyteller. MEDIA 7: What inspired you to get into marketing? ANDREA LECHNER: Frankly, not having better options. I originally attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse thinking I’d major in Archaeology. I wanted to be Indiana Jones! But, after visiting the archaeology building – i.e. the cold, dark basement of the science building – where a girl sat to piece together pieces of an old Native American vase, I knew archaeology was not going to be the right path for me. And so, without being good at science and a major in art or art history was unlikely to pay my bills, I decided to go into “business”. I originally registered as a management major, but took my first marketing class and thought it was more interesting and switched my sophomore year. That was pretty much it. I’d never been involved in business classes or DECA in high school – I didn’t really know what to do or what jobs in marketing were even possible. I dumb lucked myself into it really. M7: As a storyteller, do you relate the brand to a story or story to the brand? AL: Both? Neither? I think there are stories in every brand, because there are people working on the brand and people engaging with the brand and people using what the brand creates. People, most often a single person, are at the heart of great stories. You can start with the “point” of the story you’re trying to tell. Say you have a software that help accountants better create reports for board meetings. It’s likely you’ll want to tell a success story about an accountant getting promoted to CFO in part because your software helped better communicate their work product to the board. You could have the idea for that and go looking for that story in your customers. OR, you could hear that story, and say, “That’s amazing!” and share it with customers, partners and internal people. Stories are all around us – the most important thing is to keep your ears and eyes open for finding them.

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Cybersecurity

Carahsoft, Forescout, stackArmor Partner with Google Public Sector on Authority to Operate (ATO) Pilot Program to Secure Federal Workloads

GlobeNewswire | August 31, 2023

Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, Forescout Technologies, Inc., a global cybersecurity leader, and stackArmor, an advanced security and compliance solutions provider with a proven track record of delivering FedRAMP, DoD CC SRG, CMMC 2.0 and StateRAMP compliance acceleration, today announced a partnership with Google Public Sector to accelerate the availability of Forescout cybersecurity solutions to state, federal, and department of defense agencies. As part of an ATO pilot program, specialist solution providers like stackArmor combine with Carahsoft’s proven public sector market services, to provide ISVs like Forescout with a holistic “accreditation to acquisition” solution. "Google Public Sector is committed to working with partners like stackArmor and Carahsoft to accelerate the availability of Forescout cybersecurity solutions to state, federal, and Department of Defense agencies,” said Troy Bertram, Managing Director of Partners, Google Public Sector. “This pilot brings together partners with deep expertise and local knowledge to help ISVs accelerate the path to compliance and rapidly bring innovative technology to government agencies.” The Forescout® Cloud, built on Google Cloud, is a unified SaaS platform for security visibility, risk, and operational management. It continuously discovers and analyzes all connected cyber assets, whether they are managed or unmanaged for IT, OT/ICS, IoMT, IoT and cloud, and is a foundation for Forescout solutions that address challenges related to risk and exposure management, and threat detection and response. “We are delighted to be a partner of this ATO pilot program, which provides us with an accelerated pathway towards FedRAMP compliance and uniquely brings together engineering, compliance advisory and continuous monitoring services as well as market access solutions,” said Paul Kao, VP Product & Engineering, Forescout. “We selected stackArmor after a rigorous evaluation process and were impressed with their engineering expertise and ability to help us remove delays and friction from our aggressive accreditation roadmap.” stackArmor rapidly delivers a dedicated Google Cloud Landing Zone with NIST-compliant security services, a complete FedRAMP ATO documentation package and post-ATO continuous monitoring. To ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive data, ThreatAlert® provides a standardized secure by design architecture that is deployed “in-boundary” to ensure the highest levels of security and the ability to meet stringent government cybersecurity requirements including FedRAMP Moderate, FedRAMP High, DOD Impact Level 4 and 5 among others. “Reducing the time and cost of implementing NIST SP 800-53 based cybersecurity controls to achieve an ATO in compliance with FedRAMP, FISMA/RMF, DoD CC SRG and CMMC 2.0 requirements is a strategic necessity for commercial ISVs, critical infrastructure enterprises and public sector organizations, especially given the sharp rise in cybersecurity threats,” said Gaurav “GP” Pal, CEO and founder, stackArmor. “We are excited to expand our partnership with Carahsoft to bring our ThreatAlert® ATO Accelerator, which provides a secure by design cloud landing zone, defense in depth security services, OSCAL ready documentation package and continuous compliance automation to ISVs like Forescout, to accelerate the delivery of FedRAMP accredited cybersecurity services to government agencies.” "Interest in FedRAMP-accredited cloud services has accelerated since the passage of the FedRAMP Authorization Act in December of last year, which opens new opportunities for expanding the portfolio of available accredited SaaS and PaaS offerings in the federal marketplace," said Craig P. Abod, Carahsoft President. "stackArmor’s ThreatAlert® ATO Accelerator combined with Carahsoft’s unique market access solutions provide a compelling accreditation-to-acquisition solution." About Carahsoft Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator® for our vendor partners, we deliver solutions for Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Open Source, Customer Experience and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Visit us at www.carahsoft.com. About Forescout Forescout Technologies, Inc. a global cybersecurity leader, continuously identifies, protects and helps ensure the compliance of all managed and unmanaged connected cyber assets – IT, IoT, IoMT and OT. For more than 20 years, Fortune 100 organizations and government agencies have trusted Forescout to provide vendor-agnostic, automated cybersecurity at scale. The Forescout® Platform delivers comprehensive capabilities for network security, risk and exposure management, and extended detection and response. With seamless context sharing and workflow orchestration via ecosystem partners, it enables customers to more effectively manage cyber risk and mitigate threats. www.forescout.com About stackArmor stackArmor provides cloud migration, security and compliance engineering services for compliance-driven markets, including Public Sector, Government Agencies, Healthcare, Education, Space & Defense, Financial Services, and Non-profit organizations. stackArmor’s ThreatAlert® ATO Accelerator provides a unique “in-boundary” solution that helps organizations rapidly achieve FedRAMP, FISMA/RMF, DOD CC SRG and CMMC 2.0 among other government-driven cybersecurity compliance frameworks. Learn more by visiting https://stackArmor.com

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Cybersecurity

Semperis and Carahsoft Partner to Provide Comprehensive Identity Security and Recovery Solutions to U.S. Government Organizations

Business Wire | September 12, 2023

Semperis, a pioneer in identity-driven cyber resilience, and Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, today announced a partnership. Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as Semperis’ Public Sector Distributor, making the company’s industry-leading identity resilience platform available to the Public Sector through Carahsoft’s reseller partners and National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint, National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance (NCPA), and OMNIA Partners contracts. Active Directory (AD) and Azure AD (now Entra ID), used by 90% of organizations worldwide to authenticate and access critical applications and services, are under sustained attack in the Public Sector by numerous threat actors. The Semperis and Carahsoft partnership will accelerate delivery of comprehensive identity threat detection and response (ITDR) solutions for protecting hybrid AD environments across U.S. Public Sector entities. “Our partnership with Carahsoft will further expand adoption of our identity-first security solutions designed to help Federal, State and Local Government agencies protect their critical identity systems from ransomware and other directory-related attacks,” said Jared Vichengrad, Vice President, Public Sector at Semperis. “We are excited to join Carahsoft’s trusted partner network of Government IT solution providers to prevent, detect and mitigate proliferating identity attacks that are disrupting operations in the Public Sector.” Identity-related attacks on Public Sector entities are intensifying in scale and severity amidst an expanding digital attack surface and increasingly sophisticated attack techniques. Verizon’s 2023 DBIR reveals that from November 1, 2021, through October 31, 2022, public administration entities faced 3,273 incidents—and of those, 584 with confirmed data disclosure. The Public Sector is a high-value target for cyber criminals who seek to disrupt State and Local Governments, schools and public utilities in record numbers. These attacks can steal or encrypt data, disturb services and jeopardize public safety. Public Sector organizations are particularly vulnerable to AD attacks because of legacy infrastructure, lack of identity security expertise and limited resources. With a multi-layered defense approach that spans the identity attack lifecycle, Semperis offers the industry’s most comprehensive security and recovery solutions for hybrid AD environments, combined with deep incident response expertise. “We are thrilled to partner with Semperis and our reseller network to offer its identity resilience platform, provide advanced ITDR solutions and protect Public Sector customers’ hybrid AD systems from attacks,” said Brian O’Donnell, Vice President of Cybersecurity solutions at Carahsoft. “We repeatedly see how vital it is to prevent bad actors from infiltrating Government systems and how having the right solutions on board can make a significant impact in remediation. We are committed helping Public Sector organizations get access to Semperis solutions to safeguard citizens’ data and facilitate uninterrupted Public Sector services.” Semperis’ technology and services are available through Carahsoft’s NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement #AR2472, NCPA Contract NCPA01-86, and OMNIA Partners Contract #R191902. For more information, contact the Semperis team at Carahsoft at (703) 889-9808 or Semperis@carahsoft.com. The dedicated Cybersecurity team at Carahsoft specializes in providing Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare organizations with security solutions to safeguard their cyber ecosystem. To learn more about Carahsoft’s Cybersecurity solutions, visit www.carahsoft.com/solve/cybersecurity. About Carahsoft Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator® for our vendor partners, we deliver solutions for Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Open Source, Customer Experience and Engagement, and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. About Semperis For security teams charged with defending hybrid and multi-cloud environments, Semperis ensures the integrity and availability of critical enterprise directory services at every step in the cyber kill chain and cuts recovery time by 90%. Purpose-built for securing hybrid Active Directory environments, Semperis’ patented technology protects over 50 million identities from cyberattacks, data breaches, and operational errors. The world’s leading organizations trust Semperis to spot directory vulnerabilities, intercept cyberattacks in progress, and quickly recover from ransomware and other data integrity emergencies. Semperis is headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey, and operates internationally, with its research and development team distributed throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel.

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Government Business

Noblis Earns FedRAMP® Authorization for Its RunCyberAssurance® Solution and Hosting Platform

GlobeNewswire | September 21, 2023

Noblis, Inc., a leading provider of science, technology and strategy services to the federal government, today announced that its RunCyberAssurance software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution and its supporting platform-as-a-service have achieved the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program’s (FedRAMP®) Moderate Authority to Operate designation. “Earning FedRAMP authorization for both our solution and platform is a significant step,” said Mark Lay, Noblis’ Solution Delivery Organization lead. “This designation allows federal agencies to quickly and efficiently leverage the RunCyberAssurance solution to simplify and maintain secure cloud authorization across their enterprise. At the same time, our authorized platform provides a foundation to integrate future solutions for our customers’ evolving missions.” RunCyberAssurance combines automation, analytics and a streamlined, standardized compliance workflow to help agencies continuously manage their authorized services. Depending on unique mission needs, agencies can leverage RunCyberAssurance as a FedRAMP Authorized SaaS or deploy it within their managed boundaries. Key benefits of the solution include: Continuous Authority to Operateacross entire technology portfolio Automatic managementof cybersecurity compliance Advanced analyticsto expedite decision making and proactively mitigate risks Automates processesto save time and money FedRAMP provides a cost-effective, risk-based approach for the adoption and use of cloud services by the federal government. It empowers agencies to use modern cloud technologies, with an emphasis on security and protection of federal information. About Noblis For more than 25 years, Noblis has been an innovator within the federal government, committed to enriching lives and making our nation safer while investing in the missions of tomorrow. As a nonprofit, Noblis works for the public good, providing independent and objective science, technology and engineering solutions. Together with our subsidiaries, we work with a wide range of government clients in the defense, homeland security, intelligence, law enforcement and federal civil sectors.

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Cybersecurity

Carahsoft, Forescout, stackArmor Partner with Google Public Sector on Authority to Operate (ATO) Pilot Program to Secure Federal Workloads

GlobeNewswire | August 31, 2023

Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, Forescout Technologies, Inc., a global cybersecurity leader, and stackArmor, an advanced security and compliance solutions provider with a proven track record of delivering FedRAMP, DoD CC SRG, CMMC 2.0 and StateRAMP compliance acceleration, today announced a partnership with Google Public Sector to accelerate the availability of Forescout cybersecurity solutions to state, federal, and department of defense agencies. As part of an ATO pilot program, specialist solution providers like stackArmor combine with Carahsoft’s proven public sector market services, to provide ISVs like Forescout with a holistic “accreditation to acquisition” solution. "Google Public Sector is committed to working with partners like stackArmor and Carahsoft to accelerate the availability of Forescout cybersecurity solutions to state, federal, and Department of Defense agencies,” said Troy Bertram, Managing Director of Partners, Google Public Sector. “This pilot brings together partners with deep expertise and local knowledge to help ISVs accelerate the path to compliance and rapidly bring innovative technology to government agencies.” The Forescout® Cloud, built on Google Cloud, is a unified SaaS platform for security visibility, risk, and operational management. It continuously discovers and analyzes all connected cyber assets, whether they are managed or unmanaged for IT, OT/ICS, IoMT, IoT and cloud, and is a foundation for Forescout solutions that address challenges related to risk and exposure management, and threat detection and response. “We are delighted to be a partner of this ATO pilot program, which provides us with an accelerated pathway towards FedRAMP compliance and uniquely brings together engineering, compliance advisory and continuous monitoring services as well as market access solutions,” said Paul Kao, VP Product & Engineering, Forescout. “We selected stackArmor after a rigorous evaluation process and were impressed with their engineering expertise and ability to help us remove delays and friction from our aggressive accreditation roadmap.” stackArmor rapidly delivers a dedicated Google Cloud Landing Zone with NIST-compliant security services, a complete FedRAMP ATO documentation package and post-ATO continuous monitoring. To ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive data, ThreatAlert® provides a standardized secure by design architecture that is deployed “in-boundary” to ensure the highest levels of security and the ability to meet stringent government cybersecurity requirements including FedRAMP Moderate, FedRAMP High, DOD Impact Level 4 and 5 among others. “Reducing the time and cost of implementing NIST SP 800-53 based cybersecurity controls to achieve an ATO in compliance with FedRAMP, FISMA/RMF, DoD CC SRG and CMMC 2.0 requirements is a strategic necessity for commercial ISVs, critical infrastructure enterprises and public sector organizations, especially given the sharp rise in cybersecurity threats,” said Gaurav “GP” Pal, CEO and founder, stackArmor. “We are excited to expand our partnership with Carahsoft to bring our ThreatAlert® ATO Accelerator, which provides a secure by design cloud landing zone, defense in depth security services, OSCAL ready documentation package and continuous compliance automation to ISVs like Forescout, to accelerate the delivery of FedRAMP accredited cybersecurity services to government agencies.” "Interest in FedRAMP-accredited cloud services has accelerated since the passage of the FedRAMP Authorization Act in December of last year, which opens new opportunities for expanding the portfolio of available accredited SaaS and PaaS offerings in the federal marketplace," said Craig P. Abod, Carahsoft President. "stackArmor’s ThreatAlert® ATO Accelerator combined with Carahsoft’s unique market access solutions provide a compelling accreditation-to-acquisition solution." About Carahsoft Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator® for our vendor partners, we deliver solutions for Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Open Source, Customer Experience and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Visit us at www.carahsoft.com. About Forescout Forescout Technologies, Inc. a global cybersecurity leader, continuously identifies, protects and helps ensure the compliance of all managed and unmanaged connected cyber assets – IT, IoT, IoMT and OT. For more than 20 years, Fortune 100 organizations and government agencies have trusted Forescout to provide vendor-agnostic, automated cybersecurity at scale. The Forescout® Platform delivers comprehensive capabilities for network security, risk and exposure management, and extended detection and response. With seamless context sharing and workflow orchestration via ecosystem partners, it enables customers to more effectively manage cyber risk and mitigate threats. www.forescout.com About stackArmor stackArmor provides cloud migration, security and compliance engineering services for compliance-driven markets, including Public Sector, Government Agencies, Healthcare, Education, Space & Defense, Financial Services, and Non-profit organizations. stackArmor’s ThreatAlert® ATO Accelerator provides a unique “in-boundary” solution that helps organizations rapidly achieve FedRAMP, FISMA/RMF, DOD CC SRG and CMMC 2.0 among other government-driven cybersecurity compliance frameworks. Learn more by visiting https://stackArmor.com

Read More

Cybersecurity

Semperis and Carahsoft Partner to Provide Comprehensive Identity Security and Recovery Solutions to U.S. Government Organizations

Business Wire | September 12, 2023

Semperis, a pioneer in identity-driven cyber resilience, and Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, today announced a partnership. Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as Semperis’ Public Sector Distributor, making the company’s industry-leading identity resilience platform available to the Public Sector through Carahsoft’s reseller partners and National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint, National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance (NCPA), and OMNIA Partners contracts. Active Directory (AD) and Azure AD (now Entra ID), used by 90% of organizations worldwide to authenticate and access critical applications and services, are under sustained attack in the Public Sector by numerous threat actors. The Semperis and Carahsoft partnership will accelerate delivery of comprehensive identity threat detection and response (ITDR) solutions for protecting hybrid AD environments across U.S. Public Sector entities. “Our partnership with Carahsoft will further expand adoption of our identity-first security solutions designed to help Federal, State and Local Government agencies protect their critical identity systems from ransomware and other directory-related attacks,” said Jared Vichengrad, Vice President, Public Sector at Semperis. “We are excited to join Carahsoft’s trusted partner network of Government IT solution providers to prevent, detect and mitigate proliferating identity attacks that are disrupting operations in the Public Sector.” Identity-related attacks on Public Sector entities are intensifying in scale and severity amidst an expanding digital attack surface and increasingly sophisticated attack techniques. Verizon’s 2023 DBIR reveals that from November 1, 2021, through October 31, 2022, public administration entities faced 3,273 incidents—and of those, 584 with confirmed data disclosure. The Public Sector is a high-value target for cyber criminals who seek to disrupt State and Local Governments, schools and public utilities in record numbers. These attacks can steal or encrypt data, disturb services and jeopardize public safety. Public Sector organizations are particularly vulnerable to AD attacks because of legacy infrastructure, lack of identity security expertise and limited resources. With a multi-layered defense approach that spans the identity attack lifecycle, Semperis offers the industry’s most comprehensive security and recovery solutions for hybrid AD environments, combined with deep incident response expertise. “We are thrilled to partner with Semperis and our reseller network to offer its identity resilience platform, provide advanced ITDR solutions and protect Public Sector customers’ hybrid AD systems from attacks,” said Brian O’Donnell, Vice President of Cybersecurity solutions at Carahsoft. “We repeatedly see how vital it is to prevent bad actors from infiltrating Government systems and how having the right solutions on board can make a significant impact in remediation. We are committed helping Public Sector organizations get access to Semperis solutions to safeguard citizens’ data and facilitate uninterrupted Public Sector services.” Semperis’ technology and services are available through Carahsoft’s NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement #AR2472, NCPA Contract NCPA01-86, and OMNIA Partners Contract #R191902. For more information, contact the Semperis team at Carahsoft at (703) 889-9808 or Semperis@carahsoft.com. The dedicated Cybersecurity team at Carahsoft specializes in providing Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare organizations with security solutions to safeguard their cyber ecosystem. To learn more about Carahsoft’s Cybersecurity solutions, visit www.carahsoft.com/solve/cybersecurity. About Carahsoft Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator® for our vendor partners, we deliver solutions for Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Open Source, Customer Experience and Engagement, and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. About Semperis For security teams charged with defending hybrid and multi-cloud environments, Semperis ensures the integrity and availability of critical enterprise directory services at every step in the cyber kill chain and cuts recovery time by 90%. Purpose-built for securing hybrid Active Directory environments, Semperis’ patented technology protects over 50 million identities from cyberattacks, data breaches, and operational errors. The world’s leading organizations trust Semperis to spot directory vulnerabilities, intercept cyberattacks in progress, and quickly recover from ransomware and other data integrity emergencies. Semperis is headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey, and operates internationally, with its research and development team distributed throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel.

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Government Business

Noblis Earns FedRAMP® Authorization for Its RunCyberAssurance® Solution and Hosting Platform

GlobeNewswire | September 21, 2023

Noblis, Inc., a leading provider of science, technology and strategy services to the federal government, today announced that its RunCyberAssurance software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution and its supporting platform-as-a-service have achieved the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program’s (FedRAMP®) Moderate Authority to Operate designation. “Earning FedRAMP authorization for both our solution and platform is a significant step,” said Mark Lay, Noblis’ Solution Delivery Organization lead. “This designation allows federal agencies to quickly and efficiently leverage the RunCyberAssurance solution to simplify and maintain secure cloud authorization across their enterprise. At the same time, our authorized platform provides a foundation to integrate future solutions for our customers’ evolving missions.” RunCyberAssurance combines automation, analytics and a streamlined, standardized compliance workflow to help agencies continuously manage their authorized services. Depending on unique mission needs, agencies can leverage RunCyberAssurance as a FedRAMP Authorized SaaS or deploy it within their managed boundaries. Key benefits of the solution include: Continuous Authority to Operateacross entire technology portfolio Automatic managementof cybersecurity compliance Advanced analyticsto expedite decision making and proactively mitigate risks Automates processesto save time and money FedRAMP provides a cost-effective, risk-based approach for the adoption and use of cloud services by the federal government. It empowers agencies to use modern cloud technologies, with an emphasis on security and protection of federal information. About Noblis For more than 25 years, Noblis has been an innovator within the federal government, committed to enriching lives and making our nation safer while investing in the missions of tomorrow. As a nonprofit, Noblis works for the public good, providing independent and objective science, technology and engineering solutions. Together with our subsidiaries, we work with a wide range of government clients in the defense, homeland security, intelligence, law enforcement and federal civil sectors.

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Plantronics, Inc. (“Poly” – formerly Plantronics and Polycom) (NYSE: PLT) is a global communications company that powers meaningful human connection and collaboration. Poly combines legendary audio expertise and powerful video and conferencing capabilities to overcome the distractions, complexity, a...

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