QuarterNote Newsletter – First Edition

Given the current economic conditions and future market uncertainty, it seem timely today to discuss the Pay-It-Forward and Pay-It-Back philosophy which underpins the DITEX organization.

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Author: Jeff Herzfeld

Hello “Denver IT Executives” Alumni, and welcome to the first edition of the QuarterNote Newsletter

In an effort to improve DITEX outreach to our Alumni, we are working on a few initiatives to provide additional communications on a regular basis.  To that end, we’d like to announce a new quarterly newsletter (or perhaps monthly, depending on feedback):  the first of these appearing below.  We’d ultimately like to include updates on alumni (job changes, achievements, awards, promotions – kindly provided by you to your appreciative editors), and potentially guest editorials or articles by Alums.  And at this point, since this is (in kindest terms) a “work of art in progress”, we want to hear from you—the constructive criticism, as well as the good points (though hopefully more on the positive side of the ledger—we have set up a separate repository for the negative comments—we call it the Circular File). 

The QuarterlyNote Stream of Consciousness—”You’re going to be tapped

The editors of this Ditex newsletter will, from time to time, opine on various and sundry issues.  Given the current economic conditions and future market uncertainty, it seem timely today to discuss the Pay-It-Forward and Pay-It-Back philosophy which underpins the DITEX organization. 

I believe everyone receiving this letter has heard (on multiple occasions), one version or another of what I call the “Tap on the Shoulder” speech. 

“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents…….Winston Churchill

There are many iterations of this, especially as it relates to the creepier Godfather quid-pro-quo variation (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTtpWgrhS78 ), but suffice it to say that there is a service element to the DITEX organization which runs deep, and which becomes particularly important during economic downturns.  Put another way, during tough times there are often more requests for help from those in job-seeking mode due to layoffs (some of you have already experienced this yourself in the past two years, if not before).

That is, of course, a fairly logical cause and effect proposition.  Unfortunately, I believe that scenario will accelerate again in 2023 (but would be happy to be proven wrong). 

That being the case, our ask today is simply that each Ditex alum be open to helping those who reach out and request it.  That help could take the form of a LinkedIn or live introduction, a reference, or a phone call to discuss and glean some insight into the culture and/or needs at a particular company….or something else entirely.  We don’t know exactly how it turns out–it’s a mystery.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTQurAEmt64

All of us have been in positions where we can, and have helped others:  we have also been in positions where others have helped us.  They are merely opposite sides to the long-term career fortunes of nearly everyone.   And while I don’t believe karma or the universe is necessarily consistent, or always fair, I do believe that helping others is often its own reward, much in the way of gift-giving to parents, children and significant others.  So on those long days when you’re trying to fend off the Gremlins, Gravelings and Dementors who are trying to suck the life from you…..

…..think of your helping another as the antidote (the sunlight, or the wand that conjures a Patronus spell, if you will) to the difficulty and frustration of fighting one of the uglies.

–Thus endeth today’s SOC compliance (Stream of Consciousness).

NEWS BYTES (see what we did there?)

1. *U.S. Bans Chinese Telecom Equipment and Surveillance Cameras Over National Security Risk

https://thehackernews.com/2022/11/us-bans-chinese-telecom-equipment-and.html

Bottom line—Given all of the news related to Chinese aggression and spying (including Chinese made DJI drones flying over Washington, D.C—see e.g., https://nypost.com/2022/11/23/chinese-dji-drones-over-dc-raise-spying-fears/ ) and the potential invasion of Taiwan by China, it does not appear that it will be wise to invest in, or utilize Chinese technology (or tech made in China) if one can help it.  From a business standpoint, be aware of your supply-chain issues as it relates to sourcing from Chinese companies, or companies with business units in China (like Cisco).

2. *Tech Industry Layoffs Are Accelerating. What Does That Mean?

https://news.crunchbase.com/economy/tech-layoffs-2022-meta-amzn-twtr/

Bottom line—there is still substantial need, and employment opportunities for tech workers

Companies beholden to ad spendcut back in preparation for the economic situation to worsen.  Meta, Twitter, Alphabet and Google fall into this camp.

But tech companies not beholden to ad spend are largely doing OK. This is always the case when the economy goes through a dramatic shift: some industries thrive while others go bottom-up.

In fact, the overall tech market is facing a shortage of tech workers, the same shortage that drove large companies to stockpile top-tier talent in 2021.

And companies that are not considered “tech companies,” but use technology, such as Disney, Deloitte and Bank of America, are among the top 50 employers for tech roles.

Roles including cybersecurity, cloud operations, and data science and analytics continue to be in demand as companies operate remote or hybrid workplaces and require distributed and secure networks, per Dice. 

3. *How the cyber incident reporting law could finally fix the information sharing problem

https://www.cyberscoop.com/cisa-cyber-reporting-law/

Bottom line- Government and industry have long struggled with cybersecurity information sharing.  The law, which is expected to take effect in 2025 or sooner, states that certain industries must disclose hacks within 72 hours and reveal if they’ve made ransomware payments within 24 hours. But the critical question is just how much data the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will require from organizations. So far, there’s no clear indication of what critical infrastructure sectors will be required to report cyber incidents.  While the rulemaking is ongoing in the coming months, many critical infrastructure operators — especially the smaller ones — may have to develop their own processes to ensure they can comply with CIRCIA. Some simply aren’t equipped to quickly detect cyberattacks, let alone follow rigorous reporting requirements, say experts.

4. *CIOs: Here’s What Your Business Modernization Strategy Should Be

https://www.ciodive.com/spons/cios-heres-what-your-business-modernization-strategy-should-be/635645/  

Bottom Line— Digital transformation efforts are most effective when an organization focuses on business needs as the primary driver of technology investments—not the other way around.

Resources

DITEX Alumni Slack Channel – ditex-alumni.slack.com 

TECH YEET / DITEX Slack Channel –  https://www.techyeet.org

TechYeet is an invite-only Slack community. If you would like an invite, please contact an active Ditex member.  Once on TechYeet, you can navigate to the DITEX Channel. TechYeet is also a source for finding tech talent and to network.

DITEX closed LinkedIn group (Actives & Alumni) https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2297645/

CURRENT ACTIVE DITEX MEMBERS (alphabetical listing)

Jack Donnelly – linkedin.com/in/jackjdonnelly2022

Bob Flores – linkedin.com/in/robertlflores

Rob Grant – linkedin.com/in/robgrantleader

Sean Harding – linkedin.com/in/gseanharding

Chuck Hasek – linkedin.com/in/chuck-hasek

Eric Helmsen – linkedin.com/in/eric-helmsen-69aa41

Jeff Herzfeld – linkedin.com/in/jalherz

Kris Jensen – linkedin.com/in/kfjensen

Curtis Letson – linkedin.com/in/curtisletson

Krishna (Sudarsana) Mullangi – linkedin.com/in/krishnamullangi

Helmut Oehring – linkedin.com/in/helmutoehring

Dane Reece – linkedin.com/in/danereece

Scott Rehner – linkedin.com/in/scottrehner

Finally, as always, we are grateful for your participation in DITEX, and look forward to a regular exchange of ideas, as well as bit of humor (ribald or otherwise).  It is our goal to provide topics of interest and value, as well as a future forum for treating your editors as pinatas (aka, a “Comments” section).

View full list of current DITEX active members and bios.

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QuarterNote Newsletter- Second Edition

Author: Jeff Herzfeld Hello and welcome to the second edition of the QuarterNote Newsletter In our ongoing and continuous effort to improve DITEX outreach to

QuarterNote Newsletter – First Edition

Given the current economic conditions and future market uncertainty, it seem timely today to discuss the Pay-It-Forward and Pay-It-Back philosophy which underpins the DITEX organization.