What inspired you to start CTN Solutions, and how has the company’s mission evolved since its inception?
I actually started CTN as a sole proprietorship when I was in college. I was introduced to a few small companies who were trying to computerize various functions of their business, and I had a knack for figuring that out. In those early days, I think I was most focused on getting enough clients that I could turn what I was doing into a full-time job. However, things started to change for me in the few years that followed. I read and learned more about growing a business. I also had a lot of great people and mentors around me. And of course, those clients who took a chance with me. I realized that I wanted to be more than just a consultant working on my own. I wanted to build a company. And as a goal I set for the year 2000 (yes 24 years ago), I decided I wanted to grow a business and a team of great people.
What do you believe are the key factors that led to CTN Solutions being recognized on the Inc. 5000 and CRN lists, and how do you intend to continue delivering award-winning services?
I learned a very long time ago that running a company is not an individual endeavor, it is a team sport. It is my job to recruit great people and to give them the tools and support they need to be successful. And just as important, I need to stay out of their way. My job is to coach and support them. Trying to do their job for them doesn’t help anyone. As CEO you set the tone and the culture of an organization. No matter how large or small, a team looks to the CEO for their attitude, commitment, and values. I know that if I live our core values, act professionally, and remain committed to our clients, my team will follow. And they do. None of these awards would be possible without each and every member of our team who serves our clients each day.
What has been the most challenging aspect of leading a technology consulting firm, and how have you overcome these challenges?
The pace of change has always been a huge challenge. Imagine this – when I started out in 1994, none of the companies I worked with had email or were online. In fact, unless you were in the education or defense industries, businesses didn’t do anything online.Much has changed since then. Our business model tends to change every 5 or so years. I’ve gotten pretty good at changing the business model and trying to anticipate where we are going as a business. But of course, I’ve had my share of mistakes and challenges.
We have been careful about being too cutting edge for our clients. It’s very easy to read something new and exciting in the news, and then want to be the first to offer it. However, I was always aware that there were costs and risks associated with being the “first mover” in technology. I never wanted to have our clients be guinea pigs with the latest technology trend.
The result for us has been a balanced approach. We need to make sure our clients take advantage of good technology solutions without burdening them with risk or high entry costs. It is always a balancing act and always will be.
How has the increasing focus on cybersecurity influenced the services CTN Solutions offers?
Cybersecurity now influences everything we do. Although we have been a security minded company even in the earliest days. Back then, security was advising a client to keep their file servers in their office behind locked doors. Of course today, security is pervasive and the impacts of an cyber event potentially catastrophic.
I have to admit that I hate the fact that we and our clients have to spend time and resources on protecting their business from bad actors who tend to mostly be from nation states. I’d rather have them invest their resources in ways that improve their organization. But that is not the world we live in. And I see these threats never ending.
We as a provider organization have taken steps to align ourselves with a compliance and cybersecurity regime that aligns with the risks associated with work we do. And this is a never-ending journey. We are constantly looking at our cybersecurity footprint to enhance our posture as needed.
We take the same approach with our clients. We want to understand their risks and the compliance regimes they may have to adhere to. This is not a issue to just throw money or resources at. And let’s face it, no company has the resources to deal with the issue 100%. Rather, we encourage our clients to take reasonable steps and to always be security conscious.
What sectors or industries do you find are most in need of technology and compliance consulting, and how do you tailor your services to these specific needs?
Our newest practice area is designed to help our clients be successful in their approach to governance, risk, and compliance. Pretty much every company today must adhere to some type of government compliance standard. At the lowest level, it may just be a company who has cyber insurance that attests they will maintain a secure environment.
What we have discovered over the past few years is that government entities, auditors, insurance companies, etc. expect companies to monitor their cybersecurity posture in real time and respond immediately to events as they arise. Helping our clients to understand their compliance requirements and then implementing tools to monitoring and maintain a security posture, ensure that our clients ready to deal with an auditor or cyber event. And to me, that is very satisfying and it fulfills our mission of helping our client to grow their business and to thrive!
Click HERE to read about our most recent accomplishment- being named on the Inc. 5000 list!
