Faces of SteelCloud: Spreading the Word on STIG Automation
When SteelCloud has a potential customer with complex needs, they send in Erin Miller. As Client Executive, Strategic Accounts, she primarily focuses on customers with some of the more complex, larger environments served by ConfigOS. The more endpoints, the larger the implementation, and the greater the approval process: that’s where Erin shines. She sees herself more as a problem solver than as a sales professional, easing all levels of the organization into an automated solution they can trust. If you ever wanted to know what REALLY goes on inside the head of a cybersecurity automation sales executive, read on.
What is the biggest challenge in selling cybersecurity automation?
One of the challenges of working in this field is that there are so many cyber risks out there. Customers are wary and it’s hard to win over their trust. We are selling cybersecurity solutions to cybersecurity experts. And their #1 job is to not let others in! So, we have to gain their trust and win them over. But, at SteelCloud, we won’t do that by promising something we can’t deliver. Our team will, of course, present ConfigOS in its best light. But we are careful never to promise on something we can’t deliver. The best scenario is meeting face-to-face with a demo. Once prospects see your sincerity and that ConfigOS actually does everything we say it does, the solution sells itself.
What is the biggest misconception about automation?
People are uncomfortable with change. They are worried about how automation will change their job and daily tasks. They are concerned about how it will impact the environment. They care about their mission and are not sure automation can be trusted. All of this is a natural and healthy response to change. The truth is that cybersecurity issues and needs are expanding exponentially year over year. And there is already a severe shortage of qualified professionals to do the work. In an environment like that, there are many things that never get addressed. You can’t get to backlogs. You can’t elevate your cybersecurity mission. You spend all your time addressing quarterly fire drills. You never catch up. And security suffers. When all is said and done, however, by and large, the only changes our customers see are faster ATOs, tighter security, and compliance professionals with a better work/life balance.
You have a story about that work/life balance, right?
Yes. One of our customers told me he worked 830 hours of overtime manually STIGging over the last year and a half. That’s 830 hours he wasn’t at home with his wife or children. And the time he did spend at home was interrupted with worries that kept him up at night. This is the reality of the cybersecurity profession. And sometimes you don’t see how heavily something like that weighs on you until it is gone. ConfigOS is giving him his life and his family back. And because it provides an even better quality of compliance, he doesn’t have to stress out over broken apps, quarterly updates, and the latest threats. The uncertainty he may have once felt about automation is gone and was replaced with a greater work/life satisfaction.
Why do you love doing what you do?
It’s like solving a puzzle for me. I love problem solving and putting pieces together. Ultimately, SteelCloud’s goal is to provide value. So, I love to uncover that. That puzzle is different for every client. I love the strategy, critical thinking, and problem solving it takes to figure out what is best for each client. The last thing I want to do is waste someone’s time. Every day my job is different, which makes it fun and fascinating.
Why do you love doing that at SteelCloud?
I love SteelCloud for two reasons—the team and the technology. The leadership and the backgrounds of the people who work here initially attracted me. If I have a challenge or question, there is an expert here to talk to. I don’t just get an answer, I get THE answer. And I love the technology because we are the leader in the space and we’re bringing value to a need that is only becoming more demanding. Cybersecurity concerns keep people up at night. The mission is getting tougher by the day. We bring value and relief to that.
What kind of impact do you think SteelCloud has on the industry?
Things are quickening. The risks of bad actors is growing. It used to be that there were fewer tasks to perform. Now there’s more hardening to do and more dashboards to create—at the same time that the available cybersecurity workforce is dwindling. There are not enough hours in the day to develop high level compliance and get all the other stuff done. Automation is becoming more desirable and more necessary. SteelCloud is leading the way and offering customers a solution that really works and helps them achieve more with the staff they already have.
When Erin isn’t traveling the country to meet face-to-face with potential customers, she’s capturing precious moments at home with her partner in Roanoke, VA while he pursues his medical degree. Erin loves to be active, so you won’t find her sitting around watching movies or TV. Living in the mountains gives her unfettered access to the activities this former farm girl loves—hiking, spending time outdoors and patting the occasional horse. She also enjoys traveling, meeting new people, and catching up with customers at trade shows, especially when those trade shows are in Hawaii.
