Crucial Tech

Last week we discussed the trend toward decentralization of technology, and we discuss that more next week in Cyber Protection Magazine. But while it may be a global trend, it doesn't mean everywhere.This week we met with Lisa Pent, CEO of ThePentEdge.com, a consulting organization that works with small to mid market banks and credit unions where consolidation is still very much standard. We also touch on the recent decision by the Chinese government to ban large US. and Israeli cybersecurity firms from operating in China, contributing to our prediction of the end of the World Wide Web.

Last week I attended the most honest tech conference I can remember. The ironic thing was that it wasn’t a tech conference at all. If was the California Press Foundation (CPF) annual conference.The CPF traces its history back to 1878 when it was formed originally as the California Press Association to represent the journalism industry in the state. It morphed and partnered with different journalism groups over its existence, and today it operates independently as a statewide nonprofit supporting the next generation of journalists. At its core, it works to keep the shrinking industry alive.Journalism is crucial to the survival of democracies worldwide, and this organization is doing yeoman's work in pushing it into the 21st century.

The technology industries run penurious marketing programs. Most spend half as much of their budgets as most of the S&P, and then complain that customers don't respond. They also blame the marketing and PR folks for the bad results of their cut-rate budgets. It doesn't have to be that way.We sat down with Beth Trier of Trier Company, a successful and well-considered agency in San Francisco, and talked about how inadequate budgets and, frankly, C-suite ignorance is damaging the process of communications. While most people may not think this is important, the lack of customer education is at the core of most technology failures, and that's because of poor marketing.

The genesis of this podcast was a convoluted pitch that was three steps removed from the client. A marketing company working for the client hired a PR agency to distribute a press release, who then farmed out the pitching to a freelancer. I tried to get some clarity on the pitch from the freelancer and it became apparent that she had never talked with the client. Luckily, I had already met with the CEO of the client company a couple of times so I bypassed the rep and went directly to the source. She explained she had never heard of the rep or the agency she seemed to work for.All of this culminated in a story about how the cyber training industry, AKA human risk management, was trying to change and expand the scope of training so it would actually work... and how they are working against themselves.

The journalism industry is in trouble and has been for most of the 21st century. But the advent of AI generated content has made professional journalists absolutely crucial not just to democracies but to business success.One of the most prolific and successful technology journalists is Bolaji Ojo. He has headed editorial efforts for the EETimes, AspenCore Media, the recently closed Ojo-Yoshida Report and the now-defunct EBN. Some of those titles may be foreign to people in the cybersecurity world, but not to executives in the electronics world that cybersecurity rests upon. This brief conversation is packed with information that most people don’t think about including how technology impacts all industries, expanding scope of coverage. Traditional ad revenue has shifted to platforms like Google and Met allowing companiesto reach customers directly, but this now creates credibility challenges for companies. AI-generated content is causing markets to distrust marketing message more than ever before. That has established the need for experienced journalists to provide context, analysis, and trusted perspectives. Ojo describes how his new ventures are getting financial support from companies like Microchip, NXP, Infineon, Siemens, ST Microelectronics not to drive sales but to establish credibility. The challenge is justifying sponsorship to CFOs/boards vs. SEO.The value proposition of tech journalism, he said, is providing context and "what it means and offering trusted, independent analysis and future insights.This episode may be the most important we’ve had this year. It provides a roadmap to effective marketing for cybersecurity companies in the near future.