Secure Your Own House First: Degly Mendez on MSP Cyber Education

About this episode

Degly Mendez discusses the importance of cybersecurity education for MSPs and small businesses, sharing insights on internal security practices and budgeting strategies.

In this insightful episode of MSP Unplugged, host Paco Lebron welcomes Degly Mendez, CEO of Avanzar IT Systems (South Pasadena, CA) and Vice Chair of the GTIA ISAO Advisory Group. Degly shares his journey into MSP leadership, his focus on cybersecurity for small/mid-sized businesses, and practical ways to make education a real defensive layer. Key takeaways include: Building ongoing cybersecurity awareness for non-tech-savvy SMB clients (beyond one-offs like "Be Cyber Aware" sessions) — challenges, retention tips, and scaling methods (webinars, tools, gamified scenarios) Metrics and stories showing when education truly reduces incidents "Secure your own house first": Fortifying Avanzar internally (team training, processes, tough investments) to avoid being the weak link Common MSP pitfalls on internal security (vendor risks, tool sprawl, early practice drops) and how to fix them Using the "Run, Protect, Grow" IT budgeting framework to prioritize Protect (including people education) without it feeling like a cost sink Evolving programs for AI-driven threats/opportunities — recent changes to stay ahead Best advice for resource-constrained MSPs: Scaling education without burnout or…

People in this episode

Host: Paco Lebron

Guest: Degly Mendez

Topics covered

• cybersecurity education
• MSP leadership
• small business security
• internal security practices
• IT budgeting
• AI-driven threats

Keywords

• cybersecurity
• MSP
• education
• small business
• internal security
• IT budgeting
• AI threats

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Avanzar IT Systems, GTIA ISAO Advisory Group

Places: South Pasadena, CA

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