Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike McKee.
Mike, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Throughout my life I have been driven by the desire to compete, learn, and create an energizing and fulfilling environment in which to work. It all started with competitive sports (hockey), but I’ve found a number of great personal growth opportunities that helped lead me to where I am today, in areas you wouldn’t expect. Like running a pizza business while studying at Princeton University!
Running that business showed me how fulfilling it can be to assemble a great group of people, unify them behind a goal, and execute together to achieve that goal – all while watching everyone grow and improve. It was an amazing adrenaline rush, and it brought out a great sense of accomplishment that I still seek out and appreciate to this day.
In fact, that feeling is what brought me back to the business world after a stint in the National Hockey League. I wanted to create a place where it was fun to “work,” and you could compete, learn, and improve with a group of great people focused on the same goals.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’d love to say everything is smooth sailing each and every day in business, but then again, that would be boring, wouldn’t it?
I’ve found that one of the most formative challenges I have faced involves finding the right people to join your team. Hiring seems simple at first, but I have found that it is important to hire slowly and to be cautious not to “squint.” Equally important is to recognize that sometimes things just don’t work out for one reason or another – and that’s OK. People and business needs change.
Of course, the cybersecurity space is changing too. I’m incredibly proud ObserveIT is a major force in the insider threat management space, but with constant change comes constant challenges. We stay ahead of it all by referring back to one of our core values as a company: being “Customer Centric.” If we can understand the way that our customers are using our products and listen to their needs – really listen – we can continue to develop tools that decrease their risk of an insider threat incident, and really resonate.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the ObserveIT story. Tell us more about the business.
ObserveIT is a cybersecurity solution that empowers security teams to quickly detect insider threats, decrease incident investigation time, and prevent the loss of critical company data (e.g. Intentional or unintentional leaks of valuable, confidential information).
You might have heard of us on the local beat as of late, as we’ve just been named one of the best places to work by Boston Business Journal for the second consecutive year and we’ve doubled the number of Boston employees from 30 to 60 in the last year. We’re incredibly proud of what we’re doing together, and it is really exciting to be recognized here in Boston!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I foresee the need to provide more visibility on cloud and mobile activity in the future.
Currently, organizations are concerned primarily with increasing visibility in relation to user activity on desktops and servers. As more organizations move their infrastructure and applications to public and private cloud environments and look to access information via mobile devices, the more essential it will be to provide good mobile visibility and threat detection.
Secondly, artificial intelligence or machine learning will improve dramatically.
Currently, organizations are trying to move from being reactive to proactive when it comes to insider threats, a move that is aided by AI. As AI continues to improve, organizations will eventually be able to move from not only being more proactive, but ultimately to becoming predictive.
Contact Info:
- Address: 200 Clarendon St (21st Floor), Boston, MA 02116
- Website: https://www.observeit.com
- Phone: (US) +1 (617) 946-0235
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UseObserveIT
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ObserveIT
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/observeit
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