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Michael O'Neil
Building insight with industry thought leaders, driving content-centric connections
Michael O'Neil is a world-leading IT industry analyst known for his expertise in connecting technology solutions with business needs.
With a background in Philosophy from McGill University, he has authored numerous reports and business books on various IT topics and led workshops globally on IT channel and alliance strategy.
Formerly associated with esteemed organizations like Uptime Institute and Stratascale, he has also been an instructor at the University of Toronto and involved in founding and participating in professional communities dedicated to research and knowledge sharing in technology fields.
Michael has a diverse professional history, including roles in cybersecurity, ecosystem engagement, analytics, and sustainable IT, showcasing his broad range of expertise and experience in the IT industry.
Highlights
Data center cybersecurity tutorial series
I thought I'd post an August update about a project that I'm passionate about, and have been working on for several months - a tutorial series on data center cybersecurity!
This is an important topic. Cybersecurity guidance is always written for the CISO; there is virtually no research available to data center leaders who are looking to build cyber capabilities within their teams.
I am very grateful to Uptime Institute, Andy G. Lawrence, Antonio_ Ramos - who has spearheaded the series and acts as co-author - the editorial and production teams, and the many, many Uptime community members who have contributed to this content - experts from healthcare (thank you, Joseph Furmanski!), colos (and you, John Sasser), financial services (including the RBC gurus), and from many other sectors.
If you are an Uptime member - report 4, on roles and responsibilities, went live on Inside Track yesterday, reports 5-7 are in the editing/production queue, and #8 (a view of supply chain risk management that includes contributions from Antonio and from the 18 or so folks who joined us for a late-July roundtable discussion) is nearing completion.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the series or how we are approaching data center cybersecurity as a topic.
Last month's "From priorities to execution" webinar was a great success! After looking at 2024 data center cybersecurity budget trends and drivers, we took a deep dive into what is shaping concern and investment,
This discussion explored several important topics. Third party supply chain risk was prominent in the group interaction: as an example, one member was just notified of a breach via a fifth-party supplier that had been terminated three years earlier.
Based on feedback from the session, we've decided to host a second roundtable to discuss methods of managing supply chain risk.
"Define and defend: diagnosing and defusing xPRM cyberthreats in the data center" will use a combination of third party risk management (TPRM) data from the 2024 Data Center Cybersecurity survey, plus some external insight, to frame a discussion on how supply chain risks can be categorized and managed. Members are encouraged to offer examples of how they establish and maintain supply chain standards, and to ask questions about how best to up-level their xPRM practices.
Are you an Uptime community member? If so, please join us! The "define and defend" session is scheduled for July 23rd, 10:00-11:00 EST, via Teams. The registration page is here: https://lnkd.in/gxT3riWp
Please note that this call is managed under Chatham House rules: you are encouraged to use or share insights that you glean from the conversation, but no participant or company can be directly quoted or referenced
Looking forward to continuing the dialogue with you on the 23rd!
