Storm’s Edge Technologies’ Decades Of Experience Solving Technology Problems Means Potential Catastrophes Simply Become Minor Inconveniences
You’ve lost everything. You’re done. There’s no way you’ll ever recover, so you might as well pack it up.”
That’s how one professional cyber security firm put the fear of God into a company that had their network compromised and their data encrypted.
While that cyber security firm only saw doom and gloom, Dan FitzGerald saw a challenge. To Dan, this was simply another problem that needed to be solved. Just like the many problems he had been solving for his clients for over two decades at his cyber security-focused MSP, Storm’s Edge Technologies. Just as he had been doing since age 12.
Dan says, “Back then, when all my friends were playing video games, I was writing my own programs. If there was anything I wasn’t able to do, I’d write a program for it.”
When this network-compromised business was faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem, Dan remained calm and confident. He knew his security tools and analytical processes, along with his vast experience in remediating data breaches, would turn this potential business-closing event into a minor inconvenience.
“Because of the way we approach managing and protecting data and networks, as well as our incident-response plan and forensic experience, I was confident we would get 100% of their data back. They were up and running the very next day. Problem solved,” Dan says.
Dan’s track record for mitigating data breaches speaks for itself. Storm’s Edge Technologies’ proven defenses have stopped countless attacks and even thwarted five real-time, hacker-based ransomware attacks before they could do any measurable damage.
“We were actively locking out the hackers from the network and computers while they were trying to stay in the network,” Dan remembers. “In each incident, the attack was reduced to a minor business interruption.”
He also says, “In the history of Storm’s Edge Technologies, anytime we’ve had to mitigate a security incident, a slight business interruption was the only result. None of our clients have lost their critical data.”
Dan Finally Came Face-To-Face With A Problem His Technology And Programming Skills Just Couldn’t Solve
In the Air Force, Dan FitzGerald advanced his programming skills. Hand-selected for several top-secret projects by the base commander, Dan made a lasting impact that touched just about everyone in the Air Force.
“I’m proud of the fact that I helped write the software development standards that are used throughout the entire US Air Force,” Dan says.
After six years in the Air Force, Dan effectively became the chief technology officer for one of the largest travel agencies in the world. While working there, Dan received a phone call that changed everything, one he would never forget. His mother had just suffered FIVE heart attacks. And, being 650 miles from her, Dan and his wife felt absolutely helpless. Before his plane even took off for Texas, his mom was in full renal failure.
Reliving the moment that he entered the hospital, Dan recalls, “I had prepared myself for the worst. Imagine my surprise when I saw all of her nurses high-fiving each other. I was so confused. Turns out, that very morning my mom had pulled through, which was the start of a full recovery. A miracle really. And over two decades later, she’s still alive and well.”
Wanting his kids to see their grandmother more often, within 19 days Dan moved his family to Fort Worth, Texas, to be by his mom’s side. He’s lived there ever since. That’s where he raised his family. That’s where he has run his MSP since 1999.
“It’s Not Just About Technology – It’s About The RIGHT Technology For Your Business”
While running the travel agency’s IT department, Dan was constantly bothered by how technology vendors would approach them.
He recalls, “All these tech companies would try to sell us stuff we didn’t need. And everything was priced for large-budget corporations, not small businesses.”
Dan soon realized this was an industry-wide problem. And it was BACKWARDS. Rather than sit down with the business owner, discuss their goals and problems and customize a program or solution to address their specific needs, these tech companies started with a one-size-fits-nobody technology and FORCED it onto business owners.
He had had enough. Dan knew that small business owners weren’t being well served by their IT services providers and technology vendors. So, in 1999, Dan founded Storm’s Edge Technologies in Fort Worth to help these underserved business owners finally get the RIGHT technologies at REASONABLE prices to better reach their goals.
When asked about his company name, Dan says with confidence, “Between the crazy-high prices, the cookie-cutter technologies, the unresponsive technicians and the cyber-attacks, it’s a virtual storm that business owners constantly deal with. We stand at the edge of that storm to protect our clients. You see, our core belief at Storm’s Edge Technologies is that it’s not just about technology – it’s about the RIGHT technology for your business.”
Cyber Security Solutions That Rival Enterprise-Level Companies
Since opening their doors more than two decades ago, Storm’s Edge Technologies has always been ahead of the IT industry. In 2005, before the term “managed services” was being used, Dan’s team was providing managed services for his clients. Before cloud solutions were the norm, Storm’s Edge was a cloud solution provider.
And while many IT services firms are just recently “bolting on” a cyber security offering today, Storm’s Edge became intensely focused on cyber security over seven years ago. As a result, they are a mature cyber security company capable of doing what larger, enterprise-grade cyber security companies can do.
“You see, it’s not uncommon for us to implement new technology for all our clients and then see that same technology become mainstream 24 to 36 months later. This shows that we are a leader in our industry while others are just following,” says Dan.
Proud of his team, he adds, “Most MSPs our size don’t have an on-staff, full-time CISSP, a professional with specialized cyber security certification. So no one is focused on cyber security. This is why we created a security mindset over seven years ago.”
Custom-Building Affordable Solutions For Clients
In order to provide a heightened level of cyber security to confidently protect their clients from data breaches, Dan knew seven years ago that a SIEM – a security information and event management system – was the answer. The challenge back then was that most SIEM software would cost each client $10K, plus huge monthly fees. It was just not economically feasible for small business owners.
But Dan knew a SIEM was still critical to keeping his clients safe. So they built one from the ground up.
“We spent two solid years building our own SIEM that was designed with our clients in mind, the small to medium-sized businesses in the Dallas–Fort Worth area,” says Dan.
He did not stop there. He used his forensic expertise and broke down exactly how attacks happen and what steps the hacker must accomplish during a data breach. Next, he carefully selected the best cyber security technologies that could provide multiple protections for each part of the data breach. This is how Dan and his team can stop an attack BEFORE the hackers can do any real damage.
When he needed something that didn’t exist, he used his skills as a technology expert and network engineer to build out their own intrusion detection and intrusion prevention platforms in concert with their firewalls – every component tightly integrated to the next for optimum security.
Providing A Battle-Tested Approach To Keeping Businesses Up And Running
You’ve seen the headlines. Because ransomware attacks have gone from $187.9 million in 2019 to $623.3 million in 2021, cyber-attacks are costing small business owners millions in ransoms, fines, lawsuits, unproductive time and lost customers. If global corporations with the most advanced security tools and scores of IT personnel, like Colonial Pipeline, Home Depot, Yahoo and even Microsoft, can be hacked, don’t you think your small business is also at risk?
Dan says, “We put in very specific and sophisticated cyber security measures to keep our clients’ data safer than that of 99% of other small businesses. You really want someone managing your network security who is battle-tested and knows what to do if your network gets breached.”
Storm’s Edge’s approach to cyber security is holistic by design. Dan says, “Cyber security only works when you have every single component in place, and that includes company culture, education, visibility, real-time monitoring, abnormal-activity detection, real-time remediation, and recovery. If you’re missing any one of those, you’re at risk.”
After spending over two decades solving cyber security and technology problems for his customers, Dan is proud to still have a few of his original clients.
“In an industry where business owners change IT services providers fairly often, we’ve had many clients stay with us for 10, 15 and even over 20 years,” says Dan. “Of my first five clients from 1999, three of them are still with us today. The others closed or were sold. I believe that’s the biggest testament that we’re doing something right.”
For more information on Storm’s Edge Technologies, visit www.StormsEdge.com
