Finding Allies Among Competitors and Giving Back During Crisis

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business, customers, cloud, people, home, teams, moving, calling, technology, company, point, cybersecurity, manage, computers, ways, malecon, helping, talk, vpn, add

SPEAKERS

Jess Coburn, Malik Khan

Jess Coburn  00:17

Welcome to another episode of cyber side chats. Today businesses across the globe are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. In these first few episodes focus on what business leaders owners and CEOs can do to not just survive but thrive amid crisis. In this episode of cyber side chat I sit down on Malecon CEO point click analogy. So one of my closest friends, we discussed the importance of giving back during difficult times and how competitors can come together for mutual benefit through competition. I'm your host Jess Coburn, CEO of manage cloud it and cybersecurity company applied innovations Hi, welcome to another episode of cyber side chats today I have my very good friend Malecon with Bhima leak CEO point click technologies. Blake, can you tell us a little about point click and yourself.

Malik Khan  01:19

So point click is a managed services provider focused on cloud services. So, you know, everything we do is all managed cloud, whether we managing infrastructure in our data centers in Raleigh, or in our primary choice with cloud hyperscale, which is Azure. So you know, we provide cybersecurity making sure customers have backup and disaster recovery 24 seven support of the applications making sure that performing so this is our primary business model today. And not only that, helping customers move infrastructure from on premises to the cloud, and then making sure that they're not compromising any of their, you know, security to customer service. And just feeling like you know, they own the data that's sitting in the cloud. So we try to bridge that gap of making sure that the customer is in a very stable environment in the cloud. But then they also working with a very stable partner that knows how to manage the information and keep them up and running.

Jess Coburn  02:16

Thanks, Millie. I appreciate the introduction. So one thing some people know they know me and you is they'll know that we're good friends, and we have been the best of friends for almost a decade now, if not more than, and a lot of people say gee, Jess, you run a managed cloud it cybersecurity company and Moloch runs a managed cloud it and cybersecurity company. Aren't you guys cooperate? Aren't you guys? competition? And we like to refer to it as Co Op petition. Correct?

Malik Khan  02:44

Absolutely.

Jess Coburn  02:46

Because we find we find we find that we, I mean, we've helped each other tremendously over the last number of years.

Malik Khan  02:54

Yeah, I think it's been, you know, I was telling my wife like, and I wonder where my business was. With the headliner meet, Jess, just because at the time, you are much bigger company I was, you know, tiny, I'm still tiny. But I learned so much from from you the way you operate your business. Older approaches were a little bit different. So I was able to learn how to take some of the things you were doing and adapted into mine. And then you also learn some of the ways that we were using certain tool sets and certain practices that you were also able to incorporate in your business. So, you know, it kind of at a point became where we're not competing with each other. But we're trying to actually help accelerate and grow our businesses as much as we can by sharing the information and the knowledge base that we have within the industry.

Jess Coburn  03:43

Really, I don't think you give yourself enough credit. I've learned just as much if not more from you, as you've...

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

business, customers, cloud, people, home, teams, moving, calling, technology, company, point, cybersecurity, manage, computers, ways, malecon, helping, talk, vpn, add

SPEAKERS

Jess Coburn, Malik Khan

Jess Coburn  00:17

Welcome to another episode of cyber side chats. Today businesses across the globe are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. In these first few episodes focus on what business leaders owners and CEOs can do to not just survive but thrive amid crisis. In this episode of cyber side chat I sit down on Malecon CEO point click analogy. So one of my closest friends, we discussed the importance of giving back during difficult times and how competitors can come together for mutual benefit through competition. I'm your host Jess Coburn, CEO of manage cloud it and cybersecurity company applied innovations Hi, welcome to another episode of cyber side chats today I have my very good friend Malecon with Bhima leak CEO point click technologies. Blake, can you tell us a little about point click and yourself.

Malik Khan  01:19

So point click is a managed services provider focused on cloud services. So, you know, everything we do is all managed cloud, whether we managing infrastructure in our data centers in Raleigh, or in our primary choice with cloud hyperscale, which is Azure. So you know, we provide cybersecurity making sure customers have backup and disaster recovery 24 seven support of the applications making sure that performing so this is our primary business model today. And not only that, helping customers move infrastructure from on premises to the cloud, and then making sure that they're not compromising any of their, you know, security to customer service. And just feeling like you know, they own the data that's sitting in the cloud. So we try to bridge that gap of making sure that the customer is in a very stable environment in the cloud. But then they also working with a very stable partner that knows how to manage the information and keep them up and running.

Jess Coburn  02:16

Thanks, Millie. I appreciate the introduction. So one thing some people know they know me and you is they'll know that we're good friends, and we have been the best of friends for almost a decade now, if not more than, and a lot of people say gee, Jess, you run a managed cloud it cybersecurity company and Moloch runs a managed cloud it and cybersecurity company. Aren't you guys cooperate? Aren't you guys? competition? And we like to refer to it as Co Op petition. Correct?

Malik Khan  02:44

Absolutely.

Jess Coburn  02:46

Because we find we find we find that we, I mean, we've helped each other tremendously over the last number of years.

Malik Khan  02:54

Yeah, I think it's been, you know, I was telling my wife like, and I wonder where my business was. With the headliner meet, Jess, just because at the time, you are much bigger company I was, you know, tiny, I'm still tiny. But I learned so much from from you the way you operate your business. Older approaches were a little bit different. So I was able to learn how to take some of the things you were doing and adapted into mine. And then you also learn some of the ways that we were using certain tool sets and certain practices that you were also able to incorporate in your business. So, you know, it kind of at a point became where we're not competing with each other. But we're trying to actually help accelerate and grow our businesses as much as we can by sharing the information and the knowledge base that we have within the industry.

Jess Coburn  03:43

Really, I don't think you give yourself enough credit. I've learned just as much if not more from you, as you've taken from me, I assure you that So, but I appreciate that. Um, which is an interesting topic on kind of why I wanted to start with it right now a lot of businesses are flipped upside down. They don't know which way To go. And, you know, traditionally in business when you have when you have competition, it's you or them and only one man can win. Right? It's that that fight. Going to be number one, I'm going to be number one, there's only room for me. Do you think this concept of competition would be useful for these businesses? And based on what's going on in the industry today? Or not in the economy today?

Malik Khan  04:24

Yeah, absolutely. I think every business is unique. I don't think there's typically businesses that are 1% a, like, um, there are some that are like that. But in many cases, you know, everybody does something differently. Everybody brings their own ingenuity and they know how into their own businesses. So I think, you know, as this this world is going on, especially with social with the rise of social media, you see a lot of businesses that are, you know, posting white papers on how they do certain things or best practices. So we all kind of learning from those, you know, those channels of how we can see what somebody else is doing. And we can adapt into the ways that we do our businesses. So I think that's already happening. Maybe not in an intentional manner. But it I think it is the way to go for all of us to kind of see how we can leverage each other and Co Op cooperate, you know, Co Op, co op petition, and be able to kind of help all of us grow,

Jess Coburn  05:21

as well. So that's interesting, too, right? Is because you're talking about giving back, and that's something that you do a lot of with, with your company. Can you talk about that?

Malik Khan  05:33

Sure. You know, so point click technologies was started back in 2007. Prior to that, I worked a regular job just like everybody else. So I believe the company was started on the notion of giving. You know, my wife at the time worked for the Red Cross, they have some issues at the office. I went there help them out. They say, Hey, can you help with all this other things? So looking at helping them and then keeping a job just didn't mesh so I decided to quit my job. helped a an organization that needed it. So giving my knowledge, I know how and my skills, I was able to start pointing technologies. And that never changed. So we still continue to do that with a lot of our customers. And as of late, you know, I'm originally from Gambia, which is in West Africa, I've decided that, you know, because technology is moving a lot slower in that region. What can I do, to kind of give back to my community. So we recently, you know, started our business there, opened an office there. And to kind of help boost the ecosystem for technology, we made our office much bigger, and splintered off into a co working space or an innovation hub. So we've been doing a lot of work in that region to kind of just help educate on modern ways of doing work, you know, through Microsoft partnership. And also, you know, just just cloud in general, whether it's public cloud or private cloud, so bringing all that no How and sharing it with the local ecosystem has been really invaluable for us. So those are one of the things that we're doing in Africa today. And it's, it's, it's a challenge, but it's moving forward and I think is very much appreciated. And, you know, we continue to give back in that way. But you know, it doesn't give away from all the stuff that we do in the US. We also open an office in Spain, and have a lot of our staff in India. So we operate in four countries, where we're doing a lot of giving, and, you know, just learning from each environment, especially in this time is very difficult. You know, seeing now the US is taking over with this Coronavirus how rapidly is spreading. You know, prior to it getting there, you know, I was I'm here in Spain, you know, we heard Italy was really getting really bad. And then now here in Spain is getting, you know, just as bad as Italy and now the US is taken over. So Africa is also you know, doing that so just two days ago. I thought what can we do to help in that nature. to kind of help prevent this, because the biggest challenge in those markets is they don't have it like us. You can't take your laptop home, and then VPN or just open a web browser access your applications. Because everything is in files, you know, you can you rarely see a person working with a computer on their desk. So you're like, wow, you know, what exactly are you going to do if you are forced in a divorce you to work from home. So right now I'm helping them with a strategy on how to effectively make people safe. That way they can work effectively from home. It's difficult because if you don't have the platform or the environment to do it, it just suggests a challenge. But again, it's all part of our DNA of giving, where we're always looking at ways of improving other people's environments or lives. And I think eventually it comes back. We're able to benefit and reap some of that from us to help us grow our company as well.

Jess Coburn  08:54

So you touched on what's going on in the Gambia and I appreciate you guys for that. But I really, you know, I found that when you first told me about building the operation in the Gambia and started explaining to me how technology is there, it was difficult for me to grasp. Because, you know, you look at I've been using computers since I was 12 years old, you know, we always had TVs and all this stuff in our house. My kids have had iPads and tablets, practically they came out of the womb with it, right? So for us, we're used to being connected like that, but in the Gambia, so they're still doing business, the old school way with files and pen and paper and then it's not so much on computers.

Malik Khan  09:39

Yeah, it's, it's, it's not. But, you know, with the help of somebody, organizations, you know, the World Bank's the UN UNDP you know, they accelerating that so it's moving really fast. Sometimes it's not entirely on on the people that actually happen to do this work is the willpower or the public. political will, of the country to actually buy in to this modern ways of doing things. As you know, you know, in Africa and some of these other nations, the biggest challenge is corruption. So they're looking at it as digital technology leaves a digital footprint. So if we implement anything that's going to automate or transform the way that we're doing some of these things and be able to, you know, and it's not always about a correction, you know, what does, the person that comes to mind is, they may be able to see that we're not doing things the right way, when that's not really true. I mean, US Europe have some of the biggest corruptions as well that nobody sees. So it's not that the technology is going to reveal it. But the notion and that mindset of if we invest in tech, it may reveal certain things that we don't want to be seen. So educating the community and ecosystem they aren't, that is the wrong way of thinking about this thing. Using technologists really to make efficient so you can operate you know do more with less and all these things so these are some of the things that we we try to communicate by doing advanced webinars seminars and all these things and I think it's working and that process is going very well so far

Jess Coburn  11:17

group house a house COVID-19 been four point click

Malik Khan  11:23

um so you know when it when it first started, you know, as we all knew, it started in China, we all kind of just thought, Okay, this is this is nothing then it started, you know, hitting, you know, up until three weeks ago we were in nice France with my family. We didn't think nothing of it. So, you know, people were just going on about their business or like, but so now we really start to see this impact everybody. So you know, Spain went on lockdown, so I'm like, wow, okay. And then some parts of the US started to go on lockdown. So these are we operate out of four countries. So I mean, as of right now, every country we operate in we all having to work from home. But luckily, we've been working from remote for a very long time many years. So it's not a big deal. But for companies that we support, that are not set up for that type of access, it's been a challenge for them. For us, luckily, about 90% of our customers were already in the cloud because when we go into a customer, that's the first thing we look at work from anywhere from anytime, anytime from any device. So a lot of them were already on all 365 we've already migrated your on premises servers onto the cloud, you know, PBX on local systems, moving that from that to a to a local data center, or, you know, recently we've been doing a lot of Microsoft Teams calling migration. Prior to that we were doing a lot of ring Central's so it hasn't really hit us hard yet, because we kind of felt like we were prepared. We prepared our customers well for that. But for those that still have file servers on to kind of, you know, seeing the pain a little bit, and, you know, to access files or VPN, And the connection is a little bit, you know, but it's not that many that we have that are like that. Aside from that, it's it's, I think it hasn't been that impactful yet. But I think starting next month, it will, we'll start to see the pain because if our customers suffer, we will begin to, to suffer as well.

Jess Coburn  13:22

Absolutely, it's time to start preparing for that and for helping them with that. You know, it's interestingly and I was smiling as you were talking about that, because it shows that you and I, we communicate all the time. I mean, we talk daily, practically, and sometimes multiple times a day. And what's interesting is that we have the same approach with our customers. When we go into a new customer, if it's a, whether it's a customer that wants to move to the cloud, or it's a customer that says hey, we want you to come in and take over it and help us beef up our cybersecurity. The first thing we do is looking at what you have on prim that we can move off krim in Florida, it makes a lot of sense. Because they think hurricanes Yeah, we need to do that. But it just makes sense when this happens and people always think that you know, hurricanes are a southeast problem and snow storms or or a Northwest problem. Factor matter is it could be anything it's going to affect anyone we saw that with her with Hurricane Sandy when it took out you know, the New England these guys were just crushed because they weren't prepared to they weren't accustomed to that and it really hurt them. Hopefully, the education they had from that will help them with this as they address for this although I was in public yesterday the shopping the grocery store, there's no paper products to be found man. So I think people are still kind of overreacting in some ways. Right? They also they also need to stop throwing their their used gloves in the in the parking lot and littering those all over the place. It's disgusting. They just need to take them and put them in a garbage bag and throw them away when they get home. It amazes me Though, I need to keep my hand safe, but let me just drop this here for somebody else I don't care about them only care about me. But I digress. So, because we've moved our customers to the cloud, and we've adopt these technologies, it's been great. The other thing you mentioned was Microsoft Teams and teams calling. So today's April 1, do you know what that means?

Malik Khan  15:23

It's a bad day. It is April

Jess Coburn  15:24

Fool's Day. You're right. This is an April Fool's. This is actually good news. Today's the first day that Microsoft's calling plans available in the United States before it used to be only available with the three or above accounts for a lot of businesses that were buying a 12 $50 a month Microsoft Office account, moving to a $35 Office account, and then adding another $20 on top of that, so you get Kali was cost prohibitive, but now, they can add this at $20 a month to any of their accounts regardless of which office 365 so for a lot of businesses, think about the business That's stuck with a classic PBX on premise right? Now he could actually forward his main phone number back to his team's calling plan. And use the Cloud PBX there and get all his business done. Uses computers like we're using in headsets, because phone calls just like normal use of cell phone to make phone calls, and turn the company phone off after hours. So he has that separation. So you have to worry about people call him on his personal cell all the time. Right? Yeah, I'm going down a bit of a sales pitch. But it's exciting for me, because it's it is a revolution in my opinion for telephone. Voice. Voice over IP has been something I've loved for the last, jeez 25 years ever since I was at Motorola. And to see where we've come and where we're going with this. It's phenomenal. Tell me about managing the team remotely. You know, you've got teams from four different countries. How do you manage your teams remotely? What could other business owners take or learn from you? What's been you know, that thing that's really helped you do that?

Malik Khan  17:07

Yeah, you know, having a good collaboration tool is very key. Prior to teams, we were all using Skype. So all our team members would just be on Skype. I've kind of grown my business through managing remote people. So we've kind of, you know, I've learned a lot through the process of maintaining your schedule. So for those that are looking to adapt, the scheduling would be something you would want to look at. Also, over the years, we've kind of implemented certain tools to make sure that, you know, people are actually following those schedules. So like one particular tool we use now is called hub staff, which is installed through on your computers and be able to you know, so they can sign in and sign out and you can actually monitor that you know, all the work that they're doing. So that is key. But once you build that trust with your team, it's not necessary. But I would just say I think good communication having a good communication platform. And now is the best time because you have even if you don't like Microsoft Teams, you have slack you have, you know, you can still use Skype, you can use, you know, tools like zoom in a plug for meeting doing this face to face meetings. But I particularly like teams because everything is in one place. You can chat, you can call, you can do your face to face meeting like we're doing now you can share all your files. You know, you have access to SharePoint, if you're doing a project, you have plan eyes. So it's a fantastic tool set, which is why I think Microsoft is doing is doing really well with it. So having that today versus You know, when we started doing this 510 years ago, it was a lot harder, but it's a lot easier today. And I'll tell you a story like just a week before North Carolina announced that they were going to go on lockdown. This customer calls us thanking us, like what are they talking about? Because they were under traditional PBX. So just before that week, we had just migrated all of They're calling you know, the receptionist calls to teams get them to Polycom phones, since they still wanted to hold a handset. So if you want to still use the asset you can with Microsoft Teams calling, but they have it on their cell...