Topics discussed include experiences as a new leader, building/Operating SaaS products, building 'secure' Saas products, over-integration of SaaS products, transparency and trust in assessments, privacy legislation and compliance, risks and observability in small to medium businesses, frustrations with ISPs, power of social media communities, becoming a virtual CISO or consultant CISO, targeting small business owners.
Building trust in new organizations requires effective communication, transparency and understanding of unique dynamics.
Starting projects at the beginning and setting clear expectations and purpose are crucial for building trust.
In the healthcare SaaS space, integrating with various systems and addressing legacy issues requires careful planning and proactive communication.
Deep dives
Importance of Building Trust with New Organizations
Building trust in new organizations, especially as a virtual CISO, can be challenging. Establishing a strong foundation of trust requires effective communication, transparency, and understanding the unique dynamics of each organization. It is crucial to create an environment where all parties feel respected, heard, and valued. Providing a clear explanation of the assessment process, setting expectations, and emphasizing the intention to improve rather than criticize are essential steps in building trust.
Lessons Learned from Failed Interactions with Clients
One key lesson learned is the importance of starting projects at the beginning rather than jumping into the middle. In one recent example, a technical session with a client led to the architect feeling attacked due to a lack of transparency and miscommunication. This highlighted the need to set clear expectations and emphasize the purpose of assessments as tools for understanding and improvement. Acknowledging the positive aspects of a client's existing practices and providing recognition for their efforts can help foster a more relaxed and transparent conversation, ultimately leading to more effective recommendations.
Navigating Integration Challenges in Healthcare SaaS
The integration process in the healthcare SaaS space can be complicated due to the need to connect with various electronic health record systems and ensure secure data transfer. Challenges often arise when integrating different identity providers and networking protocols. Additionally, integrating with legacy systems and addressing issues such as paging networks can present unique obstacles. These complexities require careful planning, understanding of regulations, and proactive communication to successfully navigate integration challenges in healthcare SaaS.
Importance of CI/CD Pipeline for Early SaaS Startups
One of the biggest mistakes early SaaS startups make is not having a foundational CI/CD pipeline in place. Manual deployments can lead to scalability issues and inconsistencies between test and production environments. Building a CI/CD pipeline before focusing on other SaaS development is crucial for streamlining deployments and avoiding production issues.
Considerations for Building a Secure and Efficient SaaS Product
When developing a SaaS product, it is essential to consider the needs of all stakeholders, including operations personnel and customers. Inadequate user interfaces and lacking tools for operations can lead to inefficiencies and difficulties in managing the product. Furthermore, implementing features like multi-tenancy and proper authentication authorization throughout the application stack is critical to avoid security risks and data breaches.
Topic #1: discuss your experiences when you were a new leader.
What worked? What didn't? What would you have done differently?
Do you emulate your manager's style? What have been your go-to management resources?
What is a good piece of advice that you’ve been given or that you impart to others that relates to leadership?
Topic #2: building/Operating SaaS products (we can discuss securing them, what functions should be table stakes (data structures, logging, etc)
Topic #3: What are bare minimums for building ‘secure’ Saas products in your particular field? And how do you balance security with a positive user experience (i. e. getting customers to buy into MFA/OAUTH, OTA updates
Topic #4: Do many SaaS products get over-integrated? Is the need for integration override best practices in security?
Additional information / pertinent LInks (Would you like to know more?):
