Nerds On Tap

Breaking Barriers with Josie Keck: Part 1

• Nerds On Tap • Season 1 • Episode 13

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Josie Keck, a cybersecurity trailblazer from Open Text, joins us to uncork a celebration of her nine-year journey, and it's an episode brimming with insights and reflections. We crack open the complexities of being a woman in tech, acknowledging the barriers Josie's crushed along the way. Her story is more than just a tale of personal triumph; it's a beacon for diversity and inclusion, shedding light on the pivotal roles women play in driving innovation. Small and medium-sized businesses, take heed: Josie lays down the cybersecurity gauntlet, proving it's not just a big enterprise game but a universal imperative.

Raising a glass to collaboration, our discussion traverses the landscape of the cybersecurity industry, where sharing a pint with the competition isn't taboo—it's strategy. Josie illustrates a world where the line between rival and ally blurs, as we all shoulder the responsibility of protecting our collective digital neighborhood. With mentorship, networking, and a commitment to perpetual learning as the industry's lifeblood, we paint a picture of a tech community where everyone's success is interlinked. It's about uniting for the greater good, one circuit at a time.

Finally, we kick back with some Relax Hazy IPA, letting the conversation flow as freely as the brew. Josie's insights into communication and relationship-building strike a chord, reminding us that the beating heart of technology still pulses with human connection. We share stories of exceptional customer service triumphs and the enduring power of a human touch amidst the wired world. So, raise your glass with us—this episode is a toast to the innovators, the educators, and the relentless pursuit of a more inclusive future in tech. Cheers to the journey!

This Episodes Beers: 
Space Dust, IPA  

Elysian Brewing Company

https://www.elysianbrewing.com/beer/space-dust-ipa


Blueprint IPA

Birds Fly South Ale Project

https://untappd.com/b/birds-fly-south-ale-project-the-bluprint-ipa/1857263


Relax Hazy IPA

Offshoot Beer Company

https://www.thebruery.com/products/relax


Dank Side of the Moon New England Style IPA

3rd Planet Brewing Company

https://www.3rdplanetbrewing.com/our-beers/

Sponsor of this episode:  Digital Boardwalk
Digital Boardwalk is one of the top 10 Managed IT Service Providers in the United States.  If you are seeking to outsource your IT Management, or if your IT Team could use some help with projects or asset management, give Digital Boardwalk a call today!  They offer a FREE IT Maturity Assessment on their website.  If you want to see how your business's IT scores against industry standards, go to GoModernOffice.com now.

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Tim Shoop:

Hey everyone, welcome to Lucky episode number 13 of Nerds On Tap. Today's show is called Breaking Barriers Women in tech, with special guest Josie Keck of Open Tech, one of the largest providers of cybersecurity solutions, among many other things, and one of Digital Boardwalk's favorite partners. Speaking of Digital Boardwalk, today's show is once again brought to you by Digital Boardwalk, an industry-leading managed IT services provider, providing IT support, infrastructure management and cybersecurity to businesses across the United States. So a little bit about today's guest, josie Keck. She is a highly motivated, energetic and goal-oriented task leader with barrier-breaking confidence and a strong drive for success. Diverse experience, training and educational background which provided strong foundations for relationship building and success across multicultural and socioeconomic business groups. She works with security and IT experts like me to increase productivity in the modern workplace while reducing cyber risk.

Tim Shoop:

This is her ninth year at is it your ninth year at River Open Tech? Twenty-ten? All right, they do a few things, but for today, we're going to focus on the fact that you're a channel first provider of cloud-enabled cybersecurity, compliance and productivity services, with 18,000 strong reseller community. Wow, like us, digital Boardwalk, right? We're your favorite partner, right? Yeah, to protect tens of thousands of businesses worldwide against a growing list of dangerous online threats. I've gotten a known Josie over the years, considered more than a partner but a friend, and I'd like to welcome you to the show, the lovely, the talented Josie Keck, everybody.

Josie Keck:

That was a lot. Thank you, tim, very excited to be here. Lucky number 13,. I did not know that, so even better, and this is my very first podcast, so I'm excited to be here, and I mean for my first one, the best one, so happy to be here. Thank you, tim, excited to have this conversation with you.

Tim Shoop:

And you get to drink beer.

Josie Keck:

Yes.

Tim Shoop:

And IPAs.

Josie Keck:

Can you pick my favorite beer?

Tim Shoop:

And you brought donuts.

Josie Keck:

Yes, I did.

Tim Shoop:

Well, I'm on a diet.

Josie Keck:

I mean, you can't have half Everything in moderation, all right.

Tim Shoop:

Well, josie, today we're going to cover three segments in the show. I'm going to go ahead and summarize them. So the first thing we're going to get into is your cybersecurity journey, your journey, where Josie's going to discuss her inspiring journey to the world of cybersecurity and technology. Then we're going to get into women in tech, where Josie will discuss her passion to inspire other girls to enter the industry and, of course, diversity and inclusion plays a big part in our discussion today. And then we're going to get into the importance of cybersecurity for small to medium-sized businesses and why it can't be an option anymore, right? So, josie, have you listened to Nerds on tap before?

Josie Keck:

Yes, I've listened to every single episode.

Tim Shoop:

So what happens first?

Josie Keck:

What happens first, we get to taste our first beer.

Tim Shoop:

We get to taste our first beer and you asked for IPAs. We mentioned that before. And why did you request IPAs? Is it because you like them or because you heard I get headaches from them?

Josie Keck:

Yes and yes, just kidding, I really like IPAs. Back a few years ago, I did not drink beer at all and my husband introduced me, then introduced me to IPAs and I love IPAs. I cannot drink. I don't drink the other beers, I only drink IPAs, and the hoppier the better.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, I like a good hoppy IPA. I just wish I wasn't. I had to switch to Pilsner's and just to avoid that, but I can drink an IPA without getting a headache. It's once I hit the fourth or fifth one.

Josie Keck:

Okay.

Tim Shoop:

Oh, is that normal.

Josie Keck:

Yeah, probably. Okay, it's pretty cool when I go out with the guys and they'll work. I'm in the man-dominated industry and we go to bar and somebody one of the guys ordered truly, and then I order an IPA. There's always that.

Tim Shoop:

That's funny. Yes, all right, without further ado suds, what do we got first? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Nerds On Tach. I'm your host, tim Schu, and I couldn't be more excited to embark on this nerdy adventure with all of you. So grab your favorite brew, because things are about to get exciting.

Suds:

Three, two, one go, All right. Our first beer of the day, Dinkside of the Moon, from the third planet brewing company right here in a niceville, Florida. It's a New England style IPA. Dinkside of the Moon is bursting with juicy hop flavor and aroma, heavily dry hop with citro, mosaic and El Dorado hops. This beer is intensely drinkable thanks to restrained bitterness and a soft full body to match its juicy profile.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, the bitter is understated. That is, that has got a very strong bitterness.

Josie Keck:

Very good.

Tim Shoop:

Great Josie, what do you?

Josie Keck:

think Very good, I like it.

Tim Shoop:

Well, you're gonna now. Josie was asking us before the show if she had to drink all these beers and we said well, all of our listeners out there may try to look you up and rag on you for not drinking all the beers, because you can't come on a beer show and not drink what's put in front of you.

Josie Keck:

Well, what I did not tell you to is that I am here also from Mardi Gras this weekend, so I have to pace myself.

Tim Shoop:

Okay.

Josie Keck:

But I would do my best and drink all the beer.

Tim Shoop:

Now I pace myself every time I come to an open text event right or a conference where I run into you guys.

Josie Keck:

Absolutely.

Tim Shoop:

Oh yeah, we're not gonna talk about any of those stories.

Josie Keck:

No, you're always, you're the really gay.

Tim Shoop:

I'm referring to my birthday.

Josie Keck:

Oh, that's so yeah, okay.

Tim Shoop:

We'll save that, unless you want to talk about it.

Josie Keck:

We do that for a different episode.

Tim Shoop:

So let's get into our first segment and let's talk about your journey. Now, this is what makes this extra special is and to kind of focus on today's episode is you are a woman. The United States is not your first country.

Josie Keck:

Correct.

Tim Shoop:

And you're in tech, yes. So this is a triple whammy, ladies and gentlemen, and I'm so excited to talk to Josie about this. So that's the. That's my favorite part. So let's start with, let's kind of ease into it. So citizenship had to be an emotional day.

Josie Keck:

Yes.

Tim Shoop:

Tell me about that. Let's go back. How long ago was that?

Josie Keck:

It was probably 10 years ago, it was. It was very special because I waited to become a citizen. You can live here, be legal and you don't have to become a citizen. When somebody from a different country takes the step to become a US citizen is a choice, it's not something that is forced upon you. The government doesn't require you to become a citizen. I was blessed enough that the judge asked me to be the speaker that day on behalf of 99 other new citizens Wow. And we were not allowed to take cameras in there, so we don't have the recording, but I have the still have the speech that I wrote.

Josie Keck:

You know I start. I just had sworn. You know that I gave up my citizenship in my other country. I'm an American citizen and it's very emotional when you say that you, you renounce in your country of birth, you renounce in everything to be this new person. So when I got back up there, first thing that I my greeting was good morning my fellow Americans. So that was very emotional. And talk about my children, my journey to be here, how we all chose to be here. So that was very special. But you know, just going a little back, when I first got here, I arrived in this country, I was 21 years old, a woman by myself. I had a thousand dollars in a suitcase and I didn't speak any.

Josie Keck:

English and I came with a dream to go to school and go back to Brazil. I wanted to get a master's degree in business and go back to Brazil and I did not know what I want to do. But I knew what I did not want to do.

Tim Shoop:

And that's why.

Josie Keck:

I came. I came here looking for a dream.

Tim Shoop:

So a lot of tears that day, I'll bet.

Josie Keck:

Absolutely yeah.

Tim Shoop:

My mom got. Rest her soul. She, she German. I have German heritage. My mom was full on German. English was her second language. She chose to become a citizen. My dad was in the army. They met overseas and I heard I heard that story over and over and how emotionally, like triumphant, that day was for her to just become part of something you know big.

Josie Keck:

You're taking me back in time and I'm I'm feeling it. It was very emotional and, just being where we are today, as an immigrant and somebody who chose to be here and chose to become part of this country, the society, I think that I appreciate things a lot more at times than people who lived here their whole life. I embrace this country as mine, the culture, everything to me is, it's my life.

Tim Shoop:

So you, um, you listened to our show and you were listening to the show with Geo Zalaya and the taco people. When he brought the tacos and you heard me say some things on that show that I I told him I would have you go to Brazil a lot, right, so you were going to bring beer back for him.

Josie Keck:

I called you out last night. I was waiting to see him and I went, tim, I listened to. You were talking about me and your podcast. You told him that, yep, she can bring some Brazilian beer back from you.

Tim Shoop:

I think I was most impressed in that conversation last night that you listen to our show. I, you know. You know we're still a growing show and it's nice to hear that people are listening to it. So thank you for that.

Josie Keck:

And after today we're going to really push everybody. My my team is they're going to have to listen to. I listened to my partner's podcast and share that with you.

Josie Keck:

My morning routine. I get up, I go to the gym and I listen to my partner's podcasts or whatever they're doing, because I want to know what you're doing. I want to know what you're talking about. I wanted to understand your business. I want to understand you because to me is not, I'm not selling you things we're building this relationship. Before I get to know you. I better understand your business model, the better I can help you.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, no, and that's that's totally understandable. So tell me how share? Share with us your journey into the world of cybersecurity and technology sales. What inspired you to pursue this path?

Josie Keck:

So my dream I really want to go to law school first.

Tim Shoop:

Okay.

Josie Keck:

And, and then I was working at Fred Levin's law firm here in town.

Tim Shoop:

I saw that on LinkedIn.

Josie Keck:

So I was working there. I worked there for five years and I wanted to go to law school. I was going through the process acceptance and all that and then something happened, personally, that impeded me from going with my family that I could not go to law school. So I'm like, well, I don't want to be a paralegal, that's not what I want to be. I want to really be hands on helping people. I want to get into sales. But I had no sales experience. So I'm like so I contact a few friends in town. They say, well, at River is a great company to work for. Go talk to them, see if you can get a job there. Well, I did go get a job in sales. And this is how. How little background in technology. I had One of the questions it's embarrassing, but it's not embarrassing because I embrace this part of me, or who I am today, of my growth. One of the questions that they asked me was what's a domain? And I said I don't know.

Tim Shoop:

That's where I live.

Josie Keck:

I don't know her. I am like I honestly don't know. And App River gave me a chance almost 10 years ago and I started working on the direct side of the house where I talked to people who did not know whatever I click on them out, open your window. Which window? You know, and then I talked to CTOs of larger companies who knew way above that I could understand at the time and in everybody at App River. App River was very customer focused, very. You know, it's a family. We still have our appers.

Tim Shoop:

Phenomenal customer care Phenomenal.

Josie Keck:

We call ourselves appers to this day with CTO. Hey, there's an apper here, we're App River, mike Murdock, joe, amazing, amazing family Right.

Suds:

Yeah.

Josie Keck:

And they taught me everything that I know.

Tim Shoop:

So, yes, Talk to me about that just briefly before we continue your journey. Tell the audience so we can get it in this first segment. Where that care comes from? It comes from the culture, obviously Culture. So how's that culture built?

Josie Keck:

The culture's built about taking care of people and taking care of each other. Right, I am the account manager of Digital Boardwalk, but when Digital Boardwalk calls our customer care, support or billing, that's not my customer, that's our customer.

Suds:

That's good, you are our partner.

Josie Keck:

That's good. I'm not going to lie to you. Like I take care of you, I expect the customer care support to take care of you with the same care. I like to say you know you have my cell number. If something would have happened at 11 pm and I you know that you can call me.

Tim Shoop:

Have you ever heard from me after hours?

Josie Keck:

No, you have not, but you know if something. But I have partners in the past who have called me like 11 o'clock, text me and say, hey, I have a nurse and medic and you have, of course, and if. I'm awake, I would take care of you. I would you know like we are more than just clients, partners. We are, we're in this together and this cybersecurity business together to take care of each other.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, and that's an important you bring that up and that's so important to remember because anytime someone gets into business and and this isn't my first rodeo, digital prior to Digital Boardwalk, I've always been in the tech business, though, you know, and everybody gets into business, no matter what industry, what vertical, it's always about it's me against the competitors.

Tim Shoop:

You know you don't want to work with competitors, but our industry is so awesome because we all cross that divide, or at least I would say all the ones that get it, cross that divide and say there's power in numbers, because the future, the future of protecting small to medium businesses and enterprise, isn't about just putting it, putting all those eggs in one basket and thinking that one managed service provider or one cybersecurity company or one MSSP can handle everything. It's about everybody, you know, protecting segments of customers and working together and crossing that divide to help one another. Isn't that what you see? And isn't that special? I mean, I sit, I, you know, co-chair peer group for OpenTex and I see it in that group and the fact that we all come together, we hang out together, we network together, we ask questions hey, what are you doing about this? How are you helping your employees stay ahead of the training curve. Just one you know and everybody shares, and nobody is scared to share with one another. Why do you think that is?

Josie Keck:

Oh, it's so amazing Me being a relationship. You know that's my foundation to me, like I nurture those relationships and when we go to the peer group, I like to say something I feel like a matchmaker when I see you and Lewis, you know, connecting and helping exchange.

Tim Shoop:

I like Lewis.

Josie Keck:

I like him too. He's like a brother to me.

Tim Shoop:

We're going to find out today if he listens to the show.

Josie Keck:

We're going to find out.

Tim Shoop:

Go ahead, go ahead.

Josie Keck:

So you know, just find it seeing you guys connect and helping each other out because you can do everything. This cybersecurity world. It's so complex and so big You're really not competing with anybody Like there's no, there's so much business, so much going on out there for us to be helping our customers and helping each other out. So when I see y'all connecting and developing relationships, it's funny idea. My roadshow, which you did not go to, and for Lauderdale, maybe next year I could make that one yeah.

Josie Keck:

So my James Bond themed you know roadshow and at the end I got asked by several partners hey, can you share everybody's contact information? I had great conversation but we were so busy. So we have a plan for next year how we're going to make sure everybody gets connected. It's so important. We're better together, and that was the motto of Zix better together.

Suds:

When.

Josie Keck:

Zix and I forever became together. I mean, we used to. I used to talk about it. It was the best arranged marriage ever. When Zix and I forever came together, the culture just just was in what we would say we're better together. Yeah, we're better together. The MSPs are better together.

Tim Shoop:

Better together, power and numbers, overcoming, you know, diverse situations and building a better world together. Now I sound like a cliche, but it is what it is.

Josie Keck:

It is, and every customer is different. Every customer is me. There's, like this, common ground, what we need to work on, but everybody has their specific things that you need to work through, so it's not just numbers. When you are a partner, you work differently than the partner down the road, so we need to adjust to make sure. That's why I was telling you I listened to your podcast. You know I like to have conversations with you. I like to sit at the table and listen to you talk to the other part. I'm always learning.

Tim Shoop:

That's the beauty of this industry.

Josie Keck:

We're always learning.

Tim Shoop:

Everybody should be always learning. You see all the books under my shelves. I mean, I read books constantly and I'm constantly doing research to learn how to do. It's not just about how to do tech better, but how to treat our people better, how to lift them up and take them along a better path, how to handle service operations better. How can we be more efficient? How can we take things off of somebody's work plate and automate it so to make their jobs a little easier, so they can be more consistent and efficient with what they do? It all goes around, and books and education are the key to getting better and mentorship, Absolutely.

Josie Keck:

You know I don't read as much, but I listen to audiobooks.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, same. Thing.

Josie Keck:

I'm always. If I'm working now at the gym or doing, I'm always listening to audiobooks. I was going to mention too, in today's business world, everybody's acquiring, everybody in companies are getting bigger. So it's so important to always keep even though we're a technology company, in the tech business, the human touch, the human feeling. The warmth has to stay, because people, they buy from people, they don't buy from companies.

Tim Shoop:

It's very easy to go order things online. You hit it right on the head People buy from people. We're in the people business right. People business first machines.

Josie Keck:

Yeah.

Tim Shoop:

Second Right.

Josie Keck:

We need the machines, but without people too.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, so that's good. That's a good segue into my next question. Okay, so how have your experiences in the technology industry impacted your life and what changes have you observed in the industry over the years? Wow, that's a, it's a, it's a whopper, and you know so how. How have your experiences in the industry impacted your life, maybe professionally and personally, like, what did it change for you? What? What did it really? I mean, we already got into it. Yep, you have a passion for this. Your passion is relationships and communication. You're good at both of those things. So tell me how all that ties in to the impact. Maybe, maybe on your, maybe your kids are picking up a vibe from you. Maybe they want to get in the tech industry. That might be the impact. Because that's huge? Yeah, because our kids are the future. When we're, you know, gone, they're gonna lead the charge.

Josie Keck:

It's amazing. I never in my life thought it would be in the in the tech industry. I never saw myself as a nerd, and here I am. You don't have to look to be one, and I find myself nerdy now in a lot of things.

Josie Keck:

I'm not into video games, into like, like decade, but I like to learn new things. I like to learn new technology and I mean to me. It just it has helped me grow as a grow as a person. But in this industry there's not. I mentioned to one of our leaders the other day. I had a meeting with him and I said the beauty about our job in our industry. There's no one day that goes by that I can say I don't learn anything new today, right, this industry is expanding, it's growing, is evolving and I've seen myself grow. I'm happy. Like you know, I wanted to be a lawyer. Thank God I did not become a lawyer, but I am happy where I am and and to be in technology and I know we're gonna get into this a little bit about women and technology. A lot of younger women people think when you talk to them they think to be in technology have to be behind the computer coding or the dark basement.

Josie Keck:

There's so much in technology that we women can impact from cells, market, even the technology itself, because we women have a different perspective of life. We see life differently. That it's not better than man, is not worse is just as different, and we need to have that diversity. I can look at something from my point of view. You will see different and you need to hear from me how do I see it to make it better. Because now the technology that we have, that we're building, is not just for me and is for women, for all of us you know we went to dinner last night.

Tim Shoop:

My wife Kathleen was with us, and you know.

Tim Shoop:

Kathleen yeah, she's awesome, right, you know I'm not just saying that because we're on air. She is awesome. She is listening. She does listen to the show, usually with the kids riding in the car, and then they call me out going. Why are you talking about me on the show? But no, she's a woman in tech now. She was a technical recruiter prior to joining digital boardwalk, but from you know deep dive technical troubleshooting and nerdy things. I'm a nerd, right, she has a shirt, says I love my geek.

Tim Shoop:

That's another for another time but, yeah, but she, you know she doesn't know how to do all those things, but she leads the charge, she's our VP of sales, she runs our sales division and she does a really good job working with people. So if you're people first which digital boardwalk is at River Zix? Open text is if you're a people first company in the IT industry, you're going to do really well because we're relationship builders and that's what she does and she fits into the mold perfectly, just like you do, josie yeah, there's so much to do.

Josie Keck:

Like I said, as a woman in this industry, it's it. There's. It's not just coding or being in front of the computer, and you will know as you work and, like I've been here, you know I've been here with that favorite open text for almost ten years now and sometimes I don't see myself as in technology because it just natural. Now, sometimes, when I have to train new people or talk to somebody, I look back, think I know a lot about the stuff.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, you know, because, like you're learning every day and then it just, and it makes you feel great when you yeah yes.

Josie Keck:

And to me going back to your question, how that has that impact to you, it has shown my kids, like today. When you posted that on LinkedIn, I sent it to my kids you did yes, and my youngest son, who's you know he's a mama's kid. He texts me back and said I'm so proud of you, mom, and that is oh my god, you're gonna make me cry, josie that is like that's one thing that you want to hear from your kid. I want to make you proud and they want to make you proud too, but to me as if I want to be his role model.

Josie Keck:

You know, and I hear him telling his friends or girl oh, my mom came here from another country, like you're telling about your mom, you know, and to me that's like the biggest compliment of my life my kids. Yeah, I'm making an impact in along. I have kids, friends who have little kids. I think that I mentioned to yesterday that I've been looking to writing a little technical books for little kids, so I actually wrote this first one. I'll tell you when this published, we'll see.

Josie Keck:

It's about telling this little girl, this little girl asking her mom about AI really and she's only like three years old maybe okay this is a, so this is a children's book.

Tim Shoop:

Okay, I would love to get the title of that yes, so it's just like.

Josie Keck:

Like she's asking mom what's an AI and mom is explaining to her she's that's fall. They're like a short little thing, but just to get a little kids minds yeah about it. You know, our kids are our future.

Tim Shoop:

They are gonna take over and they're growing up in it. I mean, we had to learn it. I mean, here's the thing. Going back to my first computer, I was lucky enough. My dad bought me a computer when he was 13. Now, later in life, he never really told me hey, I'm proud of you, son, because in my younger life I didn't do a whole lot to make him proud. But he was here with me at an event, at digital boardwalk, that I was putting on for all our customers and we were honoring my mom.

Tim Shoop:

I had her picture in a frame now and Joel was here. Joe and Mike actually were both here at that event. It was gumbo fist back in 2016 and my dad took me inside at that point yeah, I'm gonna cry. And he told me, son, I'm proud of you First time I ever heard it. Then he reminded me by the way you know, I got you your first computer. Oh, he wanted to let me know he's proud of me, but I'm going to take credit for your success.

Josie Keck:

Yeah, I got your first computer Isn't that awesome. No, and I thought about today, driving here, thinking like I did not work in the time that there wasn't computer. There weren't computers, so I was thinking and often I stop and I think how do people do their jobs?

Suds:

Yeah.

Josie Keck:

You know, and we're going to get a little more into AI and other things here.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, we'll talk about it in. We're actually going to get into women in tech in the next segment. But while I'm reading this next question, I'm going to go ahead and ask you this this is a mouthful. I'll let you catch up on your beer drinking because you're falling behind and we're almost to segment two. So let's talk about your expertise in helping MSPs manage service providers like digital boardwalk, find the right SAS tools for cybersecurity, productivity and compliance For this segment. Let's get because we're in segment one in your journey. Let's focus on your expertise. We'll get into cybersecurity in segment three.

Tim Shoop:

I want to talk about your expertise in regards to that question. Now, I mentioned communication skills. You got great communication skills and you're really good at relationship building. So let's stay on that topic and let's talk about how all that ties together to help me. And you know, maybe let's use maybe some case studies. Let's go back and think about some of the things you may have done when it came to me. I remember the first time I ever talked to you was on a phone call, and what did I say to you? You can tell the audience I'm not going to be ashamed, but what did I ask you not to do on that very first phone call where we spoke.

Josie Keck:

I never thought I would tell the story, but I will tell so something you know, technology is great when it works and technology is now when it will fail Right the whole. When it fails. What do we do when it fails? You will hear me talk about you being cyber secure and cyber resilient, and we can get later to what does that mean?

Tim Shoop:

Yeah.

Josie Keck:

But something happened to one of our servers and it caused some issues with one of your customers. One of your customers was very upset.

Tim Shoop:

Now, just to pause, this happens across the entire industry, not just with your servers, and it's happened with other partners but as a leader and taking care of my customers, what did I? I want to focus in on the bad thing I did.

Josie Keck:

Well. So Tim, he's very passionate. He cares about his customers. When something bad happened to his customer, he wants the result. I was out of town. I was at a partner visit in Atlanta and I got a message saying Tim Schup call from digital world walk. He's very upset. He left a voicemail and I immediately even has let's get on the phone. I was getting ready to go to meeting. I got my manager on the phone and we got it in and she and I talked him through what was happening, how we're going to fix it, how we're going to make it better and what the plan that we had and everything. And one thing that Tim asked me. He said Josie, please do not listen to the voice.

Tim Shoop:

I'm a look, and here's the thing my goal was to take care of my customers. We didn't really know each other yet, correct? But we're sitting here today, many moons later, right, and I'm still your partner, yep. So, leading back to that question, what did you do?

Josie Keck:

I did not listen to the voice.

Tim Shoop:

But then you told me, and you assured me you weren't going to listen to it. But then you stepped into action. Now I made a phone call right before this show to stand the man, uh-oh, and I asked him tell me one thing that you and your coworkers know about Josie that maybe the rest of us don't know. Now, after he told me, I wasn't shocked because I'm like, well, that's not, there's nothing shocking about that, because I know Josie Um, and this ties into this your answer. This totally handles it and maybe you can feed the audience bat and take this.

Tim Shoop:

What? What your co-worker said stand the man, um, and tied into that question and the resolution of that question. He said if you get on Josie's bad side now for those of you that don't know and we didn't introduce her this way, but Josie is a Brazilian firecracker, um, meaning she's full of life, right, and you can tell as soon as you meet her. But he said if you get on Josie's bad side, I don't care if you're under a rock hiding three countries away, she will find you, seek you out and find you and make sure she gets a resolution to the problem for whoever she's working on. Is that true, josie?

Josie Keck:

It is. I'm very passionate. I think that has to do with my culture, but also with my own DNA, you know, like who?

Suds:

I am.

Josie Keck:

I don't do anything halfway. You know, I do my job with passion. When I get up in the morning, I like to say this is not my job, this is my business. So when I go on vacation, my partners, even though they know I'm on vacation. But you can always call me If you wanna talk to me. I'm always available because it's my business.

Tim Shoop:

I talked to you while you were on a balcony in Brazil.

Josie Keck:

Yes, you did.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, and quickly. I didn't want to take your time, but you answered the phone.

Josie Keck:

Absolutely. I answered the phone, but one thing that I've been thinking about, as you're saying, communication skills, relationship building. One thing that I think is very important for us, you know, in this industry, is to listen. Yeah, listen is better than communicating is better. You have to listen and you go back like what are your skills? We can have all the technology skills, understand the technology, but every customer is very specific so you have to listen. Ask a question and listen. Sometimes it will tell you more than what you need to know, but you need to know all those things. So listen and some of the things that I do, I really, when I work with sales rep from MSPs, we do a CalMap and what we call. So we look at individual customer, what industry they're in, let's look what they need for compliance. What else can we do? How can we make them cyber secure than cyber resilient? And we're gonna get into this, I think is yeah, we will.

Tim Shoop:

We will. We're gonna save that for segment three. So, folks, don't go away. Make sure you listen to the whole podcast, cause segment three is gonna be full of great information, especially if you're a business owner or an entrepreneur or anybody leading an organization. If you're C level, this show is for you. So we're gonna wrap up segment one with a couple last questions, and Josie's trying to down that beer. Now let's talk about. I'm gonna skip that one, but we're gonna go right to the last part of this. What do you find most rewarding? Now we're staying on this topic about your role in the technology and cybersecurity field, particularly in terms of forging those relationships and partnerships. So we've gotten to know each other right, and it's funny, because when I go to an event, I always refer. I'm gonna-.

Josie Keck:

I know why you refer me.

Tim Shoop:

What do I call you? The handler, my handler? She's my handler. She is there to keep me out of trouble and make sure I'm where I need to be at all times, right? Yes, and she bought me a birthday cake.

Josie Keck:

Yes, I did which, even though I eat a slice.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, because I partied a little too much the night before. Well, I had a few too many Nerds on Tap beers.

Josie Keck:

Yes, yes, we celebrated the right way.

Tim Shoop:

We did. It was my birthday, ladies and gentlemen.

Josie Keck:

We were in Atlanta and we did business next day. It was hurting a little bit, but we got through the meetings and we did everything we were supposed to.

Tim Shoop:

And let's do a call out to one of your coworkers, and I'm sorry that the name he drives the Jeep. Oh yeah, omar, omar. So, omar, I'm sorry the name is slipped, but, omar, thank you so much for being our Uber that night and taking good care of us.

Josie Keck:

Omar is great. He's also when I'm out of the office. Omar is my backup, what we call it, so he takes care of those calls. I tell my partner if you need to talk to me, call myself, but otherwise Omar can help you out. So what was your question? Again?

Tim Shoop:

So the question is what's the most rewarding about your role in the technology and cybersecurity field, particularly with relationships and like this?

Josie Keck:

Yeah, I mean just knowing that, like that partner sometimes will joke with me hey, if I move on to so-and-so company, will you still be my friend? I say yes. So two weeks ago, I think that I don't know if I mentioned last night I was in Nashville for a partner visit. And I was at my partner's house with this guy, you did mention that yeah.

Josie Keck:

I was like cutting up a salad for her kids. You know, to me it's like I mean, they brought me into their house. I'm not just a vendor, I'm not just because, if you know me, you know, they're so nice people too they are amazing. Sean and Batsy, if you listen to this, we love you.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, but her first impression of me was man, he's crazy, I mean everybody thinks that's Tim.

Josie Keck:

Oh really no, just kidding.

Tim Shoop:

Well, at least they're not saying he's nerdy.

Josie Keck:

I mean it would get, I think, nerds good.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, no, nerds are good.

Josie Keck:

Nerds sometimes like when I say, when I call people nerd, it's not in the bad ways, it's good, it's good to be a nerd. You know we're different. I like different people. I think that's one thing that I got into this industry too. I like odd, different people, yeah, and smart people too, and nerds are all of that together.

Tim Shoop:

Well, I'm odd and different, so that explains a lot, and you know what I'm so odd and different? I think we need to drink another beer, suts.

Suds:

All right. Next beer of the day is the Relax Hazy IPA from the Offshoot Beer Company. They use a combination of fruit forward hops like citra and amaryllil, along with centennial and sumco, to impart fruity, tropical and citrus notes, and they use a young London yeast to give it that soft round mouthfeel. No bitterus, no pucker, just a smooth IPA that drinks like a breeze, say it in the mic.

Josie Keck:

Chin, chin.

Tim Shoop:

Chin, chin.

Josie Keck:

That's how we cheer in Portuguese.

Tim Shoop:

Broast, hmm, interesting.

Josie Keck:

That is.

Tim Shoop:

What's the name of this beer?

Suds:

This is the Relax Hazy IPA from Offshoot Beer Company. What's not?

Tim Shoop:

relaxed.

Josie Keck:

It's making me relax.

Tim Shoop:

Yeah, but the palate, it's hitting the palate with a zing.

Josie Keck:

Yeah, I was going to say like and then, it tapers.

Suds:

I think that's the relax. It doesn't linger with that bitterness at the end.

Tim Shoop:

Thank you for that, Suts.

Josie Keck:

You're so educational.

Tim Shoop:

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us for part one of this two part series with Josie Keck of Open Text, where she talked about her journey into the world of tech and cybersecurity. In the next episode, josie is going to talk about how we inspire women in the field of technology, and we talk about diversity and inclusion. Cheers my fellow nerds and beer lovers. Stay tuned for more Nerds on Tap. Oh, and one more thing Help us spread the nerdy love and the love for grape roots by sharing this podcast with your friends, colleagues and fellow beer enthusiasts. Let's build a community that embraces curiosity, innovation and the enjoyment of a cold one.

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Tim Shoop

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