3131: Bridging the IT Gap: Myriad360 on Success in Multi-Vendor Environments

[00:00:04] What does it take to deliver world-class IT solutions in a rapidly evolving tech environment?

[00:00:10] Well, with more than 500 strategic partnerships with big name tech leaders from NVIDIA, HP, Cisco and so many others,

[00:00:21] Myriad360 is helping to redefine how businesses bridge the gap between cutting edge technology and practical implementation.

[00:00:30] But how do they stay ahead in an industry where AI, security challenges and the need for global scalability are reshaping priorities every single day?

[00:00:43] Well, today I'm joined by Herb Hoag, CTO at Myriad360 and together we're going to explore how this global systems integrator is helping organizations navigate some of the complexities of modern IT.

[00:00:58] Whether that be integrating AI into their infrastructure to addressing security pain points in multi-vendor environments.

[00:01:07] My guest today is going to talk about how Myriad360 focuses on those end-to-end solutions,

[00:01:13] ones that align with strategic business goals while also simplifying IT for clients.

[00:01:21] And as we unpack some of the trends shaping the future of IT from AI's transformative impact to balancing innovation with consistent user experiences,

[00:01:32] consider this.

[00:01:34] Is your organization ready to adapt to these changes and leverage the opportunities that they bring?

[00:01:41] Well, enough from me.

[00:01:43] Let's get my guest on to explore this together.

[00:01:47] So, a massive warm welcome to the show.

[00:01:50] Can you tell everyone listening a little about who you are and what you do?

[00:01:55] Well, I'm Herb Hoag and I am the Chief Technology Officer at Myriad360.

[00:02:01] It's great to be here.

[00:02:02] Well, it's a pleasure to have you join me because Myriad360 is positioned as a leader in the IT channel,

[00:02:10] working with so many top-tier tech partners and household names.

[00:02:14] And to name a few here, we've got Nvidia, HP, Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, and so many more.

[00:02:20] So, I've got to ask, how does this network of partnerships help you at Myriad360 deliver these tailored solutions to so many different clients across industries?

[00:02:31] And what is it that sets these collaborations apart, do you think?

[00:02:35] Well, I think first off, we know today that any technology solution is a composition of many technologies.

[00:02:45] There's no one technology that solves all business problems.

[00:02:49] There's network, there's infrastructure, there's cloud, there's storage, there's other connecting softwares, etc.

[00:02:55] And we focus and have partnerships with over 500 different technology companies.

[00:03:01] And really what we try to focus on is compiling the best technologies into the most useful technology stack that can support a business and a client's needs.

[00:03:13] And we're very good at it and we have a 20-year history of doing it.

[00:03:17] And it must be incredibly challenging at the moment because the IT landscape is evolving incredibly rapidly.

[00:03:23] We've got the introduction of AI into just about everything, which is almost transforming the cloud as well.

[00:03:29] I was at VMware a few weeks ago and they were talking about the need to move away from public cloud to private cloud.

[00:03:36] But on-prem private cloud as well was a big topic there.

[00:03:39] But I'm curious, from what you're seeing and the conversations that you're having, especially in this AI world we find ourselves,

[00:03:45] what are some of the key trends or maybe even complexities that you're seeing in IT today?

[00:03:50] And how are you helping businesses navigate around some of these challenges too?

[00:03:56] Well, I think there's several E ones.

[00:03:58] You touched on a few.

[00:04:00] I mean, you can't get through a conversation without the impacts of AI on everything.

[00:04:05] The other one is security and how to securitize and protect assets, information, credentials, etc.

[00:04:17] And then the last is scale.

[00:04:21] And scale, whether that be scale of capacity or scale of throughput.

[00:04:26] And we've seen one of the elements that AI has impacted greatly is driving and traversing significant more amounts of data,

[00:04:37] whether that be from a Wi-Fi perspective, an edge perspective.

[00:04:42] So trying to do all of these in concert and still provide a very consistent experience is a challenge for many organizations.

[00:04:52] And as you said, every single technology domain is going through rapid advancement in and of themselves.

[00:05:00] So you have some technologies that have been around for a good amount of time that were very protectant or very functional.

[00:05:08] But now we have next generation of all these different domains really happening pretty much at once.

[00:05:15] We've always said innovation, but every domain is innovating at the almost at the same time.

[00:05:22] And there's also an increasing focus on the ROI of just about every tech project now.

[00:05:28] And I think that's also including AI to begin with.

[00:05:31] Everyone was fascinated and intrigued and getting FOMO almost of not wanting to be left behind and jumping on AI.

[00:05:37] But then now as we come out of the hype cycle, there's a lot of what problem are we solving?

[00:05:42] What is the ROI here?

[00:05:44] Are these conversations that you're hearing as well?

[00:05:47] Every day.

[00:05:47] Yeah.

[00:05:48] I think the do more with less is always been, you know, a significant element within the technology space.

[00:05:57] But I would also argue do more with more is also an element.

[00:06:02] And, you know, today when organizations look at the scaling of what they need to support or the change in geography of what they need, we are always looking at cost optimization.

[00:06:17] And whether that be just a better cost per unit for whatever that piece of technology is that they're leveraging.

[00:06:25] But also I go back to that technology stack, looking at what new innovations have occurred to take a technology stack from 15 or 20 technologies down to maybe five or 10.

[00:06:40] And that reduces both the total cost of ownership, but also the resource time in order to do that.

[00:06:46] And I think that is very, very much in focus for many organizations today, trying to figure that out and put that right collection of technologies together at this right point in time.

[00:06:59] And the technology debt problem that many organizations have because of either legacy technologies or technologies that are not as evolved as others to integrate them all into a seamless experience.

[00:07:14] And Myriad 360, you're known for providing end-to-end IT solutions.

[00:07:20] So I'm curious just to bring to life what you're seeing in the industry at the moment.

[00:07:25] How does your approach integrate cutting-edge technology with some of those value-add strategic business objectives to meet some of the unique needs for diverse industries?

[00:07:35] Because I think that's what it comes back to.

[00:07:37] And very often we get distracted by the shiny new technology, but it should be about the technology and the strategic business objectives that brings it all to life and provides that ROI.

[00:07:49] But can you tell me a little bit on how you do that and how your approach is different?

[00:07:54] Sure.

[00:07:54] You know, in business, there's always a compelling business reason to do anything.

[00:08:01] Yeah.

[00:08:02] And if we are engaged with a client at an intimate level, unfortunately for us, we are because we've had 10, 15, 20 year relationships with many of our client partners that we understand the nuance of their business.

[00:08:17] We understand their current technology topology and we can help them identify the best impact for their business for their particular use case.

[00:08:29] And ideally, we try to do that with the most cost-effective way to do that with the best white glove experience that we can provide for the portion that we're delivering for them.

[00:08:41] And that starts with understanding that business case.

[00:08:45] That starts with analyzing where they currently are with that technology depth, with the existing technologies they have, with their existing competence levels, which is also something that's often forgotten.

[00:08:56] And then also, what's the supportability going to be of whatever this technology solution or, you know, the elements that they're introducing to their environment from a technology tail perspective.

[00:09:10] And then we help them effectively deploy that technology.

[00:09:13] In some places, we help them manage that technology ongoing.

[00:09:16] We'll train them on whatever those technology elements may be.

[00:09:20] And this is the one that we've seen tremendous adoption of.

[00:09:26] Automate key elements of that to support the scale.

[00:09:30] And we see a lot of that in the cloud and the infrastructure and the networking space, being able to build automations so that they can use the same amount of resources to manage a larger expanse of resourcing capacity and do that still effectively.

[00:09:46] And give them greater telemetry and observability of what is happening.

[00:09:51] I said a lot of stuff.

[00:09:53] There's a lot of art in that science and humans beings in that top, that science that we navigate as we help them do that.

[00:10:00] And we stand by every last thing that we do to ensure that it works after we turn it on and we're there after day one.

[00:10:09] And we continue on with them through that relationship.

[00:10:13] And that's fed us very well in our long history.

[00:10:18] And if I go back to my IT career, I used to see a lot of examples of business units in particular.

[00:10:24] They would get distracted again by that shiny technology and go technology first, problem second.

[00:10:30] And it would be IT's job, whether it would be with a business analyst to say, let's put the tech to one side for a moment and focus on the problem before we choose the tech.

[00:10:39] I would imagine that AI has brought that problem back into the fold.

[00:10:43] Is that right?

[00:10:44] Or have businesses largely learned from those mistakes from the past?

[00:10:48] Well, unfortunately, there's a lot of point tools that tailor to business needs, especially in the marketing domain, in the sales, CRM domains.

[00:11:04] There's a lot of unique tooling that has brought forward some very attractive capabilities that can enable pieces of the business.

[00:11:15] The challenge that many organizations in the IT organization in particular have is, how do I go from tool and data domains that are all separate and bring some of that data forward in a collection of information that I can use either to observe or make business decisions with?

[00:11:35] And that is always the moving and dynamic paradigm that we're operating in, where all of these different tools and data is sitting, and in many cases duplicative, that are all interconnected through credentials, but may not be all interconnected through the raw data itself.

[00:11:53] And then what is the center of truth for some key points of decisioning when you have a very dynamic enterprise?

[00:12:01] And then normalizing that data into something that's useful.

[00:12:05] And we've seen a lot of enhancements with BI tools and data warehousing and data lakes and all of those things to try to do more of that.

[00:12:12] But it's the continuing paradigm shifts or the tectonic shifts of all of the data islands that exist.

[00:12:20] And there are just more of them today, unfortunately, that are difficult to navigate and securitize.

[00:12:27] And another series of challenges that I remember all too well are with multi-vendor environments, especially with solution deployment and integration.

[00:12:36] Still getting flashbacks to this day.

[00:12:38] So what strategies do Myriad 360 use to maybe overcome these challenges and ensure that ideal seamless implementation for your clients?

[00:12:48] Anything you could share around that?

[00:12:50] Yes.

[00:12:50] I think one of the biggest challenges today is credentialing or authenticating and a seamless authentication experience.

[00:13:00] I think today we can all relate to having hundreds of passwords all over the place and trying to remember them or using the same one all over the place, which is not a good practice.

[00:13:12] And organizations have been aggressively attacking, sophisticated and enabling holistic credential solutions that to securitize that information, make it more unique,

[00:13:26] and also be able to enable and disable access to information in a rapid way.

[00:13:33] I think you've seen a lot of the recent exposures are mostly contributed to credential harvesting.

[00:13:42] That is the biggest security problem we have.

[00:13:45] And trying to attack that from a sophisticated authentication mechanism seamlessly across the 10, 15, 20 applications that any enterprise may use has been a driving factor in doing that.

[00:14:01] And we help organizations identify, integrate, and deploy many of those technologies that interconnect across their ecosystem.

[00:14:11] And then provide the observability or the key data back into their SIMs or their SOCs or their NOCs, whatever the tooling that they may be using from a visibility perspective to provide better controls and management.

[00:14:26] And although it is technology that gets all the headlines and all the excitement, it's often collaboration and the relationship between channel partners, distributors, and end users.

[00:14:38] And I would include corporate culture in that to ensure any new solution works as well as it's supposed to.

[00:14:45] So it all plays a significant role in driving business growth.

[00:14:50] So how do you foster connections like this to deliver innovative IT solutions?

[00:14:55] Because it's often underestimated, isn't it?

[00:14:58] It's very much underestimated.

[00:15:01] As I mentioned earlier, we all are interconnected in no one organization can do everything.

[00:15:09] And we are all in an interdependent state.

[00:15:12] And for us, we look at and value those partner relationships for obviously the transactional element, but also the learnings that we get from what they are investing in, what they are developing as next generation technologies, and bringing forward to our clients some of those capabilities and help them understand their go-forward technology decisions as different partnerships continue to invest.

[00:15:43] We also work with partners that complement us, whether that be in the real estate space, the data center space, the hyperscaler space, to also complement as well as the connectivity space.

[00:15:58] Because that is obviously very, very important to provide connectivity to all of our clients in different ways and geographies around the world.

[00:16:07] And those relationships enable us to bring forward the right collection for the right solution to present ideally to their current business problem.

[00:16:20] And then lastly, I think what you mentioned about culture, one of the unique things at Myriad that's helped us evolve and grow over 21 years is the belief from our founder, Andrew Fisher, that if our team is happy, our team is motivated, our team is supported, we're going to provide better custom resources and experience to our clients.

[00:16:47] And all of that is in a symbiotic relationship that helps us provide a unique experience.

[00:16:54] And, you know, I think we all can relate when you go to an airline and you get a bad experience from a person at a counter and you get a good experience from a person at a counter.

[00:17:03] The happy person is probably going to give you a better experience than the unhappy person.

[00:17:08] And if you live and breathe that in this rapidly changing, highly dynamic, fast-paced world that we live, I think you all also give our end clients a consistent experience over a long period of time with the same individuals which builds trust.

[00:17:26] Completely with you on that.

[00:17:28] And you also said at the very beginning of our conversation today, you talked about the challenge of scale, especially when implementing IT solutions across so many different regions and industries.

[00:17:39] And again, from everything you're seeing here, what are some of the most common challenges businesses face when scaling IT for structure on a global basis?

[00:17:47] And how do you address these?

[00:17:49] Because I would imagine there are so many different tech challenges as well as culture challenges as well.

[00:17:54] Well, we all are still living with the work by distance phenomenon, which I think is here to stay at least somewhat.

[00:18:04] And in our field, what we really focus on as we've scaled is identifying are those resources or people have the skills that we need?

[00:18:16] And are they, and do they have a desire to learn?

[00:18:21] And are they a cultural fit for where we're trying, who we are trying to be?

[00:18:27] And we are very thorough in our process of doing that.

[00:18:32] And once we acquire those teammates, we really want to invest in them, have them develop and build with us over a long period of time and enhance their skills.

[00:18:43] And as the industry changes, we know that the industry is going to continue to change.

[00:18:49] And we need to have a mechanism and a method to support, motivate and reward them as they continue to develop.

[00:18:58] And there's many options to do that.

[00:19:01] Everyone thinks we'll just give them more money.

[00:19:03] Well, that's one element, but there's other things.

[00:19:05] You know, there's recognition, there's investment in training and career development and all the elements that come together to make a culture.

[00:19:13] And we really focus on trying to do all of those things at an individual level.

[00:19:20] And when you do that very effectively, you can have a small group of people impact a very large group of people.

[00:19:28] And we're very good at doing that.

[00:19:31] So as the IT world continues to evolve, I'm curious, how do you attempt to stay ahead of the curve in delivering scalable, customized solutions that align with emerging business needs?

[00:19:44] Because you solve so many problems for businesses, but I'd love to know how you managed to solve some of those problems yourself and managed to stay ahead of the curve, which must be increasingly difficult now with the speed of technological change.

[00:19:57] It is absolutely difficult.

[00:20:00] And I think it's a combination of meeting and being out in the world with people and going to, you know, and going to and interacting with people, whether that be at conferences or with clients, understanding their current business channel challenges.

[00:20:18] You get to see firsthand what is happening.

[00:20:22] Yes, you can read things.

[00:20:23] Yes, you can watch, you know, videos and trainings as well.

[00:20:28] But what I find most impactful with that is meeting with people and seeing what they're doing to solve other problems.

[00:20:37] Because as you mentioned, the world is moving so much quicker that being aware of and how these new technologies and new solution sets are coming to affect organizations at the enterprise level is at a breakneck speed.

[00:20:54] We used to say it's a marathon, now it's a sprint.

[00:20:57] Well, now it's a sprint marathon, right?

[00:20:59] You're going to, it's a marathon length that you're going to run as at a sprint speed to try to keep up.

[00:21:04] And we all have to do that.

[00:21:07] And I think the last piece I'll say to that is this comes back to the human factor, which, you know, I believe very strongly in is focus on your areas of strength, not on your areas of weakness when it comes to technology.

[00:21:19] If you try to know and learn everything, it is extremely difficult to be relevant, impactful in all of them.

[00:21:27] But if you have areas of domain, that's fine.

[00:21:30] Let's build a collection of people that have different nuances of those within your team so that then you can speak to that holistic area as an organization.

[00:21:40] And as we enter 2025 with a fresh, reinvigorated, and passionate mindset, ready to make a difference, ready to do things differently and learn from the mistakes of the previous year, what do you see as the most significant opportunities and equally challenges for the IT industry?

[00:21:58] And how are you positioning yourself to remain a leader in this space?

[00:22:02] Because it's something magical around this time of year where we want to do things differently.

[00:22:05] But what are you seeing here?

[00:22:08] Yeah, I try to reflect on the previous year, what has gone well, what has not gone well from a personal development perspective.

[00:22:19] I also look at the industry as a whole, the economic industry, you know, how the stock market has performed with the geopolitical situation looks like they're all interweaved.

[00:22:32] And then I look at how do we best continue to evolve our skills and offerings in the areas of demand that is becoming more and more prevalent?

[00:22:44] And how do we steer our ship towards where the demand is and not focus on things that may not be solving those client needs as much or impactfully?

[00:22:58] And that's an art, not a science.

[00:23:01] And being able to do that in a way that puts you in a unique place, a differentiator place, possibly a first mover place, is also part of that art that I try to go through every year as I take this few moments in time to think through.

[00:23:20] Well, thank you so much for sharing a few moments in time to share your story today and know how precious your time must be, especially this time of year that we record this.

[00:23:31] And I guess if there's something we can do for you now, because some of the biggest names in VC funding, business and tech have either been guests or maybe even listened to this podcast.

[00:23:40] So is that a person you'd love to have a private breakfast or lunch with?

[00:23:44] Who would that be and why?

[00:23:45] Because he or she might just get to hear this.

[00:23:48] I'd love to see if we can make something happen.

[00:23:50] But who would it be?

[00:23:51] Well, I think there's two people I would probably say are pretty inspirational to me.

[00:23:57] One on the tech side.

[00:24:10] Longtime NVIDIA fan and ex-gamer way back when I was young.

[00:24:15] And, you know, just the trajectory and impact, but the sustainability and the perseverance, because that has not been an always rosy road.

[00:24:24] I think we all think about AI and what's happened to NVIDIA in the last few years.

[00:24:28] But it's been a long, long journey of him to drive through and get through that.

[00:24:34] And I think that that is a testament to his perseverance, a personal work ethic and pretty incredible human being.

[00:24:45] And then the other person I would think of that would be really interesting is Condoleezza Rice.

[00:24:51] I have always been a fan of Condoleezza Rice and what she's persevered through in her long career and the things that she has been able to overcome,

[00:25:02] but also impact in a more, I would say, reserved way, but with great impact.

[00:25:11] And her knowledge and expanse is quite impressive from a world perspective.

[00:25:15] And I think that would be a pretty unique lunch or breakfast, I'm sure.

[00:25:21] It really would.

[00:25:22] And we'll throw that out into the universe and see what we could manifest here.

[00:25:26] If either Condoleezza or Jensen are not listening, maybe somebody that knows will be listening.

[00:25:33] And this is their call to action to put a little whisper in their ear.

[00:25:37] Let's see what we can make happen.

[00:25:39] Hopefully we can make a meeting breakfast or lunch happen in California.

[00:25:44] But for anyone listening that just wants to find out more information about you, about your work at Myriad 360,

[00:25:51] anywhere you'd like to point everyone listening?

[00:25:53] Well, our website is myriad360.com.

[00:25:58] And we also are very visible on LinkedIn.

[00:26:02] I personally am also pretty visible on LinkedIn.

[00:26:06] That's my primary social media outlet.

[00:26:11] And you can come interact with us either through our website, through LinkedIn.

[00:26:15] And we would love to interact and talk and learn more about your business.

[00:26:21] Awesome.

[00:26:22] I'll have links to everything so people can find you nice and easy.

[00:26:25] And we covered so much there from the unique insights into some of those complexities and trends within IT,

[00:26:32] but also some of the best strategies for implementing IT solutions across different regions, industries,

[00:26:39] overcoming common challenges in multi-vendor environments, which I know is a big topic right now,

[00:26:46] and also the evolving dynamics between everyone involved here from channel partners, distributors, end users,

[00:26:53] the culture within an organization.

[00:26:55] I think you've really offered a window into how some of these relationships drive innovation and business growth.

[00:27:01] And I encourage everyone listening to reach out to myself or you and your team at Myriad 360 if they've got any additional questions.

[00:27:09] But more than anything, just thank you for starting this conversation today.

[00:27:14] Well, thank you very much for having me.

[00:27:16] And hopefully I can come back again soon.

[00:27:18] So as we conclude our conversation with Herb today, I think it's clear that Myriad 360's unique approach to IT solutions does go beyond technology.

[00:27:28] It's all about understanding client needs, fostering collaboration.

[00:27:33] These are the kind of things that ensure long-term success.

[00:27:36] And whether it is tackling AI-driven innovations, scaling infrastructure, or addressing security concerns,

[00:27:44] Myriad 360's focus on partnerships and culture collectively demonstrates the power of aligning technology with people and business objectives.

[00:27:54] But how do you see IT evolving in the face of rapid technological change?

[00:28:00] Are partnerships and human-centric strategies the key to staying ahead?

[00:28:04] Love to hear your thoughts on this.

[00:28:06] Please join the conversation.

[00:28:08] Share your insights.

[00:28:09] X, LinkedIn, Instagram, just at Neil C. Hughes.

[00:28:13] Let me know.

[00:28:14] But it's time for me to go now.

[00:28:15] I'll be back again bright and early tomorrow morning with another guest.

[00:28:18] Hopefully you'll join me again there.

[00:28:20] And I will speak with you all again.

[00:28:22] Bye for now.