Galactic Universe Agenda
MAY 14 - 15
NASHVILLE, TN
Whether you are a business owner, engineer or someone in sales,
Galactic Universe has the information you need to save time, grow your security and compliance program and move fast. CaaS fast.
CEO / Owner – Looking for your next big product offering? Looking for ways to get your clients to invest in cyber security and compliance. Running an MSP is a ton of work and your todo list is a mile long. No need to invent everything yourself. Universe has the stuff you are looking for.
Engineer / Security Expert – Want to learn ways to deliver cybersecurity and compliance easier? Need to understand how everything ties back to a standard source? Dealing with the day to day as an engineer at an MSP is like running in quicksand some days. We get it. If you are looking for a fast way to get caught up. Universe is the place for you.
Marketing / Salesperson – Have you been tasked with selling cybersecurity and compliance? Trying to figure out how to communicate the value of a compliance program to a stakeholder that is stuck on no. It is like learning a new language. The best way to learn a new language is submersion. Even better than submersion? An accelerated class with a group of peers that are trying to expand their programs too. Universe awaits.
Tuesday, May 14
8:00 am to 8:45 am Registration & Breakfast
Gateway Ballroom Pre-function Area
9:00 am to 9:45 am Session One: Beyond tomorrow - Thriving and winning even when AI threatens to leave your team replaced, displaced, and unemployed
Gateway Ballroom
Beyond tomorrow: Thriving and winning even when AI threatens to leave your team replaced, displaced, and unemployed
AI is casting a shadow over the MSP market. Do you see it? Here’s a scary thought. Right now, you’re training AI to do your job. You’re asking it to write and fix scripts, and to train tools like Intune. Ready for something even scarier? Imagine a day when there are no more computer problems because the system is self-healing.
How do you prepare yourself for this day?
A solid strategy and a new approach.
In this session, I’m going to share a few simple steps you can take to properly protect yourself, your career, and your company from this brave new world. I am going to give you a path out of the AI shadow.
The only way to thrive in a future where AI exists is to be smarter. Time for a new strategy that will keep your team from being replaced, displaced and unemployed. Are you ready?
Speaker: Bruce McCully
9:45 am to 10:30 am Session Two: Stakeholders need proof: Demonstrating the effectiveness of your security program
Gateway Ballroom
Stakeholders need proof: Demonstrating the effectiveness of your security program
Everyone is looking for one thing: progress. Whether it’s a stakeholder, regulator, employee (both users and admins), or even you, moving forward is what counts. But how do you demonstrate progress is happening? Do all parties involved understand and agree on what progress should look like? Will they see your work as adding value? How will you continue to focus on improving their security program?
These are all critical in communicating updates within a security program. Communication can often be the hardest part of the job, but it doesn’t have to be. We are going to show you a new method, one with very specific KPIs, that will help you communicate improvement, progress and a clear security vision. Security is the journey, and progress is the motivator that helps people stay on it. We will show you how to dynamically communicate your progress and keep everyone engaged.
CEO: Strategic Advantage: Discover new cybersecurity and compliance product offerings that can differentiate your MSP in the market, attracting more clients and enhancing your company's reputation.
Engineer / Security Expert: Enhanced Efficiency: Learn about new tools and best practices that can streamline your cybersecurity efforts, making your role more effective and less burdensome.
Marketing / Salesperson: Skillful Persuasion: Master the art of communicating the value of cybersecurity and compliance to skeptical clients, enabling you to close more deals and expand your customer base.
Speakers: Bruce McCully, Eric Near
10:30 am to 11:00 am Snack Break
Gateway Ballroom Pre-function Area
11:00 am to 11:30 am Session Three: Showing Progress: Leveraging Temporal Reporting
Gateway Ballroom
Showing Progress:
Leveraging Temporal Reporting
Anyone can say they have made progress, but the key is whether or not they can demonstrate it. If you want to engage your audience in a meaningful way, the story you tell needs to demonstrate the progress of your program over time. What if you had a way to show their cyber hygiene improved quarter over quarter? What about showing their security responsiveness? How can you align progress to a project plan or security roadmap? We all know that everything cannot be done at once, so why are we reporting like it is? It’s time for a brand-new process for security reporting. One that will show your team’s progress in completing a roadmap—over time. One that will focus your client on understanding what progress looks like and how its impact on their organization. PRO TIP: I will even show you the secret to successfully reporting improvements in a quarterly security briefing where you will document decisions needed to move forward.
CEO: Strategic Reporting: Learn a new process for security reporting that not only showcases your MSP's progress in implementing the security roadmap but also strategically communicates this progress to clients, enhancing their confidence in your services.
Engineer / Security Expert: Effective Documentation: Discover how to effectively document and demonstrate improvements in cyber hygiene and security responsiveness over time, ensuring that your technical efforts are clearly understood and appreciated by both peers and clients.
Marketing / Salesperson: Client Engagement: Master techniques for using quarterly and monthly reports to discuss security progress and address findings with clients, improving your ability to communicate complex information in a way that is compelling and reassuring.
Speaker: Bruce McCully
11:30 am to 12:30 pm Session Four: Beyond Delegation: Empowering Accountability in Risk Management
Gateway Ballroom
Beyond Delegation: Empowering Accountability in Risk Management
Great compliance programs keep your clients responsible for their decisions and actions.
Do you know what happens if you make decisions for your clients? You assume all of the risk and responsibility that comes with those decisions. How can you get them to see and own their risks? How can they see who the risk owners are within their organization? Time to flip the script. In this session, I will walk you through how to engage stakeholders and get them to appreciate your compliance program while having them shoulder the work of decision making.
CEO: Risk Management: Learn how to effectively transfer risk ownership back to clients, ensuring that your MSP is not unduly burdened by decisions that should rightly be managed by the client, thereby protecting your business from unneces sary liabilities.
Engineer / Security Expert: Stakeholder Engagement: Gain insights into engaging with client stakeholders to help them understand their role in managing risks, which enhances the effectiveness of the compliance programs you implement and supports better client outcomes.
Marketing / Salesperson: Client Education: Master techniques for educating clients about the importance of assuming responsibility for their decisions within the compliance framework, which can lead to more sustainable business relationships and improved client retention.
Speaker: Max Kurek
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm Lunch
Gateway Ballroom & Pre-function Area
1:30 pm to 2:15 pm Session Five: The Profitable Way: Third-Party Attestation and Evidence Collection
Gateway Ballroom
The Profitable Way: Third-Party Attestation and Evidence Collection
What if you could help a client provide all the evidence they need for a SOC2 audit in a matter of a week and a half (this work usually takes months)? Compliance evidence gathering is often painful and very manual—even if you are using an evidence aggregator. Would you like another option? Imagine being able to provide all of the evidence as you go easily without dedicating resources to collecting and curating evidence and validations. Up until now, that was just a pipe dream. MSPs had to do it the hard way. But now you can choose another route. We will show you how to capture technical, administrative and physical controls without having to dedicate weeks—or even long days—to getting everything documented. I will show you an easy implementation to WISP that is painless and educational. The new way to compliance attestation is profitable. If you aren’t taking advantage of it, you are missing out.
CEO: Profit Maximization and Efficiency: Discover a new method that drastically reduces the time and resources needed for compliance evidence gathering, turning a typically arduous task into a streamlined and profitable service offering.
Engineer / Security Expert: Simplified Compliance Processes: Learn about innovative tools and approaches that allow for continuous and effortless capture of compliance evidence across technical, administrative, and physical controls, eliminating the traditional, manual, and time-consuming methods.
Marketing / Salesperson: Competitive Advantage in Sales: Master the art of promoting this cutting-edge compliance service to potential clients, emphasizing how it simplifies their compliance journey and provides a faster route to audit readiness, which can be a strong selling point
Speakers: Eric Near, Julie Marvelli
2:15 pm to 3:00 pm Session Six: Your Security Program Beyond Compliance (CaaS in an hour or less)
Gateway Ballroom
Your Security Program Beyond Compliance (CaaS in an hour or less)
Well, you could go through and build out a program step by step. Spend countless hours. Grow old doing it. OR..... you could do it the easy way and make lots of money. What’s the easy way? I’m glad you asked. In this session we’ll walk through a process that many of our partners are already successfully using. We’ll go step by step, from signed agreement to your first quarterly security briefing and show you how to work smarter not harder and get the job done. This session is all about how to create a complete CaaS program, so that you can walk out and immediately begin. In this session we’ll teach you how to quickly deliver value and keep your clients responsible for their actions and their decisions.
CEO: Operational Efficiency: Learn how to rapidly deploy CaaS offerings in a way that maximizes profitability while maintaining high standards of service, ensuring your business grows sustainably and efficiently.
Engineer / Security Expert: Streamlined Processes: Understand the step-by-step process that simplifies the deployment and management of compliance programs, enabling you to deliver value quickly and effectively while keeping the technical aspects under control.
Marketing / Salesperson: Client Onboarding and Retention: Master the methods to not only kickstart the CaaS journey with clients but also maintain their involvement and responsibility, ensuring they see the value early on which aids in long-term client retention.
Speaker: Bruce McCully
3:00 pm to 3:30 pm Snack Break
Gateway Ballroom Pre-function Area
3:30 pm to 4:15 pm Session Seven: Client-Built Compliance – They Do the Work, You Get Profit
Gateway Ballroom
Client-Built Compliance – They Do the Work, You Get Profit
No one is talking about the easiest and most effective way to get compliance implemented. What if I told you there was a way to get stakeholders completely engaged in your compliance program and you got them to do all the work where they review policies and the framework, and you educate them on the process? We see this all the time in other industries, but in security and compliance it is a completely foreign concept. If they own their compliance, they have a stake in the game and produce something they are proud of. I will show you a way towards a 98% done solution where your clients do the rest. And the work will take four and a half hours from start to finish.
CEO: Client Empowerment and Efficiency: Learn a transformative approach where clients actively participate in their compliance setup, leading to faster implementation and reduced workload for your team, thus driving down costs and increasing scalability.
Engineer / Security Expert: Simplified Compliance Management: Discover a method that significantly involves clients in the compliance process, reducing your hands-on time while ensuring high standards are met through client education and participation.
Marketing / Salesperson: Client Engagement and Satisfaction: Master techniques to engage clients in a way that makes them active participants in their compliance journey, increasing their satisfaction and perceived value of your services as they contribute to and take pride in the outcomes.
Speakers: Julie Marvelli, Dave Groot
4:15 pm to 5:00 pm Session Eight: Building and Sustaining Relationship Capital Makes Higher Value Clients
Gateway Ballroom
Building and Sustaining Relationship Capital Makes Higher Value Clients
There is a formula to building strong long-lasting trusting relationships with clients. It is not easy, and it does take time. There are ways to grow tremendous capital quickly. That is where education comes into play. If you can create a high value service that delivers continual learning as part of your service, you will be set. Enter the vCSO. In this session, I will show you a method for strengthening relationships to the point where your clients will invest more in you.
CEO: Relationship Capital Growth: Learn how to measure and expand relationship capital with clients through educational services like a vCSO, enhancing client trust and investment in your services, which can lead to more significant business growth and retention.
Engineer / Security Expert: Value Enhancement: Understand how integrating continual learning and proactive security management into your service offerings can not only solve client problems but also build deeper trust and reliance on your expertise.
Marketing / Salesperson: Client Engagement Strategies: Master techniques for using educational tools and interactions (like webinars, emails, lunch and learns) to strengthen relationships with clients, making your services indispensable and encouraging higher investment in what you offer.
Speakers: John Dobbin, Thomas Bauer
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm Happy Hour
Gateway Ballroom Pre-function Area & Terrace
Wednesday, May 15
8:00 am to 8:45 am Registration & Breakfast
Gateway Ballroom Pre-function Area
9:00 am to 9:45 am Session Nine: Cyber Security Focus Ultimately Increases MSP Enterprise Value
Gateway Ballroom
Cyber Security Focus Ultimately Increases MSP Enterprise Value
Do your clients value what their investment in you? How would you like a formula —and path forward—to growing your MSP with higher valuation simply by revamping your security program. There is a path to bigger multiples, higher earnings and bigger valuations. It all starts with security services. In this session, I will give you a clear, easy to understand formula. In addition, I will show you the numbers and give you a playbook to see a higher organizational worth within your MSP.
CEOs: if you own an MSP enterprise value is certainly on your mind, hear from experts on how you can increase the speed you are growing enterprise value AND your profitability at the same time
Sales: more sales opportunities means more commissions
Engineers: growing companies that are highly profitable have bigger opportunities for their engineers
Speakers: Brent Whitfield, Seana Fippin, Bruce McCully
9:45 am to 10:30 am Session Ten: Supply Chains – Your Biggest Liability or Your Biggest Opportunity
Gateway Ballroom
Supply Chains – Your Biggest Liability or Your Biggest Opportunity
We have all seen the stories. Mass assaults impacting hundreds, even thousands, of businesses all because of a supply chain attack. Think about this: you ARE part of the supply chain, and if you aren’t compliant, neither is your client. In this session, I will walk through why you as their service provider need to adhere to a variety of compliance requirements and how you can easily implement a multifaceted compliance program—NOT just one at a time compliance—for your organization and then scale it to your clients. If you have one client with compliance needs, in all likelihood you have more—and they all are expecting you to have been doing their compliance all along. This session will show you the easy way to ramp up.
CEO: Compliance Strategy and Risk Management: Gain a comprehensive understanding of your role in the supply chain and how maintaining your own compliance directly impacts and safeguards your clients, helping avoid significant business risks associated with non-compliance.
Engineer / Security Expert: Implementation of Compliance Programs: Learn how to efficiently implement a multifaceted compliance program that meets various standards and can be effectively scaled across multiple clients, ensuring consistency and reliability in your security offerings.
Marketing / Salesperson: Client Confidence and Trust Building: Master the art of communicating the importance of compliance through your services, reinforcing how your proactive compliance measures protect clients within the supply chain and increase their trust in your MSP.
Speaker: Nate Taylor
10:30 am to 11:00 am Snack Break
Gateway Ballroom Pre-function Area
11:00 am to 11:45 am Session Eleven: Office Hours LIVE!
Gateway Ballroom
Q & A – Office Hours Live!
Galactic has been hard at work adding new reports, new processes, and new products for you. This is your chance to speak face to face with the sausage makers. This session will be a LIVE Office Hours. We will take questions from the peanut gallery and dive into issues that are burning in your skulls.
Speakers: Cody Kretsinger (ft. Max, Eric, Thomas etc.)
11:45-12:30 pm Session Twelve: Co-Managing A Security Program? Think Again
Gateway Ballroom
Co-Managing A Security Program? Think Again
You start your co-managed relationship thinking it is going to be a good situation, but then questions start coming up. How do you know what they expect you to own? What risks has your IT contact pushed off on your MSP? This quickly becomes a not-so-good situation as you find yourself shoved into the janitor's seat, that seat where you are blamed for everything and are expected to clean up every mess. In this session we will go through decision drivers for internal IT teams such as what their biggest challenges are, and how to get above IT when it comes to servicing their compliance needs. In this session I will walk you through this process and how you how your relationships from now forward can start with one simple step and lead to success. Find out how easy it is to work your way up the co-managed ladder.
CEO: Strategic Relationship Management: Learn how to clearly define roles and expectations in co-managed relationships, preventing misunderstandings and ensuring both parties benefit equally, thus avoiding being relegated to merely cleaning up problems.
Engineer / Security Expert: Operational Clarity and Efficiency: Gain insights on how to work collaboratively with internal IT teams, understanding their challenges, and positioning your MSP as a strategic partner rather than just a fallback option.
Marketing / Salesperson: Improved Service Positioning: Master the art of communicating the unique benefits of your MSP in a co-managed setup, ensuring that your role is seen as integral and proactive, not just reactive, which helps in climbing the co-managed ladder and securing more significant roles within client operations.
Speakers: Bruce McCully, Steve Nyman
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm Lunch
Gateway Ballroom & Pre-function Area
1:30 pm to 2:15 pm Session Thirteen: Getting the Not Interested Never Gonna Happen Client To Start Seriously Thinking About Their Security
Gateway Ballroom
Getting the Not Interested Never Gonna Happen Client To Start Seriously Thinking About Their Security
Think about your worst client. The fact is that client does not understand their responsibilities when it comes to security, and they do not understand their risks. They think they are and will be fine. Frustrating? Yes! They will go out of business if something happens to them, and you know this. Their risks are high. But how can you get them to see what you already know? I want you to change your mindset slightly on these people. I will show you a process to effectively address bad clients. Use it and you will be turning those worst clients into your best or sending them out the door.
CEO: Client Strategy Optimization: Learn a new approach to handling difficult clients that can either turn them into valuable partnerships or identify when it's more strategic to let them go, thus protecting your MSP from high-risk engagements.
Engineer / Security Expert: Effective Communication of Risks: Gain tools and processes for better communicating with clients about their security risks, using methods like threat intelligence emails, self-defense training, and penetration test results to make the risks tangible.
Marketing / Salesperson: Client Retention and Education: Master techniques for persistent and persuasive communication that helps clients understand their security responsibilities and the real risks they face, potentially transforming skepticism into trust and long-term commitment.
Speakers: Julie Marvelli, Ryan Barrett, Dan Hernandez
2:15 pm to 3:00 pm Session Fourteen: Your biggest vulnerability are the devices you don’t manage
Gateway Ballroom
Your biggest vulnerability are the devices you don’t manage
IoT is the new way in. Check the headlines. There are new exploits all the time connecting to your client networks. It could be a toothbrush, a printer, or even a light. Connected devices are a way in, and you know this, but you have questions. These devices are not typically managed by your team. On top of everything, they are hard to update, and most keep default settings when they install IoT in their homes or workplaces. So, here’s the big question: how can you find all these IoT risks and what do you do about devices you identify? We will be showing you a NEW way to hunt IoT devices in your client sites and a simple strategy toward communicating and alleviating the risks you may be shouldering right now because of these rogue network devices.
CEO: Risk Management Strategy: Learn a new methodology to identify and manage the security risks associated with IoT devices on client networks, enhancing your MSP’s capability to protect clients and reduce potential liabilities.
Engineer / Security Expert: Advanced Security Techniques: Gain practical knowledge on the latest tools and strategies for discovering and mitigating risks posed by unmanaged IoT devices, ensuring better security management across increasingly complex networks.
Marketing / Salesperson: Effective Client Communication: Master the skills needed to articulate the importance of IoT security to clients, explaining the potential risks and the solutions your MSP offers to prevent them, thus reinforcing the value of your services.
Speaker: Thomas Bauer
3:00-3:45 pm Session Fifteen: The Future of Cybersecurity is Now: The compliance super freeway to high octane ARR
Gateway Ballroom
The Future of Cybersecurity is Now: The compliance super freeway to high octane ARR
Are you ready for high octane ARR? In this session we’re going to hit the compliance super freeway and show you how to create a successful future by making the right decisions today.
The 2020's have seen historical changes in this field as hackers have grown increasingly sophisticated in leveraging bleeding edge technology and processes to secure and compromise organizations.
Compliance offers a way to increase your clients’ security while also building a strong future for your MSP.
At its core, a compliance program helps to identify and manage risks and catch cyberthreats before they turn into a full-blown data breach. It also creates the documentation that you need for cyber insurance and any other professional standards you need to meet. Regulatory standards are not going away, so the need is only going to grow, and they offer an opportunity for high octane ARR. That’s why the compliance super freeway is the best pathway into the future.
Buckle up!
Speakers: Cody Kretsinger, Lindsay Katz
3:00 pm to 3:30 pm Snack Break
Gateway Ballroom Pre-function Area
3:30 pm to 4:15 pm Session Sixteen: The Galactic Fly Wheel: Uncovering for opportunity and building momentum
Gateway Ballroom
The Galactic Fly Wheel: Uncovering for opportunity and building momentum
Events like Universe bring in a ton of good energy. Right now, we all have great intentions of getting more done and reaching higher levels. But we have all been to events and left with those good intentions. How would you like to leave this one with something more valuable than a car, something that sticks with you, something that actually gets results? Yes! It’s time to turn your biggest takeaways from Universe into huge returns in your MSP. Go Get IT.
PRO TIP: Don’t leave early because I will also be sharing something very exciting, a big new thing that will definitely be worth your time.
CEO: Strategic Implementation: Discover how to effectively harness the energy and ideas from Universe, translating them into actionable strategies that drive business growth and operational efficiency in your MSP.
Engineer / Security Expert: Practical Application: Learn how to apply the latest tools, techniques, and knowledge gathered from the event to enhance your technical capabilities and directly impact your daily operations and service delivery.
Marketing / Salesperson: Leveraging Insights for Growth: Gain insights on how to capitalize on the key takeaways from the event to improve your marketing and sales strategies, ensuring that the new ideas are implemented to attract more clients and boost revenue.
Speaker: Bruce McCully
4:45-5:00 pm Session Seventeen: Galactic Awards
Gateway Ballroom
Galactic Awards
Find out if you are driving away with a Rivian… and other awards (Galactic’s Universe has a ton of stars).
5:30-7:00 pm Dinner
Hotel Rooftop
