Leaders in the cybersecurity industry are at the forefront of protecting digital assets and systems from cyber threats. These leaders possess expertise, innovation, and influence that shape the industry’s direction and standards. They play a crucial role in advancing cybersecurity technologies, policies, and practices to address the evolving landscape of cyber threats. They are pioneers in developing innovative solutions to combat cyber threats. Driving research and development efforts to create cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and behavioral analytics to enhance security posture and resilience.
Craig Miller (Partner and Practice Manager at Keep IT Simple) brings over 25 years of experience to the table, having worked extensively in IT and cybersecurity consulting, engineering, and support. His passion lies in cybersecurity, where he helps organizations design and implement secure infrastructure and data protection models aligned with cutting-edge best practices. He stays ahead of the curve by constantly monitoring new and emerging threats that target businesses, schools, and government institutions.
A Security Specialist with Deep Expertise
At Keep IT Simple (KIS), Craig leads a team that offers comprehensive cybersecurity consulting services. These include designing and deploying secure systems, along with responding to incidents like virus outbreaks. Craig is a strong proponent of prevention, and his team offers services like cybersecurity framework implementations, assessments, compliance checks, and vulnerability testing to proactively identify and address cybersecurity program gaps specific to each client’s requirements.
Craig’s dedication to his field is evident in his training, certifications, and memberships. He is a member of the Center for Internet Security (CIS) working groups, a Certified Ethical Hacker, a Certified Hacking Forensics Investigator, and holds multiple vendor certifications from Microsoft® and others. This extensive knowledge allows him to provide a well-rounded approach to cybersecurity.
36 Years of Excellence
Keep IT Simple (KIS) is a long-standing IT solutions provider based in Fremont, CA, with a rich history spanning 36 years. They have extensive experience serving both commercial and government organizations, having completed thousands of successful projects. KIS offers a comprehensive range of solutions, including network design, security services, virtualization, Cloud, telephony, IT outsourcing, and e-business solutions. Notably, they maintain full compliance with USAC requirements, hold Green-Light status with the FCC, and have a strong track record of delivering solutions under the e-Rate Program. Additionally, KIS holds contracts with CMAS and NASPO.
Founded in 1988 by Sean Canevaro, KIS was envisioned as a company that could address diverse client needs without being constrained by manufacturer sales incentives. Sean’s vision emphasized the importance of great people sharing their talents and expertise with both each other and their clients. Today, Sean remains at the helm as CEO, and his vision has become a reality.
Navigating Technology Trends
Throughout its history, KIS has continuously adapted to the pace of technological advancements, evolving from providing basic hardware to delivering complete virtualized networks. Despite these changes, their commitment to providing cost-effective solutions, maintaining quality, and delivering exceptional customer service has remained steadfast.
Over the years, KIS has expanded through strategic collaborations with six different companies, each contributing to building a more robust business. With one of Northern California’s largest multidisciplinary consulting staff, many of whom have been with the company for a decade or longer, KIS prides itself on being the best at what they do. They invite potential clients to discover how they can leverage their expertise to address their IT needs effectively.
From Military to Cybersecurity
At a young age, Craig Miller joined the military and served for 14 years, gaining experience in intelligence, reconnaissance, and other skills relevant to security in general. During his service, he also pursued college, including legal studies. In his military career, he served as an infrastructure engineer, developing general network design using Cisco, Microsoft, and Novell skills. This laid the foundation for his expertise as a network and systems engineer. Craig also served as an Intelligence Analyst responsible for securing data honing his security skills.
After leaving the military, Craig joined KIS and became a leader in building its services organization. Under CEO Sean Canevaro’s vision, KIS transitioned from a value-added reseller to a consulting and services firm. Craig Miller played a key role in formalizing this service offering and developing a new model with practice areas managed by practice managers. This collaborative structure allowed KIS to become a fully capable cybersecurity firm, where Craig now leads in acquiring and developing cybersecurity solutions and optimizing skills to support clients.
Leading Through Change
One of Craig’s biggest challenges was maintaining and developing the necessary skills for his team as the company evolved and formed multiple partnerships. There needed to be more in their ability to support clients across various technologies. To address this, Craig championed and implemented a formalized training program to ensure engineers and practice managers quickly acquired the needed skills. Given the rapidly changing market, particularly in cybersecurity, Craig Miller’s focus was on building a strong foundation in cybersecurity skills and advancing their capabilities specific to the client’s needs. This approach enabled the company to provide deep, efficient support to clients and stay current with emerging trends and technologies, continuously improving their service offerings.
Project Management Excellence
Craig explains that KIS offers various services, with cybersecurity being a primary practice area. Additionally, they specialize in cloud services, including private cloud and partnerships with providers like AWS and Microsoft. Their expertise extends to virtualization, working with major vendors such as VMware, Microsoft, and Amazon.
KIS stays committed to adjusting and optimizing its support of current and evolving markets, such as the recent VMware acquisition by Broadcom. Craig Miller supports consulting services to assist clients with best practices and formalizing their implementations. Moreover, KIS provides project management support, ensuring clients have the necessary oversight and management to complete projects effectively.
Holistic Service Delivery
KIS’s uniqueness lies in the deep understanding and knowledge within each practice area, coupled with the crossover of skills among them. Their cloud engineers, for instance, possess expertise not only in cloud technologies but also in areas like Microsoft, virtualization, and Linux. This interdisciplinary approach allows KIS to pull skills from different practice areas as needed to fulfill client projects or services internally. Unlike organizations that focus on vertical markets, KIS prioritizes the diverse needs of their clients, spanning various industries such as education, government, commercial, healthcare, and transportation. Rather than specializing in vertical application-level aspects, KIS focuses on enhancing their client’s ability to communicate, process data, and operate within their respective industries.
Recently, KIS introduced a Managed Service Provider (MSP) model to better serve their clients. This outsourced managed service solution encompasses desktop infrastructure, desktop as a service, infrastructure as a service, software as a service, and cybersecurity as a service. Although still in development, the management portion of the MSP model has been completed and launched over the past months. Despite being in its early stages, the service desk has garnered significant attention, with over five companies signing up solely through word of mouth. This success highlights the promising potential of the new practice area even before its full implementation.
Leading by Example
Craig Miller wants to highlight another practice area at KIS, the cabling and physical security practice, encompassing security cameras and physical layer infrastructure. This addition expands the KIS portfolio, reflecting the commitment to offering comprehensive solutions tailored to client needs. The success of KIS is rooted in the philosophy of prioritizing client success. While maintaining strong partnerships with vendors and market leaders, KIS’s primary focus is understanding and meeting the unique goals and objectives of each client. This client-centric approach has garnered long-term loyalty, with many clients remaining with KIS for decades due to their unwavering dedication to client interests.
From a young age in the military, Craig Miller learned leadership principles emphasizing proficiency and growth. Since joining KIS in 1999, his leadership philosophy has revolved around leading by example and fostering leadership among employees. Craig seeks qualified technical experts and individuals with leadership potential, aiming to develop them into practice managers and partners through mentorship and professional development programs. Several employees have already progressed along this path, with more on track to become practice managers and partners in the future.
Future-Proofing Cybersecurity
Transitioning from a military leadership role to being a team member and then a leader as a civilian was initially challenging for Craig, who had a more top-down leadership style. However, he learned the value of collaboration early on. Embracing a collaborative approach proved to be more effective in leadership and technology work. This shift in leadership style has been incorporated into Craig’s mentorship efforts, assisting other prospective leaders in their development.
Craig Miller has extensive experience in cybersecurity compliance, pen testing, incident response, threat analytics, and forensics. Through his experience, he has learned that cybersecurity, while important, is more manageable than often portrayed. His philosophy emphasizes the importance of identifying and protecting sensitive data, having immutable recovery capabilities following best practices, and maintaining visibility within the overall environment to detect anomalies and threats. Response is critical, and an incident response plan is a critical element of any cybersecurity program. He stresses the need for controls, policies, and procedures to be applied, along with implementing tools that can automatically respond to anomalous behavior.
Looking to the future, Craig predicts that cybersecurity will become more AI-focused, with AI being further integrated into various products and solutions to combat evolving threats effectively. He believes that AI will play a crucial role in the future of cybersecurity and is working to bring this to clients as vendors produce quality AI services in their products.
Blueprint for Tomorrow
Craig’s inspiration stems from his childhood experiences, particularly from his parents, who taught him the importance of taking ownership of his actions and self. This transferred to owning the client’s concerns as his own and consulting with them accordingly. Additionally, many early technology leaders influenced him, showing that one can start small and still achieve greatness through dedication and commitment. The consistent message Craig Miller received was that having a strong work ethic, applying oneself, and taking personal responsibility is crucial for success.
Speaking about his legacy, Craig thinks it revolves around leaving everything better than he found it. Specifically, he aims to create and grow KIS into a more prosperous, significant, and thriving business that can stand the test of time. His goal is to leave a lasting impact that others can build upon.
