WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:05.559 Are you looking for a good union job. The Inland Empires, 2 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:09.759 fourteen thousand members strong, Teamsters Local nineteen thirty two has 3 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:13.640 opened a training center to get working people trained and 4 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:17.399 placed in open positions in public service, clerical work, and 5 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:21.039 in jobs in the logistics industry. This is a new 6 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:25.719 opportunity to advance your career and raise standards across the region. 7 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:30.879 Visit nineteen thirty two Training Center dot org to enroll today. 8 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:35.320 That's nineteen thirty two training Center dot org. 9 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:40.000 Listing the KCAA Lewelinda at one O six point five 10 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:42.560 FMK two ninety three c F Brito Valley. 11 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:47.240 The information economy has a ride. The world is teeming 12 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:50.439 with innovation as new business models reinvent. 13 00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:51.520 Every industry industry. 14 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:55.920 Inside Analysis is your source of information and insights about 15 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:58.479 how to make the most of this exciting new era. 16 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:02.880 Learn more at inside analysis dot com, Inside analysis dot com. 17 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:05.400 And now here's your host. 18 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:05.799 Eric Kavanaugh. 19 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:12.480 Well, all right, ladies and gentlemen, Hello and welcome back 20 00:01:12.519 --> 00:01:14.920 once again to the only coast to coast radio show 21 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:16.680 that's all about the information economy. 22 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:18.200 It's called Inside Analysis. 23 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:20.640 You're true the Eric Kavanaugh is here, and folks I'm 24 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:23.840 very pleased to be talking about a very serious subject 25 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:26.799 today that is hiring in the federal government. We have 26 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:30.120 Chris Coldegato today with us, and he is from fedstack 27 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:34.480 and they're focused intently on this very challenge. And Chris, 28 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:36.200 there are lots of things that need to get done 29 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:38.719 in DC, as we all know, and you folks are 30 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:41.799 out there helping to make these connections. Tell us quickly 31 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:44.680 about fedstack, what you guys were built for and what 32 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:45.560 you're working on today. 33 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:51.040 Sure, thanks, Eric, so very quick on. Fedstack is actually 34 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:54.560 a new brand very focused on the federal. 35 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:56.680 Market. 36 00:01:57.159 --> 00:02:00.280 In fact, we are basically a unit that was worn 37 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:04.920 out of a workforce development organization called smooth Stack. So 38 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.400 this is actually a brand launch where we're actually expanding 39 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:10.960 our offering from what we're pretty well known to have 40 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:11.719 been doing. 41 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:13.840 In the market space until now. 42 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:19.400 So our focus has been how do we basically close 43 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:23.280 in on the skills gap specific to technology, right, there's 44 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:26.919 a lot of difficulty in hiring also in the federal space. 45 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:31.080 There's also a lot of competition in the open market 46 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:34.039 for pretty much the same pool of resources. So where 47 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:37.159 we differentiate ourselves is we're actually what we were calling 48 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:40.639 it creation of net new talent. Right. What that means 49 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:47.159 is we actually develop the talent from sources where you 50 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:49.360 would not usually find them. Right. So a lot of 51 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:52.759 new entrants into the technology market that have the high 52 00:02:52.840 --> 00:03:00.960 aptitude for grasping new technology, exiting military that would like 53 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.599 to break into the technology field. Basically, we created an 54 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:09.680 accelerated apprenticeship program where we are secret sauce is being 55 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:14.080 an immersive environment where we mirror the target environment for 56 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:18.840 our clients, be that direct to the government or some 57 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:22.120 of our system integrated partners where they're trying to meet 58 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:23.960 a particular requirement. 59 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:28.319 Yeah, so the do training where it is intensive training 60 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:30.879 and I'm presuming what you're doing is mimicking the work 61 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:33.479 environment where they'll be so they work with the technologies 62 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:36.039 that they'll need to be working with in the actual job. 63 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:36.639 Is that right. 64 00:03:37.080 --> 00:03:37.639 That's correct. 65 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:41.000 So we actually have a patent pending on this technology 66 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:44.280 for called mirror environment immersion. 67 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:45.039 Right. 68 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:48.879 So beyond just training them on the content, right, we 69 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:53.879 really tailored the curriculum specific to that job. Right, So 70 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.479 it's not just about training on one dimension, but really 71 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:01.199 the full breadth of skill set that's required to deliver 72 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:05.719 the job. For day one, So whether that's cloud, whether 73 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:09.280 that's actual programming or even consulting skills and knowledge of 74 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:12.080 the domain where they're going to be deployed. So we 75 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:17.079 really tailored environment specific to the requirement and then basically 76 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:20.319 run them through anywhere from a ten to twelve week 77 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:26.600 window against a full time, full time absorption of the 78 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:30.199 material where we provide all the lab environments set up 79 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:35.439 for that the trainers, the product owners mimicking and simulating 80 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:39.040 what they would face when they actually work on day one. 81 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:39.920 Yeah. 82 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:43.360 Well, and there's lots of new technology to learn these days. Obviously, 83 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:46.519 Artificial intelligence is very much top of mind for people. 84 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.279 You have models that need to be designed, they need 85 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:53.160 to be trained, You've got AI infrastructure to worry about. 86 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.800 Do you cover that whole spectrum everything from the IT 87 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:00.360 infrastructure to the model designed, the training, that kind of 88 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:00.920 fun stuff. 89 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:02.199 Oh, absolutely right. 90 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:04.720 So we will focus on what is in need today 91 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:09.680 and we actually continue to continue to scan the market 92 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.000 of what's emerging. So we want to be able to 93 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:15.439 stay ahead of what's coming. So we focus on five 94 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:19.199 key areas right, data and AI. Right, So a lot 95 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:21.839 of the data engineering, big data analytics and so on, 96 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:25.600 a lot of the new AI models are coming out there, 97 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:30.519 the traditional applications development regarding regardless of what stack that 98 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:33.639 may be UH, and then digital platforms. There's a lot 99 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:37.160 of COTS packages, ERP packages for example, low code, no 100 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:42.800 code type of technologies UH, including infrastructure solutions, cloud hybrid 101 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.720 and so on, including the way we do DevOps for 102 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:50.040 deployment and packaging all that UH into those target environment. 103 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:52.639 And finally, of course, across the board, you need to 104 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.800 have cybersecurity for secure applications and platforms. 105 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.199 Yeah, cybersecurity, I mean there's a space that will never 106 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:02.439 ever ever go away. It's harder than ever, but you 107 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:04.519 do have better tools than ever too. So how do 108 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:08.279 you yourselves keep on top of the latest technologies? Do you 109 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:13.079 hire consultants and practitioners from these environments? Let's just pick 110 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:16.800 cybersecurity as one, because it's its own entity. Do you 111 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:19.519 go out and get folks from the big firms to 112 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:22.079 come on and be your trainers and your consultants? 113 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:22.759 How does that work? 114 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:27.759 So we have a pretty large partner network. So we 115 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:31.160 partner both from a strategic alliance with the vendor providers 116 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:36.360 for example. So we create those partnerships where we are 117 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:42.160 basically seen as workforce providers, and then we basically look 118 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.879 at those trainers or the experts experts from the various 119 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:47.879 fields that we're trying to surface. 120 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:48.199 Right. 121 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:51.680 So, in fact, actual that's a good segue into the 122 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:56.959 expansion of our offerings beyond creating this apprenticeship cohorts, where 123 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:01.240 we're now actually extending our services to our partners, where 124 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:03.839 some of the folks that they have that may have 125 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:07.920 been working on the same maybe legacy applications that now 126 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:11.399 have to transition to the modern technology as new platforms 127 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:13.600 get rolled out, they need to be able to keep 128 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:16.279 pace with that, right, so we bring in the trainers 129 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:21.480 that will help the transition from legacy to modern digital platforms. 130 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:24.959 And there are lots and lots of new platforms. You 131 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:27.920 mentioned low code, no code that's been a very hot 132 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:31.000 topic the last few years, where you just have a 133 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:35.600 nice graphical user interface and it's typically a drag and 134 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:39.160 drop where you pull together different components and under the 135 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:42.000 covers they handle all the code development, all the code execution. 136 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:42.439 Right. 137 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:47.680 Absolutely, Actually there's some exciting things that actually beyond the 138 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:51.519 local no code now with AI, right, AI itself is 139 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:55.439 actually needs to work together with the folks that we're training, 140 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:58.839 because you're no longer just training them the basics of programming, 141 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:01.480 but how to ask the program. 142 00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:02.879 With AI as an assistant. 143 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.360 So it's a little bit of a new game, right, 144 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.680 It's almost a game changer where you know, one person 145 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:13.199 needed to learn the very basic coding principles. Now you're 146 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:16.399 doing local no code and reuse, dropping and dropping GUI 147 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:19.120 on top of the thing, and now AI itself. You 148 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:21.319 give them a prompt and it's writing a lot of 149 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:23.480 the code for you. So being able to live in 150 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:28.040 that environment that the expectation is really accelerated outcomes. 151 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:31.879 Yeah, and of course jen ai is very hot these days. 152 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:34.679 But the problem with jenais you probably know, is that 153 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:38.360 it is probabilistic, so it's not deterministic. I think that's 154 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:41.200 one reason why you see so much emphasis on the copilots, 155 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:44.519 on the helpers, the digital assistance, because the human can 156 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:47.559 then still make a judgment about what to do. You're 157 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:49.440 not just turning the gen AI and letting it do 158 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:51.679 the job. Is that your impression as well? 159 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:53.200 That absolutely? 160 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:58.120 Oh absolutely, I think a lot of this hallucinations happened 161 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:00.879 right with some of the It depends on what you 162 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:04.279 use for training the models, So you know, part of 163 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.960 the decision making would be when do you point Copilot 164 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:10.840 or others into like external resources where it can be 165 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:15.360 corrupted by a lot of the unvetted information that's being 166 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:19.720 formed to form your answers versus trusted sources for training 167 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:20.679 in house. 168 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:24.600 Potentially that would allow actually more reliable answers. 169 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:28.279 And you know, one of the technologies that fascinates me 170 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:29.879 the most, and I'm curious to know if you've heard 171 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:34.320 about this process mining companies like Salonis Software g there's 172 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:37.000 a few of them out there where you track typically 173 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:41.639 the digital data footprints through various information systems to see 174 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:44.960 what's actually happening. To me, that is an incredibly powerful 175 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:50.159 technology for rewriting, reinventing information systems to kind of catapult 176 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:51.320 them into the modern age. 177 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:52.159 What do you think, Oh? 178 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:55.639 Absolutely, I think that that saves a lot of time, right. 179 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:59.039 You know, you've done a lot of methods in the past, 180 00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:02.679 the versus engineer, and this really helps a lot, especially 181 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:05.000 when you're doing modernization, right, it takes a lot of 182 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:07.799 time to try and trace and ensure that you're able 183 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:10.679 to keep the functions that you want to keep and 184 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:13.360 how to design for the future, and something like this 185 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:15.080 really accelerates that analysis. 186 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:19.360 Yeah, and open source is a big deal too. Open Source, 187 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:23.919 I think has revolutionized the information technology landscape, certainly on 188 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:25.879 the app development side, I mean all the way down 189 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.279 to Linux and the Linux kernel and the work that's 190 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.559 being done there, but the entire data stack now has 191 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:34.759 been opening up to open source technology. Are there concerns 192 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:39.559 in federal use cases for open source because the source 193 00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:40.080 is open? 194 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:41.240 What do you think about all that? 195 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.279 I think in the early days there's been a lot 196 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:46.840 of concern But there's like two thoughts on that. 197 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:47.080 Right. 198 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.600 There's still a lot of folks that kind of want 199 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:53.440 to look at closed systems. But what we're finding out 200 00:10:53.559 --> 00:10:55.639 is a lot of folks say, hey, because it's an 201 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:59.559 open system, it's been tested more thoroughly than any closed 202 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:02.519 system that's out there, that they may actually renders them 203 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:05.240 more secure. You know, I could go both ways on 204 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:09.120 that one, but it really depends on how sensitive the 205 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:13.360 systems you're developing and how you know whether you are 206 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:17.320 exposing vulnerability in an open setting or it's a mature 207 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:23.200 enough platform that's been really thoroughly tested that makes it trustable, 208 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:26.240 like Linux, you know, was in the same boat at 209 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:28.279 some point, and now it's all over the place. 210 00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:31.240 Right now, and now it's the enterprise standard for sure. Absolutely, 211 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:35.080 and we all keep hearing about this it skills shortage, 212 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:38.039 and you know, I don't really know what to make 213 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:39.559 of it all. There are lots of people, I'm sure, 214 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:42.200 who want to learn all those things, and you're filling 215 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:45.440 that gap, right, I mean, you are training and retraining 216 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:48.600 people to learn how to use all the new technologies. 217 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:50.679 And you know, the fun part is that Jenai can 218 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:52.919 be a big part of that, right. You can load 219 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:56.759 instruction manuals into a Genai solution and then just ask 220 00:11:56.799 --> 00:11:59.440 it all kinds of questions. In that environment, it seems 221 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:02.399 to me they're very very very powerful and very effective. 222 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:04.759 They don't hallucinate as much because they're just pointed at 223 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:07.799 a particular document. Is that what you found as well, 224 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:10.879 that Jenny I can be a very powerful copilot in 225 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:13.200 helping to train people to to use new technology. 226 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.840 Well, absolutely, And I think a lot of the younger 227 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:20.879 generation factor growing up with gen Ai access already, right, 228 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:25.440 So we have to adopt our training mechanisms and methods 229 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:29.480 in order to incorporate that in the learning management systems. 230 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:32.960 That we actually have ourselves in house, and so we 231 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.320 need to constantly look for new ways of actually training. 232 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:39.960 As you know, we're trying to train and reskale some 233 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:42.960 of the folks that are more used to the older technologies, 234 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:46.240 and then you have the folks are new younger generation 235 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:48.960 are upcoming that expect that this is the way they 236 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:50.399 want to learn in the future. 237 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:53.360 So we're trying to have that happy medium. 238 00:12:53.799 --> 00:12:56.559 But the future really is everything's going to be uh 239 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:00.759 gen AI or agentic AI system. 240 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:02.840 Yeah, and that actually brings up a really good point. 241 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.360 I'd be curious to get your thoughts as a trainer, 242 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:08.320 as someone who is working for a company that trains people. 243 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:13.279 We now have arguably five generations in the workforce with 244 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:17.480 very different cultural norms, very different tendencies and more rays. 245 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:19.039 How do you tackle that. 246 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:23.399 Do you actually address that programmatically to treat people of 247 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:25.000 a certain age one way and people of a certain 248 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:27.960 age a little bit different just because of their cultural diversity, 249 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:29.200 or how does that actually work? 250 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:32.480 Yeah, we absolutely need to consider that. 251 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:35.919 Right, So when we're built out some cowards in the 252 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:41.039 screening process as we are customizing the curriculum, that's part 253 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:43.639 of the consideration. What is the makeup of that cohort. 254 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.360 For example, if that's a mix of all five generations, 255 00:13:46.679 --> 00:13:48.600 you've got to be able to cater to what's the 256 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.000 most effective technique and I just deliver the content the 257 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:54.519 material in a one size fits all manner. 258 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:58.279 Yeah, that's interesting too, So you know, maybe you could 259 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:01.879 share with our audience a bit how you track those 260 00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:05.200 kinds of things, the techniques that you use, which sessions 261 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:07.000 you have people joined to. 262 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:09.759 Train, and then the efficacy of that down the road. 263 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:12.360 I mean, I know fed stack is new, but from 264 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:15.639 your smooth Stack experience, for example, how much are you 265 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:19.919 able to track, measure, and then ascertain the efficacy of 266 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:23.200 certain programs to certain demographics and then monitor it and 267 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:24.320 modify that over time. 268 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:25.200 Yeah. 269 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:28.879 So that's actually a really good question because that's the 270 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:31.320 reason why we actually came up with our own learning 271 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:33.440 management system to be able to track everything. 272 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:33.759 Right. 273 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:36.200 So when you look at a ten to twelve week 274 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:41.879 process and cohort, every week is basically an evaluation where 275 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:45.279 actually the progress of the entire class comes in, right, 276 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:48.159 So we're trying to develop a cohort. In fact, it's 277 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:50.960 no guarantee that they're actually going to graduate, right, So 278 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:54.759 the efficacy of how we teach that is very important, 279 00:14:54.840 --> 00:15:00.159 but also the evaluation factors because we're very selective on 280 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:02.840 the folks that we deploy out there for contracts, so 281 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:05.360 we may start up with a very large number, but 282 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:08.440 by the time if we're finished and only the stream 283 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:13.080 of the crop actually surfaces at the end, so we're 284 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.360 a heavier aligned on metrics. And even after the courses 285 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:19.480 are done, we do checkpoints, right the first thirty days, 286 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:22.759 the first sixty days, what's your feedback of what would 287 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:27.559 you rather us have done. Now that you actually have 288 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:31.440 experience in working this and applying this on your current project, 289 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:33.639 then we use that for the training of the next 290 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:35.240 gohard in order to improve it. 291 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:39.679 That's very impressive. You developed your own learning management system. 292 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:42.399 If you sometimes you got to roll your own right. 293 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:45.279 You have to figure out what you need done, what 294 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:47.759 functionality you need baked into this system, and if you're 295 00:15:47.799 --> 00:15:50.399 a large enough organization, sometimes it makes sense to just 296 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:52.320 build out your own systems. 297 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:53.399 That's pretty impressive. 298 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:55.960 So I'm guessing you had some experience with learning management 299 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:58.120 systems and you're like, you know what, we got to 300 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:00.200 really roll up our sleeves and build this out. 301 00:16:00.200 --> 00:16:02.000 Ourselves. How long did that take? Roughly? 302 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:02.279 Do you know? 303 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:06.279 Well, it's actually born out of necessity. So when the 304 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:10.320 organization started a smooth stack five six years ago, it 305 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:14.360 was an in person learning. We actually bring our students here, 306 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:18.000 put them in apartments, and we have a whole training 307 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:22.039 facility in house. When COVID hit, everything had to go 308 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:24.720 to virtual and we had to rapidly come up with 309 00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:27.919 a way to be able to deliver those same, you know, 310 00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:31.480 quality programs in a virtual manner. And that's what actually 311 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:34.320 prompted us to say, hey, we really need to create 312 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:37.440 our own learning management system in order to deliver what 313 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:40.799 we're able to deliver in an in person manner. 314 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:42.679 Mm hmm. Yeah. 315 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:48.519 COVID was quite the forcing function right to use technology term. 316 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.039 It really forced us all to take a very hard 317 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:56.879 look at processes, workflows, access to data, access to information systems, 318 00:16:56.919 --> 00:17:00.679 and security for goodness sakes. I mean, with everybody working 319 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:04.920 from home now, your threat scape is much larger because 320 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:08.960 you have all these devices everywhere, computers that are outside 321 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.200 of your data center, phones that are outside of your 322 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:14.960 purview at least in the corporate office, et cetera. So 323 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.000 that was a real wake up call for you guys 324 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:20.359 that you had to go and reevaluate and redesign how 325 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:21.279 you do these things. 326 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.519 Right, Absolutely, absolutely. 327 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:26.119 Yeah, that's that's pretty impressive. And let's get into in 328 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:26.759 the next segment. 329 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.240 We'll get a bit deeper into the cybersecurity side, just 330 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:33.240 because that is so important and I happen to know 331 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:38.240 from experience that cybersecurity is a constantly evolving, constantly changing 332 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:41.480 environment and to stay on top of things you need 333 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:44.759 to do. Of course, all the basics, password management, things 334 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:47.559 of this nature. Biometrics of course are really coming into 335 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:51.119 play these days. But you need to be monitoring the network, 336 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:52.960 you need to be monitoring the apps, you need to 337 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.880 be monitoring the behaviors of all these people. And there 338 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:59.599 are hundreds and hundreds of security solutions you can use, 339 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:02.319 some like I suggest, that focus on the network, some 340 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:04.880 focus on the apps, some focus on the users and 341 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.599 kind of watching, and some take a more holistic approach. 342 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:10.680 And of course, with machine learning you can track these 343 00:18:10.680 --> 00:18:14.519 things more and more assiduously over time. So when we 344 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:16.279 come back from the break, we'll be talking again to 345 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:19.920 Chris Coligado. He is with fed Stack. This is a 346 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:23.440 new brand that's coming out of the smooth Stack organization 347 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:26.440 that's been around for a while. They do it services, consulting, training, 348 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.599 helping people learn how to do the jobs of the future, 349 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:32.279 which are you know, it's the jobs of today, right 350 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:35.839 staying on top of these systems and keeping them safe. 351 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:39.119 Because if the government isn't safe, who is safe? Well, folks, 352 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:43.799 don't touch that deb Right back, you're listening to Inside Analysis. 353 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:53.720 Welcome back to Inside Analysis. Here's your host, Eric Tabanac. 354 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:58.920 All right, folks, back here on Inside Analysis talking to 355 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:02.359 Chris Coligato of fed Stack. This is a new brand 356 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:05.160 that's coming out of smooth Stack and Chris, in the 357 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:07.880 last segment, you were talking about how COVID was a 358 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:10.200 forcing function. COVID kind of woke all of us up 359 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:12.799 in lots of different ways and we had to pay 360 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:16.480 close attention to what we're doing. You have to create 361 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:19.400 these immersive experiences for people. So I guess one question 362 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:22.599 I'll ask you is VR. Are you using virtual reality 363 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:23.640 for any of this training. 364 00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:28.400 We're starting to use VR in certain segments, especially in 365 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.640 the enterprise side of things, because some of the clients 366 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:35.920 are actually in the virtual reality environment. So we're experimenting 367 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:39.039 a little bit of that right. But again it goes 368 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:43.079 back to learning learning preferences. So you know, if we 369 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:47.160 are looking at a cohort where they're really receptive to 370 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:52.799 virtual reality, augmented reality type of learning process, you'll surely 371 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:56.960 explore that. So far, it hasn't been much demand for 372 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:01.279 that type of immersion levels, but something that they were 373 00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:02.079 definitely open to. 374 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:03.400 Yeah. 375 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.160 Well, let's let's take back into the cybersecurity. I mean, 376 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:08.880 how how do you stay on top of all the 377 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:12.920 latest do you interface with companies like Splunk or. 378 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:15.279 Solar Winds. 379 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:19.200 Of course, they had their experience with being hacked themselves, 380 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:21.880 which I thought was one of the craziest hacks. I mean, 381 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:26.440 we've seen some really some bad hacks lately. Snowflake was hacked, 382 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:28.440 a lot of customer data was stolen. How do you 383 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:30.720 guys stay on top of the security space to make 384 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:33.359 sure that you are training people for this new generation 385 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:34.200 of technologies? 386 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:37.640 So yeah, it goes you know, I actually just brought 387 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:41.359 in one of our cybersecurity UH experts is going to 388 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:44.640 be leading that us for the our Tier one consulting arena. 389 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:49.920 But you know, so far we've been basically working our network, 390 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:54.119 whether it's a product based you know, as you mentioned 391 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:56.680 all all those things that you mentioned earlier. Some of 392 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.799 the product vendors but also even some of the training 393 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:04.319 vendors that are out there, they're already delivering these types 394 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:08.119 of methodologies in the defense and Intel spaces. 395 00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:09.359 We keep track of. 396 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:11.640 That and we create a partnerships on how to actually 397 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:16.680 develop the curriculum together. They usually deliver a lot of 398 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:20.279 these things either in a just urst of content, more 399 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:23.880 of a boot camp style content push, and some of 400 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:26.480 them are very focused just on the certification. 401 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:26.400