Today, Friday the 13th, is my last day with Gartner. I've been onboard for almost exactly 21 months now and have learned quite a few things about how the analyst world works. But... it's time for a change. It's time to get back to more of a field role where I can feel like I'm making a difference, seeing the needle move little by little. This is something you don't typically get to see as an analyst because, out of the hundreds of interactions you have each year, /maybe/ 10% result in some form of feedback, and only a small portion of that feedback is particularly meaningful.
On Monday I start my new role as security architect with a local, public company - K12. They're a leading provider of online education services, which I find interesting and exciting. In many ways, this will be a green field opportunity for me, working as part of an enterprise architecture (EA) team as they pivot into more of a DevOps style approach. More than anything I'm greatly looking forward to getting back to more hands-on work where I can see the fruits of my labors.
I'll be reviving this blog in the coming weeks as I start to get my feet wet with various projects. I'll also be putting up a couple retrospective posts about my time as an analyst. I've received a handful of queries from folks interested in working for the company, and so one of these posts will specifically target that audience.
Overall, I'm very much looking forward to the new opportunity! I can't wait to see how well my theories play in the real world. There are lots of exciting options to be pursued here, ranging from security analytics to risk analytics to SecDevOps automation. :) Now to see what sticks and what doesn't!! :)
