Jason Hagens, CEOEach year SWAT picks an overall theme to rally behind. This year we have chosen KAIZEN. This Japanese word means “continuous improvement,” and as SWAT turns 18 it is a perfect time to focus on just that. Our goals, accountability, and transparency will all mesh to make our final years as a teenage company the best they can be.
Our first focus with KAIZEN will be on automation and scalability. Just recently, our UPS driver reminded us of the days when big servers were shipped on a regular basis. Now, less than 10% of SWAT clients have Exchange on premise as we shift to using servers that are spun-up in the cloud. Our clients’ transition from physical to virtual servers is environmentally responsible and, even more amazingly, has occurred in roughly four years.
Security will continue to be a critical focus for us in 2018. The breaches grow in size and complexity. In order to stay in front of them we will continue to improve our practices surrounding passwords, policy changes, and end-user education. Our clients can expect security conversations to happen in their regular QBRs. It is time to get Sherman and Chancellor back on the team!
With commute times increasing in the Seattle area we are seeing big trends in the remote-worker space. As this happens, SWAT is working to ensure the best experience for both employees and employers. We are strengthening our skills to implement best-in-class tools like Zoom, softphones, and Skype. Making work measurably more convenient and efficient will benefit both SWAT and our clients in the end.
As part of our KAIZEN theme launch, the big saying flying around the office this quarter is, “A better me + A better you = A better SWAT.” We will be looking to our clients, peers, prospects, and friends to help us on our mission for continuous growth and improvement. As we always say, we are not looking to be the biggest, just the best! We are here to provide white glove IT services so our clients can focus on what they do best. May 2018 be a year full of intentional improvement for us all.
