You’ve heard the phrase, “It’s lonely at the top.” Companies, after all, only have one CISO. Now there is a social network service called Wisegate that connects IT executives to each other so they have someone to bounce things off of. Wisegate is intentionally exclusive to keep the insight more valuable.
Chief information security officers (CISOs) are pretty busy people, what with all the data breaches, DoS attacks, malware and other issues they deal with on a regular basis. They don’t have a lot of time or opportunities to get together with their peers from other companies to trade war stories, compare how to approach a problem and share best practices. And yet this kind of information shared among equals from different organizations is some of the most helpful and valuable insight a CISO can get.
This is the premise behind the new social networking service called Wisegate, which my colleague Dave Kearns wrote about in August (see “Your very own club”). Founded by identity management guru Sara Gates, Wisegate is a private online community of senior IT executives who are too busy to network in person but who still want to share work-related information with other people who hold similar roles as themselves. Gates jokingly calls Wisegate “the anti-social social network.”
MORE: Website offers IT pros peer advice — no vendors allowed
“Once people get to a certain level in their careers, they don’t have other people in the same job role within their own company to bounce things off, but they still need a sounding board,” according to Gates. “Wisegate gives them the chance to communicate with others who face the same business and technology issues they do.” Gates says that high level IT executives typically have a peer network of four to six people. “If a CISO can turn to several dozen other CISOs and ask how they handle a specific issue at their companies, that’s a very valuable experience, and that’s what Wisegate enables.”
Wisegate uses a mix of old and new methods to communicate and collaborate. There’s the online social media side, which includes forums, interactive discussions, member polls and the like. Members also can meet via roundtable conference calls, on private phone calls and in person at forums that are hosted in various cities.
The value of Wisegate is in its exclusivity; not everybody can join. In fact, members must be invited to join and pay an annual membership fee. What’s more, they will be screened to be sure they have the right “job pedigree.”
“We don’t want to be another Facebook,” says Gates. “We are looking for quality, not quantity, in our membership.” She says the screening is meant to verify the applicant’s business identity. “We ask, ‘Are you a senior level person? Are you the only person who does your job?’ We want to reach the senior people who are isolated — the only ones in their companies to perform a job role. These are the people who need to find others who do what they do, and then share with each other what they know.”
There is a strict rule against letting anyone who works for an IT hardware, software or service provider company into the club. Gates says the “no vendors” policy is to keep supplier from trying to influence the members’ frank discussions. “We want our members to talk openly and honestly about their experiences with various products and services,” says Gates. “They can’t do that if a vendor joins the discussion. Rather than having vendors influence our members, we want our members to influence the vendors.”
One of the most popular features of the online network is the member poll. A member can design a question to get input from others in a poll format. It’s a quick and easy way to get the pulse of an issue.
Kristen Knight, director of privacy at Philips Electronics North America, joined Wisegate about three months ago. For her, membership is about time management. “I just don’t have the time to network with other people in my field,” says Knight. “Even when I go to privacy or security conferences, there isn’t enough time to really dig deep on issues with the other attendees. Wisegate gives me a focused group that can respond to my questions and ideas.” Knight also likes that she can join the Wisegate conversations at her convenience. “I read the polls and discussions when I have time. I don’t have to respond right away.”
Knight says she got good input from Wisegate peers when she posed her challenge of getting employees to adopt encrypted USB drives. The advice from others convinced her to modify her approach, which in turn resulted in a more successful rollout of the devices.
Deborah Wheeler is the global chief information security officer for Ally Bank and a five-month member of Wisegate. She likes the “no vendors” policy. “I feel like I can speak my mind without someone trying to sell me something,” says Wheeler. “I want to hear what other CISOs’ opinions are. I don’t want a sales pitch. If I join a forum on Facebook, my phone starts ringing right away with vendors who got my name from there. That never happens with Wisegate.”
Wisegate is emerging from its beta period and is accepting new members — if you meet the profile. Go to https://www.wisegateit.com/request-invite/ to learn more and to submit your request for membership.
Linda Musthaler is a principal analyst with Essential Solutions Corporation. You can write to her at LMusthaler@essential-iws.com.
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About Essential Solutions Corp:
Essential Solutions researches the practical value of information technology, and how it can make individual workers and entire organizations more productive. Essential Solutions offers consulting services to computer industry and corporate clients to help define and fulfill the potential of IT.
