Award-Winning Cloud Consulting, Training & Enablement Provider Lures Industry Leaders

Pittsburgh, PA – April 16, 2024 (Newswire) – River Point Technology (RPT), an award-winning cloud consulting, training, and enablement provider, today formally announced the addition of two industry leaders to its management team to support continued high growth. RPT has named Dane Smith, Managing Director of Global Client Engagement, and Steve Pantol, VP Service Delivery, bringing their years of experience to bolster an existing high-end team.

Welcome Dane Smith, Managing Director of Global Client Engagement

Dane Smith brings over thirty years of experience building and leading sales organizations from Sun Microsystems to VMware. He has achieved success in the startup world where he has been a founding member, board advisor, and investor and had the good fortune to be a part of multiple exits. Most recently Dane helped lead computer science and data science innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups at the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center. Dane’s comprehensive experience will bring a strong focus to RPT in growing the intellectual property portfolio and RPT’s value proposition to its global F1000 customers and partners.

Welcome Steve Pantol, VP Service Delivery

Steve Pantol joins RPT as a leader with a track record of building and scaling services organizations. Steve led the development of the Cloud Services team at a large solutions integrator and more recently supported scaling the cloud native consulting group at VMware that became VMware Tanzu Labs following VMware’s acquisition of Pivotal. The successes of executing on these high growth roles will bring critical experience to RPT to support our clients’ needs as they progress through their digital transformation journeys.

Jeff Eiben, CEO of RPT, stated, “I couldn’t be more excited to bring the level of talent that Dane and Steve possess to RPT. Their industry knowledge will bring immediate value to our clients, partners, and team. My main criteria in adding executive talent to RPT was for leaders that have had a demonstrated record of accomplishment and can hit the ground running in support of our company goals. With these additions to our high-end team, strong intellectual capital and a F1000 client base of household names, we can continue to be laser focused on successful customer outcomes.” 

River Point Technology’s award-winning team, comprised of some of the world’s best IT, cloud, and DevOps experts, delivers a comprehensive suite of consulting offerings, including:

Through its 5-star rated training programs on leading cloud platforms, RPT equips teams with the necessary skills to excel in the cloud. Additionally, the company’s flagship offering, the RPT Accelerator, is a subscription-based enablement program that helps enterprises achieve Day 2 success in the cloud, ensuring ongoing optimization and value realization. 

With its unparalleled expertise and dedication to customer success, RPT is poised to continue leading the way in cloud consulting and enablement. By empowering organizations to leverage the cloud effectively, RPT helps them achieve their full potential and accelerate their digital transformation journeys. 

About River Point Technology: River Point Technology (RPT) is an award-winning cloud consulting, training, and enablement provider, partnering with the Fortune 500 to accelerate their digital transformation and infrastructure automation journeys and redefine the art of the possible. Our world-class team of IT, cloud, and DevOps experts helps organizations leverage the cloud for transformative growth through prescriptive methodologies, best- in-class services, and our trademarked Value Creation Technology process. From consulting and training to comprehensive year-long RPT Accelerator programs, River Point Technology empowers enterprises to achieve Day 2 success in the cloud and maximize their technology investments.

No matter what industry you’re in, cyberattacks and data breaches are a daily threat. That’s why it’s so vital for DevOps and DevSecOps teams to protect sensitive data and secure access to business-critical resources. As far too many a corporate victim has learned, traditional security methods often aren’t enough. They leave organizations vulnerable to breaches, hinder agility, and place unnecessary burdens on IT teams. 

This is where the power of using HashiCorp’s Vault and Boundary in concert with each other emerges, providing a sophisticated security and access management solution that goes beyond cost savings. Together, they enable organizations to greatly improve security, efficiency, and enhance the user experience. However, seamlessly integrating these two powerful tools requires careful planning and consideration. That’s why we’ve pulled together some expert tips to assist with the journey.

  1. Understanding the Individual Roles: Understanding the distinct functions of Vault and Boundary is fundamental for effective integration.
  2. Planning and Design: Defining clear goals, user roles, and access controls is vital for a secure and efficient configuration.
  3. Authentication and Authorization: Determining the appropriate methods for user authentication and authorization ensures secure access to resources.
  4. Secrets Management: Establishing robust secret lifecycle management practices is crucial for protecting sensitive information.
  5. Session Management: Configuring secure session management settings is essential for controlling access duration and privileges.
  6. Monitoring and Auditing: Implementing comprehensive monitoring and auditing capabilities aids in maintaining visibility and responding to potential threats.
  7. Best Practices and Tips: Exploring additional recommendations for optimizing the integration and ensuring long-term success.

Vault: Provides organizations with identity-based security to automatically authenticate and authorize access to secrets and other sensitive data. It offers a centralized platform for storing, managing, and accessing secrets like passwords, API keys, and certificates. Vault enforces access control through granular policies, ensuring users only have the specific permissions they need for their tasks.

Boundary: Think of Boundary as a vigilant gatekeeper, meticulously controlling access to resources based on pre-defined policies and user identities. It acts as a session management layer, facilitating secure connections between users and target resources like databases, applications, and servers. Boundary leverages Vault for dynamic credential generation and access control enforcement, ensuring users only possess the necessary credentials for the duration of their session. Built for cloud-native environments, modern privileged access management from HashiCorp Boundary uses identity-driven controls to secure user access across dynamic environments.

By understanding these distinct roles, we can begin to visualize how these two tools can work together to create a secure and efficient access management solution.

Before starting the integration journey, planning and design is key. Here are key aspects to consider:

With a clear understanding of user roles and access needs, you can configure secure authentication and authorization mechanisms. Key elements to consider:

Securely managing secrets is critical for protecting sensitive information and preventing unauthorized access. Key considerations for integrating Vault and Boundary:

Controlling user sessions is crucial for maintaining a secure environment. When integrating Vault and Boundary, keep these things in mind:

Implementing comprehensive monitoring and auditing capabilities is essential for maintaining visibility into user activity and identifying potential threats. When Boundary and Vault work together, these things are to be considered:

When integrating Vault and Boundary there are many elements that need to be considered and prioritized for the journey. HashiCorp Terraform can be used for efficient configuration management and infrastructure deployment.  Consider configuring Vault and Boundary for high availability to ensure resilience and minimize downtime.

To get the most out of your investment with custom tips and strategy, reach out to RPT. We provide a tailored 360-degree approach that addresses your specific environment and requirements. Once our team of experts meticulously analyzes all pertinent information and carefully considers every relevant aspect, we are ready to craft exciting and innovative solutions tailored to your unique needs and circumstances.

By following these essential considerations and best practices you can successfully integrate HashiCorp Vault and Boundary to better protect your organization against external and internal threats. The result can be a more secure and efficient access management ecosystem that empowers your organization to thrive in the ever-changing digital landscape. Remember, security is a continuous journey, not a destination. As technology evolves, so do the techniques used by hackers and cybercriminals. That’s why it’s imperative for DevOps and DevSecOps teams to regularly review and update their organization’s security practices to stay ahead of the threat landscape. 

For more tips on how to maximize your investment in Vault and Boundary, read this.

Need help maximizing the benefits of using Vault & Boundary? Contact the experts at RPT. As HashiCorp’s 2023 Global Competency of the Year and the only HashiCorp partner with all 3 certifications (Security, Infrastructure, & Networking), you know you’re working the leading HashiCorp services partner. Contact [email protected] today. 

As organizations manage their digital transformation initiatives in today’s business world, their technology investments are often viewed under a microscope. Do they align with strategic objectives? Do they support the company’s innovation goals? Will they pose a business risk? And of course, how cost effective is the investment? Is it a financially responsible choice and what’s the ROI? When it comes to costs associated with protecting an organization’s vital resources, infrastructure, and data, many CTOs, CISOs, and CIOs have to weigh the cost of investment in new technologies vs relying on legacy systems that actually increase their exposure to nefarious actors.

The simple truth is that the typical security methods employed by many enterprises today often come with hidden costs: potential for costly breaches, increased vulnerability, wasted man-hours, and operational inefficiencies.  This is where HashiCorp Vault and Boundary come in. When leveraged together they deliver a host of benefits, including cost optimization, streamlined workflows, simplified compliance, and of course they reduce the risk and minimize the financial impact of security incidents.

Understanding the Traditional Cost Conundrum

Before exploring how Vault and Boundary save money, let’s examine the cost burdens associated with traditional security approaches:

Cost-Saving Advantages of Vault and Boundary

By integrating Vault and Boundary, organizations can unlock cost-saving benefits without compromising their organization’s security posture:

  1. Reduced Administrative Burden:
  1. Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity:
  1. Simplified Compliance Management:
  1. Indirect Cost Savings:

Long-Term Value Proposition:

While the upfront costs of acquiring and implementing Vault and Boundary should be considered, the opportunity for cost savings over the long term through increased efficiency, reduced downtime, improved security, and simplified compliance makes the investment financially sound.

By implementing HashiCorp Vault and Boundary together, organizations can optimize their financial investment in both platforms. Through automation, centralization, and streamlined workflows, these powerful tools empower organizations to achieve a balance between robust security and financial sustainability, paving the way for an organization to achieve long-term success in the ever-evolving digital world. 

Need help maximizing the benefits of using Vault & Boundary? Contact the experts at RPT. As HashiCorp’s 2023 Global Competency of the Year and the only HashiCorp partner with all 3 certifications (Security, Infrastructure, & Networking), you know you’re working the leading HashiCorp services partner. Contact [email protected] today. 

About River Point Technology

River Point Technology (RPT) is an award-winning cloud and DevOps service provider that helps Fortune 500 companies accelerate digital transformation and redefine what is possible. Our passionate team of engineers and architects simplify the deployment, integration, and management of emerging technology by delivering state-of-the-art custom solutions. We further position organizations to experience Day 2 success at scale and realize the value of their technology investments by offering best-in-class enablement opportunities. These include the subscription-based RPT Resident Accelerator program that’s designed to help enterprises manage the day-to-day operations of an advanced tech stack, the just-launched RPT Connect App, and our expert-led training classes. Founded in 2011, our unique approach to evaluating and adopting emerging technology is based on our proprietary and proven Value Creation Technology process that empowers IT teams to boldly take strategic risks that result in measurable business impact. What’s your vision? Contact River Point Technology today and see what’s possible.