🔒Rick Simonds, of Tyler Technologies, shares insights on cybersecurity

Rick Simonds is vice president and general manager of cybersecurity solutions at Tyler Technologies Inc. (NYSE: TYL), a Plano, Texas-based software provider that projects $1.1 billion in 2019 revenue.

Simonds was previously president and chief operating officer of Portland’s Sage Data Security LLC, which was acquired by Tyler in May 2018. Mainebiz caught up with the Yarmouth-based executive for an interview that’s excerpted below.

Mainebiz: What has changed the most since Tyler’s acquisition?

Rick Simonds: Before the acquisition, Sage was focused on the financial and healthcare sectors. Tyler is the largest U.S. software provider for the public sector. The acquisition has allowed us to expand our mission to the public sector.

MB: Any big changes in corporate culture?

RS: The culture and work ethic at Tyler are very similar to Sage’s — everyone goes out of their way to help you out. It’s been an extremely smooth transition. I can’t imagine working at a better company.

MB: What can you tell us about your own role at Tyler?

RS: My role is basically unchanged. I oversee 55 people, most of them in Yarmouth. My primary focus is sales and operations. However, our accelerated growth has made recruiting a priority.

MB: What’s your assessment of the talent pool in Maine?

RS: It’s been good, we’ve been able to fill our job openings. For the past year, we’ve been focusing on how to develop a team with younger employees. We’ve had great success hiring recent college graduates with a passion for cybersecurity. We can ramp up their technical skills fairly quickly through our training program. We’re also hiring interns 20 hours a week during the school year or full-time in the summer, and we’re looking to expand that program.

MB: To high school students in Maine interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity, what’s your advice?

RS: There are several schools in Maine with cybersecurity programs, including the University of Southern Maine, Southern Maine Community College, University of Maine at Augusta and Thomas College. We love being able to hire people from Maine. Maine residents should not have to leave the state to find good-paying jobs. Our goal is to provide people employment that turns into a fulfilling career.

MB: What sparked your interest in the cybersecurity field?

RS: I entered this field in 2002, when cybersecurity wasn’t even a word — it was called information security. Sage started out as a training company. Every year since then, the threat landscape has changed. I never know what I’m going to encounter — each day brings something new. Our team is constantly learning new skills to keep our clients safe. The people I work with are the most talented people I’ve ever worked with.

MB: What are some mistakes businesses make with regard to cyberattacks?

RS: A lot of businesses, big or small, think, ‘It won’t happen to me, it’s going to happen to the other guy.’ The reality is that attacks are often not targeted — they are opportunistic. Criminals are using automated tools, and everyone has an equal chance of getting hit with some type of malware.

MB: Anything particular to small businesses that you would highlight?

RS: They’re just as vulnerable, but they don’t have the same budget, personnel or expertise as the larger companies. There are basic steps small businesses can take that can eliminate up to 80% of the risk, such as having a good backup of your data, using a long passphrase instead of an eight-character password, and multi-factor authentication.

MB: In what is surely a high-pressure profession, what do you find most rewarding?

RS: For me the most rewarding part is helping clients and making a difference. If we can protect someone from getting attacked, great! If someone falls victim to malware, we can work closely with them and have a successful outcome. That’s a big win, and you feel good about what you’re doing.