Josh Dinneen, CEO of Blue Mantis, is a seasoned leader dedicated to driving the company's organic and M&A-fueled growth and continuously fostering innovation throughout the organization and its growing client base.
Formerly President of Blue Mantis, Josh spearheads efforts to enhance the company’s ongoing initiatives aimed at deepening client engagement and sustainability by delivering the optimal experience that produces measurable and positive business outcomes. Josh’s mantra for success is simple but consistent: client sustainability fuels company growth, which in turn, drives continuous innovation.
Blue Mantis is a private-equity-backed national managed services provider focused on cloud, cybersecurity, AI and digital transformation.
Blue Mantis serves mid-market and enterprise organizations by helping them identify and implement enterprise software solutions from firms like AWS, Arctic Wolf, Acronis, Cisco, Dell, HPE, Microsoft, and many others. Major customers include Cole Haan, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Liberty Mutual, Woodforest National Bank, and Boston Medical Center.
Can you share the journey of Blue Mantis from its inception to becoming a leading managed services provider in cloud, cybersecurity, AI, and digital transformation?
Blue Mantis has a 30+ year history of delivering innovative and proven technology solutions to mid-market and enterprise clients. We’ve been an integral part of their digital transformation journeys and, as your question suggests, we have also been on our own modernization journey, one marked by a dramatic expansion in the type of solutions we offer and the manner in which we help clients achieve positive business outcomes.
We have transformed from our roots as a small, regional reseller of hardware and software products to a national and now an international provider of next-generation services in what we call three core business “pillars” – cybersecurity, cloud and managed services.
As we have scaled our organization, we have also successfully attracted several new blue-chip executives to expand our leadership team. In doing so, we have strengthened our technical acumen, broadened our services offerings, refined our sales execution, and sharpened our go-to market strategies. These key leaders include Chief Operating Officer (and former CISO and CIO) Jay Pasteris; Chief Services Officer Steven DeMaayer; Chief Revenue Officer Terry Richardson, and our Chief Marketing Officer, Sarah Foote.
As a provider of next-generation solutions, we have also expanded our consulting capabilities and we are increasingly serving as a strategic advisor for our clients, surveying the hyper-dynamic technology landscape and developing the blueprint to help clients harness these technologies to support their businesses and attain measurable and positive outcomes. We have also continuously broadened our portfolio of product bundles and services, which include cybersecurity and risk management, cloud, networking, data center modernization, modern workspace, carrier services, resource management and the ability to offer any of those solutions as managed services.
Formerly known as Green Pages until our new brand identity and name change were unveiled in July 2023, the name Blue Mantis signifies our role as a strategic advisor, one capable of leading our clients into the future. In fact, the word mantis literally means a “seer, a prophet and one who divines.” This really captures our mission and our ethos.
What are the key factors that contributed to Blue Mantis' impressive growth rates in cybersecurity, cloud service practices, and managed services?
First, was our ability to remain keenly focused on the market opportunities we saw right in front of us. Second, was keeping our clients at the forefront of everything we do was critical. Third, we felt it was critical to undertake the transformation that has moved Blue Mantis from a gross profit, cost of goods sold model to a strategic services-led business aimed at driving business outcomes for clients. That dramatically changed the growth trajectory of Blue Mantis. To augment our organic growth, we also have made several acquisitions and added technical talent in these three key growth segments. These investments have paid strong dividends; we have achieved a five-year growth rate of 405 percent for cybersecurity, 119 percent for cloud service practices and 495 percent for managed service. We have also increased our headcount by 127 percent during that time.
Can you elaborate on the dual role of AI at Blue Mantis, both internally for operational efficiencies and externally for client services?
We have gone all-in on GenAI for both internal and external uses. To be successful in AI, data management takes on heightened importance. We are continuing to invest in our data enablement capabilities at our foundation. As a Microsoft partner, we had early access to Copilot and are at the forefront of Managed Services Providers harnessing the power of AI for enterprise customers. This point has been validated by customers, partners, and market observers in the IT channel.
For our clients, we began offering Managed AI Copilot Solutions in Q2 2024, a customized turnkey offering powered by Microsoft. We seamlessly and securely integrate AI into clients’ existing Microsoft Cloud environments with executive education, strategic planning, and managed services. Our GTM is based on an Assess, Modernize, Manage framework. Through our consultative approach, we have helped customers identify high-value use cases for GenAI, identify and remediate security issues associated with their data estate, and modernize data processing in support of GenAI use cases. Internally, we are leveraging AI across many functions within Blue Mantis. Whether it’s Microsoft Copilot or another AI technology, we are seeing significant productivity improvements as more use cases are identified and people become familiar with the technology.
What are some specific AI-driven initiatives or projects that have had a significant impact on your clients?
We are still in the initial stages of this technology wave and many clients are still formulating their strategy relating to applied GenAI for their business. The market is clearly in the education phase as clients are looking at “the art of the possible” as they look to take advantage of this emerging technology. The most significant impact we’ve seen is on two fronts. First, as clients begin to explore their data assets, this has revealed the expansive scope and magnitude of their data estate and caused them to revisit their data governance processes and expose new threat vectors for data leakage and data loss. Many clients have been surprised to find out just how much data they have and who has access to it. Second, when clients invest the time and effort to train their staff, time-to-productivity is greatly enhanced. Establishing command and trust of this new technology is critical to driving the type of impact that clients expect to see from their GenAI investments. Naysayers and detractors have been converted to champions and advocates when given the right baseline and this has had a significant impact with clients as they roll out GenAI solutions.
How does Blue Mantis stay ahead of emerging threats and manage risk for its clients?
We are a security-first firm, and we consider security to be the bedrock of everything we architect, build and support. As a provider of managed services, we are relied upon heavily by clients to be their eyes and ears and their first line of defense against their adversaries – whether insider or external threats. We stay ahead of these threats and help not only manage but reduce risk by offering a complete suite of cloud security, network and systems security and governance, risk and compliance solutions to meet all their needs. We put a high premium on security awareness training both internally and with clients to ensure we stay up to date on the latest vulnerabilities and attack methods. This involves threat intelligence feeds, security conferences, and industry best practice research. We also offer comprehensive security assessments to identify weaknesses in a client's existing security posture. This helps them prioritize potential risks and implement solutions tailored to their environment, industry and budget. For many clients we provide managed security services and 24/7 monitoring through Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions through partners like Arctic Wolf, as well as guidance and implementation services to assist them on their Zero Trust journeys.
By combining these approaches, we provide clients with a comprehensive security strategy that adapts to the evolving threat landscape and increases their vigilance against cyberattacks.
Can you discuss any recent cybersecurity trends or challenges that mid-market and enterprise organizations should be aware of?
Whether we are talking about mid-market or enterprises, the organizations we are working with face many of the same challenges. At the top of the list is the need for better and more holistic data management and privacy assurance from a regulatory perspective. The new SEC mandate to disclose data breaches more quickly and transparently intensifies our client’s already complex environments.
Data resiliency is another major challenge for the midmarket. It is no longer good enough to be good enough. For the simple reason that again, regardless of size or vertical industry, our clients’ customer data is under continuous attack by an increasingly sophisticated universe of adversaries. Clients’ risk profiles are expanding, and defenses must become stronger, more vigilant and more sophisticated to ensure continuous protection.
Finally, despite the increased threats they face, many organizations are expected to “Do more with less.” This is where Blue Mantis has shined. We help clients who are grappling with these issues by delivering guidance and direction on how best to prioritize projects in the areas of cloud, cybersecurity and digital transformation. However, we have also expanded our capabilities and scale in the area of strategic resource management in cyber security as all as IT. We have expanded a comprehensive talent pool that allows Blue Mantis to seamlessly integrate resources into client teams, filling specific skill gaps and ensuring project success.
How does Blue Mantis guide clients through their cloud journey, and what are the key components of a successful cloud strategy?
Blue Mantis helps guide customers through their cloud journey with a pragmatic approach. We work closely with customers to understand the real drivers behind their cloud transformations and work together collaboratively to build a roadmap.
As with most transformation initiatives, moving to the cloud does not mean customers will have parity with their existing operations and this creates challenges within their firms. Whether it is a skillset gap, expertise needed, training, or capacity for work, we help our customers envision their future state and ensure they are supported in any way needed to be successful.
We have identified four primary insights about leveraging the cloud:
First, is alignment to the business. Any cloud transformation needs to have clearly defined objectives. Without a clear demarcation for ‘what good looks like’ and the business outcomes defined, it is easy to get lost in your cloud journey.
Second, is understanding workloads and assessing their fit-for-use in cloud. . We excel at framing the decision points for our customers and providing insights into what we’ve seen work and not work. It is very common for us to see a hybrid approach to cloud, especially for legacy applications. Many applications were not built for the cloud and they are not cloud ready. Deciding how much to invest in order to make them fit in a cloud environment can be very challenging (and potentially not worth the investment).
Third, prioritizing migration is critical. As with any transformation initiative, it is important to see some early wins. For business-critical applications and infrastructure, nothing will kill your cloud transformation faster than large, long running, projects that do not return some value back to the business. We seek to avoid this situation and work together with clients to find balance.
Finally, as clients migrate to the cloud they will need to put some type of governance process in place. This can be very challenging for any organization that is experimenting with new technology, while trying to run their business. Customers will need to manage their costs (as that’s something that can get out of control quickly, if you are not prepared), make sure the costs are effectively communicated to their business stakeholders, and ultimately optimize that spend over time. Following this blueprint and making some good choices has made many of our customers successful in their cloud journey.
What differentiates Blue Mantis' managed services from other providers in the market?
Again, I would go back to the point made earlier about reinvention. What separates Blue Mantis from the many technology solution providers in the market is that many have failed to reinvent themselves. We have had a clear vision and a focused strategy that has been embraced by a terrific, talented and loyal base of employees who remain committed to the mission. We have not tried to grow too big too fast or to take on more than we could successfully manage. And that is a temptation, believe me. Our steadfast devotion to resilience and ability to adapt and change is massive based on the market we are in. I am extremely proud and appreciative of the talented people we have grown and retained here at Blue Mantis and the new leaders and team members we have successfully added. This has been huge in helping us grow, diversify and differentiate. They have embraced change, been flexible and continue to drive our clients into the future. Clients tell us repeatedly – “this makes you stand out.”
What are the latest trends in data center modernization, and how is Blue Mantis preparing its clients for future opportunities?
The data center industry is truly witnessing a transformative era marked by the incredibly rapid and broad adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). This technology, which includes advanced models like GPT-4, is reshaping the landscape of data processing and management. We are working closely with CIOS, CISOs and even CEOs within our client base to help them fully understand the implications of this seismic shift. As important, we are preparing existing data center resources – whether those are on-prem, in a private or public cloud or consumed in a hybrid model. Blue Mantis partners with all the major data center hardware providers to ensure your modernization solution is future-proof and energy-efficient. We can also optimize for cost by integrating the services of our FinOps team, which has been proven to reduce our customers’ annual cloud costs by 30% or more.
Can you provide insights into how Blue Mantis approaches complex networking challenges for its clients?
We solve complex networking challenges for clients through several key strategies:
- Blue Mantis partners with clients to understand their business goals and communication needs, ensuring that the network infrastructure supports these objectives effectively.
- We offer customized solutions to meet the specific needs of each client, considering factors like their size, industry, and exact network requirements.
- We apply advanced technologies including software-defined networking (SDN), network function virtualization (NFV), and advanced network monitoring tools.
- Clients’ networking initiatives are supported through our team of highly skilled networking experts who have extensive experience in dealing with complex network environments. This team can diagnose and resolve intricate network issues efficiently.
- We are not a point solutions provider; we offer comprehensive end-to-end services that address everything from network design and implementation to ongoing management and optimization.
- We apply proactive monitoring and maintenance to every client engagement to continuously track network performance and identify potential issues before they become critical problems. We conduct regular maintenance and updates to ensure network reliability.
- By combining best of breed and emergent technology, we ensure our customers are fully aware of the options they have. Combining a consultative approach, highly skilled specialists, and a portfolio of market leading partners we are able to deliver the right solution at the right time.
By combining these approaches, Blue Mantis effectively addresses the complex networking challenges faced by its clients, ensuring secure, efficient, and reliable network performance.
Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit Blue Mantis.
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Published on The Digital Insider at https://is.gd/ZOZj4l.
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