Author: Ryan Ward

Ryan Ward is CISO at Avatier, responsible for security initiatives as well as strategic direction of IAM and security products. A sixteen-year veteran of the security industry, Ward comes to Avatier after five years with MillerCoors where he served as Enterprise Security Manager of the brewing company and USA Information Security Officer for the public company SABMiller. In those positions Ward was responsible for all Information Security initiatives for MillerCoors. Prior to MillerCoors, he served as Senior Information Security Leader at Perot Systems while supporting the Wolters Kluwer account. He previously held the position of Vice President of Information Systems for Allscripts.Ryan is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

The White House Wants To Pass On Passwords. Can we?

  • August 21, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • It is very positive news that the government is focused on improving authentication and identity management beyond the old-school usage of passwords, a huge security flaw in any enterprise system.…read more →

Information Security and IT Leadership Business Accountability

Information Security and IT Leadership Business Accountability
  • August 7, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • IT leadership get aligned. In my last article, I discussed the need for IT leadership to start transitioning accountability to the business, but I primarily focused on security-related aspects of…read more →

Think Broader than the “A” in IAM Identity and Access Management

Think Broader than the “A” in IAM Identity and Access Management
  • July 7, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • Identity and Access Management (IAM) applies to more than just accounts. From working with various organizations, it is interesting to listen to differing perspectives about what capabilities identity and access…read more →

Avatier Spins Off IT Security Consulting Company

Avatier Spins Off IT Security Consulting Company
  • June 18, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • At last, fixed-price IT security services. Last week we announced the launch of the IT Security Consulting Company, a spinoff of Avatier. We are using the expertise of this new…read more →

The Culture of Cloud in an Information Security World

The Culture of Cloud in an Information Security World
  • May 21, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • Cloud information security cultural transformation. Working in the information security field, I obviously hear a lot about “the cloud” and its many security implications. There are definitely valid security concerns…read more →

ITSM Solutions and IAM Solutions Are Not Mutually Exclusive

ITSM Solutions and IAM Solutions Are Not Mutually Exclusive
  • April 30, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • At last an ITSM IAM shopping cart. As ITSM professionals soak up the knowledge from ServiceNow’s Knowledge14 conference, it is interesting to see how the service management and identity management…read more →

Attend the HDI Conference with an Identity Management Focus

Attend the HDI Conference with an Identity Management Focus
  • March 27, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • Avatier Booth 424 With the 24th Annual HDI conference and Expo nearing, I thought it would be wise to remind everyone about the importance of thinking holistically when choosing solutions…read more →

The Four IT Security Principles: A Practical Guide to Improving Information Security

The Four IT Security Principles: A Practical Guide to Improving Information Security
  • February 25, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • Security Commandments. Below are four principles to help you become a more effective IT security leader. While these principles won’t solve all your problems, if you practice them regularly, you…read more →

Gartner IGA Magic Quadrant Revealed

Gartner IGA Magic Quadrant Revealed
  • January 23, 2014 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • The Identity Governance and Administration Magic Quadrant. It’s Gartner time again. As a respected member of the information security community, I am certain you had an alarm set to notify…read more →

Why Role Mining Adds Tremendous Value to Identity Management Automation

Why Role Mining Adds Tremendous Value to Identity Management Automation
  • October 23, 2013 //
  • Ryan Ward

  • Strategic access entitlements. Most companies on the verge of an identity and access management project face the challenge of mining roles to determine appropriate access for their workers. Even if an…read more →