Name: Morley Ivers
Title: President
Company: OS33
Web Address: http://www.os33.com

Morley Ivers is president of OS33, makers of Workplace, which he calls "the world's most turnkey secure unified workspace, designed for regulated and security-minded financial services organizations."

What does your firm do/offer within the fintech sector?
If I were answering this question at a cocktail party, I’d suggest that we are in the business of “backstopping trust,” and when I get the puzzling look in response, I would add in that our team does this practically by building software, and delivering associated services that enables financial advisors to look their investors in the eye and let them know that because they use our software platform, Workplace, they are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of their sensitive and confidential information, always.

Today, Workplace’s platform acts as that bedrock of trust helping over 400 financial organizations safely empower tens of thousands of their advisors, reps and agents to securely access the applications and data they need anywhere, anytime and on any device while protecting sensitive company and customer information at all times.

Our SaaS solution is the industry’s most turnkey secure unified workspace. At a time when many financial services firms lack the visibility and technical controls needed to support remote advisors using personal (BYOD) devices, Workplace provides security and compliance professionals with a centralized management platform to control and protect sensitive applications and data based on the real-time status of a user, device or situation. At the same time, Workplace enables advisors and agents with complete flexibility to work anywhere, anytime, and on any-device so they can focus on growing their practices via a single company entry-point.

With Workplace, enabling people to work safely from anywhere – on any personal device – is as easy as giving them a login.

What is your role within your firm and what do you do there on any given day?
In my role as President of OS33, I spend my time with our customers, partners and prospects to learn more about their business needs and priorities; and I demonstrate how our team is doing everything possible to ensure that Workplace’s software bolsters the foundation of trust that our client’s advisors rely upon to keep their customer’s data safe.

Many companies have been adversely impacted by COVID-19; and, at the same time, cyber threats facing the the industry are at an all time high. Our team responded by launching “Here to Help”, a free program providing a light version of Workplace to all financial advisors so that they could quickly check the status of their BYOD device against FINRA’s requirements. Advisors from over 250 firms have taken advantage thus far and, not surprisingly, less than 20% of the devices used passed regulatory compliance on their first check. I am proud that our team was able to help the industry during this time; and as we enter our 19th year of business, rest assured we’ll continue to be there for the future too.

When I am not spending time with customers, I am sharing what I have learned with our 200 plus employees dedicated to delivering the products and services our customers need to safely empower their people to work better, and live better.

What are the biggest problems facing the fintech industry in the future?
Our customers are the nation’s most prestigious broker dealers and wealth management firms; and these organizations are responsible for investing trillions of dollars for their clients. They are also one of the top targets for cyber criminals who are leveraging increasingly sophisticated techniques to drive growth to their endeavors which are now netting billions of dollars per year in illicit profits.

Literally, there is not a single day that goes by where our team is not called upon to help a prospective new client who needs to sort out a challenge relating to an attack, an incident, or a breach. Regardless of the specific encounter, each has a terrible impact, and depending on the severity, it often drives the organization into a state of chaos and dismay, with people responsible asking themselves whether their firm is culpable; what else could they have done to prevent this; did they pass on taking action when they could have; and, sadly, in certain circumstances, they question whether their company’s reputation and legacy will be ruined forever.

In our industry, cyber-attacks are happening right now.  It is not a matter of IF an organization will be attacked but, rather, WHEN. And, when it does occur, how much havoc will it cause; and what will happen to the future of the company, will it survive the breach of their customer’s trust?

Security and compliance professionals and C-suite executives, right up to the board of directors, carry the weight of ensuring the protection of their customer’s sensitive data on their shoulders – rightly so. Our team is here to help shoulder this challenge by ensuring that all clients who leverage Workplace can demonstrate that they undertook proactive steps to protect their client’s data.

Will this eventually end? Unfortunately, this challenge is only becoming more acute as the future of our industry involves increasing levels of risk because (1) advisors are adopting more and more SaaS applications to get their jobs done, essentially spreading sensitive data all over the internet (data sprawl); and (2) working from anywhere and using personal devices (BYOD) is now the norm. There will be more frequent data breaches, regulatory actions, damage to brand and reputation, and loss of revenue for any organization that fails to adequately protect themselves.

Our team is here to help, always.