02
Sat, Nov
2 New Articles

Pat Botz and John Earl Assume Separate Security Leadership Posts

Channel News
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Valid Technologies and Townsend Security promote industry veterans to top spots. 

 Two veterans in the IT security industry are the newly named presidents of separate but two increasingly important security companies. Pat Botz, formerly IBM's lead security architect for IBM i, is the new president of Valid Technologies, and John Earl, co-founder and former director of technology and security for  The PowerTech Group, is now presdent and CEO of Patrick Townsend Security Solutions. 

Valid Technologies, parent of the VSSA Biometric Strong User Authentication suite, announced earlier this month it has named Pat Botz company president.  Botz  will lead the marketing and technical programs for the company's growing line of enterprise solutions that bring the benefits of biometrics to midsize and larger firms, the company said.

"Pat is recognized throughout the industry for his security expertise and his work on eliminating the need for passwords," said Greg Faust, managing partner of Valid Technologies, LLC.  "He brings a unique understanding of both the technical and business aspects of the problems facing our customers. He has a wealth of experience working with all levels of an organization from executive management to skilled technical resources and knows how to help them balance security, cost, and ROI.  Pat will help us make these key benefits of VSSA more apparent to the marketplace."

Botz started his career at Control Data Corp. before joining super computer manufacturer ETA Systems, Inc. At ETA he led the distributed UNIX workstation electronic computer-aided design team.  Botz later joined IBM where he worked for 19 years, most recently as the lead IBM i security architect and head of IBM Lab Services Security Consulting.

"I am thrilled about my expanded role at Valid Technologies," Botz  said. "I believe VSSA is the right product at the right time for the IT security marketplace. Companies are under enormous pressure to cut operating costs while increasing operating efficiencies and improving user accountability. VSSA is customer-proven to help a wide-range of IT shops meet these objectives.  It makes it easy and affordable to integrate two-factor authentication in emerging computing environments such as mobile and cloud-based as well as in traditional and Web-based environments. Our task now is to communicate all of the benefits of VSSA to the marketplace." 

Botz said he will have his hand deeply into security project planning, architecture, and design services and, for the immediate future, at least, his calendar is open. For additional information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or post an inquiry at www.validtech.com

Patrick Townsend Security Solutions (PTSS) announced today it has hired John Earl as its president and CEO. Patrick Townsend, founder and current president, will immediately assume the role of chairman of the board, and chief technology officer.

 "I'm really pleased to have John on board," said Townsend. "He brings a wealth of IT security experience with him and the necessary leadership skills to take the company to the next level of success."

Earl has nearly 30 years experience in the IBM midrange market. He was co-founder of the PowerTech Group and was vice president and chief technology officer. Earl is a widely recognized System i (AS/400) security expert, serves as a subject matter expert for security with COMMON, and is a former board member of the user group.

"I'm excited to join a company with such a strong foundation in encryption and data privacy solutions," said Earl. "Patrick Townsend Security Solutions is already the leader in cross-platform AES encryption and PGP for the System i. Now, we see tremendous opportunity for growth as we move toward introducing the new Encryption Key Manager solution to market." 

About Patrick Townsend Security Solutions

Townsend Security provides data encryption and key management solutions to some of the world's best known companies. Calling itself "the encryption company," Townsend is privately held and has its headquarters in Olympia, Wash. For more information visit www.patownsend.com or call 800-357-1019.

About Valid Technologies and VSSA

Valid Technologies offers solutions that help customers cut costs and improve security though proven biometric technologies.  VSSA extends throughout an organization to deliver transaction-level user authentication cross-platform.   Visit http://www.validtech.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

MC Press Online's staff of reporters and editors are trained professionals who share a background in journalism and have a passion for technology. Many have been in the IBM midrange industry for more than 20 years and have a keen sense of what's important to IBM i and Power Systems users. If you have a news tip, story idea, or press release, email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: