A Note from the CEO
Kicking Off 2015 at Force 3
Last week at Force 3, we started 2015 off with a bang at our annual Corporate Kickoff. This year, Force 3 employees, partners and friends gathered at Rams Head Center Stage at Maryland Live! Casino for the special event.
This was my first Corporate Kickoff as Force 3 CEO, and I was honored to be able to get up on that (tiny) stage to talk about all of the exciting things we have happening at Force 3 this year. Here are a few highlights:
Growth
I was thrilled to share with the Force 3 family that with 21% year-over-year growth in our core business, we are in our strongest position ever heading into 2015. We’ve also expanded our partnerships with manufacturers and grown our services business (by 26%, I might add). Thanks to our incredible team, these accomplishments further strengthen our ability to provide the best in network security to our customers and put us on track for continued success in the new year.
Vision
In 2015, you will get to know Force 3 as THE network security company. We will be known for our mission to provide infrastructure services to design, deploy, support and maintain our customers’ technology needs.
This doesn’t mean that we will stop providing customers with routers and switches. As Kevin Plank, founder of Under Armour has said, “Don’t forget to sell shirts and shoes.” Hardware re-sale will remain a core component of our business, but today, our federal government customers need more.
While overall federal spend is shrinking, security spend is increasing significantly. The US Federal Cybersecurity Forecast for 2015-2020 is a cumulative market valued at $65.5 billion—and for good reason. Just look back at some of the data breaches we saw in 2014—top corporations, the United States Postal Service, the State Department, even the White House. Now more than ever, securing our networks must be our top priority.
That is why Force 3 will be laser-focused on evolving our business to help government customers meet those changing needs. We will do this through updated offerings such as SupportPlus Service Desk and InsightPlus, a new solution offering which gives our customers the ability to view and share any data, from any system in customizable dashboards.
Also new this year, and unique to Force 3, is a special team of engineers and business development associates that we have assembled to focus on next-generation offerings in emerging technologies, including software-defined networking. We look forward to the opportunity this will create to engage in forward-thinking discussions with partners and customers on future trends and communicate what’s needed to prepare to securely implement these technologies.
Values
Force 3 is all about the customer. We always have been. In 2015, our commitment to customer success is stronger than ever with our new vision and through the new services we offer.
The most important part of this commitment to customer success comes from one place—the people at Force 3. Our employees are the true discriminator of our company, and we are dedicated to their success. As a strengths-based organization, we work to align employees’ responsibilities with what they do best. This not only makes for a happier workplace, but sets us all up for continued success. And with 346 new industry certifications in 2014, it’s clear that Force 3 employees are dedicated to building on their strengths, continuously improving their knowledge and skills in order to provide better service to our customers, which is what it is all about.
Building on our commitment to customers and employees, we are eager to expand the ways we give back and support our entire community. One way we’ll be doing this (which I am very excited about and proud of), is working in conjunction with Children’s Cancer Foundation, – a special charity which Force 3 has supported for more nearly 20 years. Force 3 will be sponsoring groundbreaking research for Dr. Jeff Toretsky, a pediatric oncologist from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. With the help of the Force 3 fellowship, Dr. Toretsky and his team hopes to not only improve the survival rates for Ewing Sarcoma patients, but also create an entirely new class of cancer drugs. This is just one example of the culture of giving back that we have cultivated at Force 3 for many than 20 years and looking forward to building on in 2015.
Here’s to another great year at Force 3!
















