Government collaboration: Securing tech innovations – Business

The technology industry is undergoing a transformative phase driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, a heightened focus on cybersecurity and the drive for continuous innovation.

To keep up with this technological boom, companies must adopt robust security measures, leverage artificial intelligence for advanced analytics and operational efficiencies, and foster environments that encourage continuous innovation. This especially government entities, which must adhere to a plethora of regulations and policies.

“Our job is to advise CISA and other government agencies within the U.S. government on cybersecurity policy,” said Kristen Vederame (pictured), vice president of government relations at NetApp Inc. “We have over 150 tech companies who are members of all different sizes, flavors, shapes and sizes. There’s certain things that we can or can’t do. We have cost constraints. We have business plans that are all unique to all these tech companies, and the technology sometimes limits us too. We’ll sometimes be able to say, ‘We literally can’t do that from a technological standpoint,’ so our job is to work with CISA to find that win-win.”

Vederame spoke with theCUBE’s Rob Strechay and Rebecca Knight at the NetApp Unveils Unified Data Storage Built for the AI Era event, during an exclusive broadcast , . They discussed how NetApp works with government entities, the company’s data security solutions and the best latest practices and innovations in security. (* Disclosure below.)

Government collaboration enhances NetApp’s commitment to innovation and security

NetApp’s Kristen Verderame talks with theCUBE about government collaboration.

NetApp is known for having a strong and positive culture, helping it foster a variety of relationships and assisting its partners in overcoming a variety of challenges, according to Vederame.

“We’re partners with everybody. We’re built into the three hyperscalers. We are interoperable with almost every system. So, we will work with anybody,” she said. “We’ll do it in the cloud. We’ll do it hybrid. We’ll do it on-prem. We’ll do a combination. We’ll do it with whoever you want. So, we go into governments and help them with major initiatives, which is part of our culture.”

Working directly with the government is very different than working with private industries. For one, they all want to be the first to regulate AI, as ethical and data privacy concerns are emerging, according to Vederame.

“You’ve got national security, not just the hackers in the world, the criminal cyber people, but we’ve got nation states that are coming after all of us,” she said. “There are so many drivers that are forcing governments to innovate. My goal is to say, ‘How can we make this easier for you?’”

Here’s the complete video interview, coverage of the NetApp Unveils Unified Data Storage Built for the AI Era event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the NetApp Unveils Unified Data Storage Built for the AI Era event. Neither NetApp Inc., the sponsor ’s event coverage, )