Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – Sactech Resale Unit Merger With Cadence Team

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We have produced a list of frequently asked questions regarding the merger of the Sactech resale division into Cadence Team.  If you have any questions not listed in the FAQ, please contact our sales team at 916.484.1111 or email [email protected]. We encourage you to check out our original post about the merger on our blog before reviewing our FAQ.

The contact information for Cadence Team is 916.934.8326 (916.934.TEAM) and their website is www.cadence.team. For email, you can email them via [email protected].  Sactech has the W-9 for Cadence Team and will send to you upon request.

The address for Cadence Team vendor of record information is:

Cadence Team
733 Sherwood Dr
Yuba City, CA  95991

Website: www.cadence.team

The contact information for Sactech is 916.484.1111; please navigate the voice prompt for the sales team when you call.  You may also ask for Matt Oldham or Derek Olson for any urgent need requests in April (both are available by calling into our sales queue).

 

General Questions

When was the merger finalized.
The merger was finalized on March 31, 2020.

When can I start doing business with Cadence Team?
Immediately.

How do I get a W-9 from Cadence Team?
You can request the Cadence Team W-9 from Sactech or Cadence Team via the contact information supplied at the beginning of the FAQ.

 

Sactech Customer FAQ

I am a resale client of Sactech, what do I have to do?
All resale clients that have purchased a partnered product or maintenance agreement from Sactech after January 1, 2017, will receive an email to the primary point of contact on record in our system via a direct email communication from our system highlighting some of the details of the merger.

I am an Omnistruct client, will my Omnistruct subscription be impacted?
No. Omnistruct is a separate entity and all Omnistruct subscription compliance services will be serviced and delivered through Omnistruct.  You can visit www.omnistruct.com for questions about your Omnistruct account.

What if I did not receive the email?
If you did not receive the email, you are welcome to call us at 916.484.1111 and request the sales team where we are standing by to answer your questions and help guide you through the transition.

What partner products will Sactech be transitioning to Cadence Team?
All resale partnerships, except Knowbe4 purchases, will be transitioned to Cadence Team.

What services will Sactech provide/offer moving forward?
Sactech will continue to offer software development services and will also work as an agent and referral partner to broker cloud services of MSPs, MSSPs, and other “as a service”  providers in the area of network security.

I am a Juniper integration services client of Sactech, what do I have to do?
You can still send requests to [email protected] and we will evaluate your integration service need and fulfill your order through Cadence Team. We will continue handling Juniper integration requests until Cadence Team has ramped up their Juniper competency which we believe will be available by July of 2020. All other resale integration service requests (ie: Aruba and Palo Alto Networks) will be handled by Cadence Team directly and may be sourced by Sactech as needed.  You may reach out directly to Cadence Team by emailing [email protected] for scoping and quoting of your request.

I need integration services that are not for Juniper; what should I do?
You can contact Cadence Team directly using the contact information at the top of this FAQ or email [email protected] for assistance on other product integration and solution requests.

Is the change immediate?
No, we will have a transition period between April 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020.  We  will begin contacting all Client resale accounts by email and phone, first through the primary point of contact on record, via email and phone calls to transition accounts.  We will also support Cadence Team through December of 2022 with any customer requests for partner solutions.

I have an open reseller quote or quote request, do I need to do anything?
No, Sactech is still able to handle open quotes already submitted. New quote requests will be handled by Cadence Team unless otherwise requested.  You may also request a new quote from Cadence Team by contacting [email protected], calling Cadence Team directly at 844.934.8326 , or via [email protected] to have your request handled (please reference that you are a Sactech resale client). Sactech and Cadence team are also working with the following partners on the transition:  Juniper, Aruba Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Sonicwall, and Trend Micro.

 

Partner & Distributor FAQ

When will the partner and distribution transaction changes begin?
The partner transition will begin immediately with a handful of key partnership already being notified in the month of April.

What is the duration of the transition period?
The transition period will be April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020 and Sactech, together with Cadence Team, will be notifying partners and distributors of the changes necessary to make customer transitions smooth and effective.

What about open orders?
Any quotes or orders already in process will continue to transact through Sactech and will be honored as both distribution and partner relationships allow.

Will Sactech remain in business?
Yes. Sactech will remain in business.

Who Is Handling Professional Services?
Sactech will continue offering Juniper professional services during the transition.  All other professional service integrations will be handled by Cadence Team.

 

Sactech Merges Resale Unit with Cadence Team

 

First, I am hopeful that you, your family, and colleagues are healthy and doing well during this unprecedented time.  As the entire world adapts to an unthinkable situation, my heart aches for those who are grappling to care for and protect loved ones at risk.

 

In spite of the situation we are all grappling with at home, today marks a momentous day in our Sactech (Sacramento Technology Group LLC) journey. I’m pleased to announce that we have entered into a definitive agreement to merge the resale division of Sactech with Cadence Team, a small certified business based in the Sacramento area.  We believe this decision is a good one as your choices for technology solutions will improve and the responsiveness you expect will exceed your expectations.

 

I’d like to personally thank you for your support, hard work, and loyalty as one of our valued customers. Whether you’ve been working with Sactech for a few months or have been with us since the beginning, your commitment, and your success, have led us all to this tremendous opportunity.

 

This is a change for our organization and yours, and we know that our success is only possible by helping you, our customers.  Our goal has always been to help you achieve your own success in selecting secure and reliable technology solutions that help you transform, connect, and secure your business. So, what will this merger deliver to you?

 

  • Our union will pair Sactech’s comprehensive solutions and partnerships, with Cadence Team creating a local solution provider footprint with a small certified business community footprint throughout Northern California and the Bay Area.
  • Capable and responsive representation of leading solutions including options for you to purchase Juniper Networking, Aruba Clearpass, Pulse Secure VPNs, and many other solutions for both enterprise and small businesses.
  • Sactech will shift to a services only model offering cloud services, software development, and Juniper professional services with ongoing support of your account by Cadence team and Sactech through the year 2022;

 

By tapping the strengths and leading capabilities of our businesses and partners, the combined organization, led by Cadence Team owners Jeremy Caudill and Matt Glaze, will enable you to overcome your most pressing scalability, technology, and operational challenges. Together, we will transform the industry, drive innovation, and improve customer service through a more powerful solution set to meet your needs. As always, we will continue to promote the power of choice. With dozens of strategic partners and an open-ecosystem that can support you at any stage of growth, we hope to offer an ideal fit that works for you.

 

What Does This Mean for You as a Customer?

 

Whether you’re purchasing Juniper, Pulse Secure, or Aruba solutions today, there’s a lot to get excited about: access to new products and services, enhanced integrations, unified support, and new programs and initiatives designed to maximize your success and user experience.

 

At the moment, however, nothing much should change for you as a customer this month. Our teams are currently working on transitioning your accounts to Cadence Team in April so we can bring our solutions, staff, and technology systems together and develop our plans to operate our resale unit as a Cadence Team company.

 

We will be requesting and setting virtual introductory calls with Cadence Team for accounts that have purchased from Sactech in 2017, 2018, and 2019. 

 

What are the Next Steps?

 

The new normal of working from home in these unusual times, has us caring for and protecting our loved ones while figuring out how to deal with work.  Family is everyone’s priority and we expect that it is yours too. So, in the month of April, we will be trying to reach you live via telephone to say thank you, provide information about the merger, and attempt to set a future appointment at your convenience for May, or earlier if it suits you. It’s okay if you do not answer our calls.  We will call one time per week and will leave you a message on our third attempt so you can get back to us at your convenience.  Thereafter, we are going to leave it up to each of you to reach out and connect with us if you have a need or want to understand more about what this merger means for your account.

 

We will also focus on making sure our systems, databases, renewals, your ordering history, partner communications, and distributors can be ready in May and beyond in anticipation of the potential return to work post Shelter in Place. 

 

Once we reach early May, Cadence team will send out another message to those we were unable to reach so they can check in and explore setting introductory appointments as is convenient and reasonable for you.  

 

Expect the first call attempt from a Sactech rep this week to discuss the transition and next steps to introduce the Cadence Team executives and account teams. Our goal for your first meeting with Cadence Team will be to discuss your needs moving forward, perform an account review, discuss on-going renewals, and align with your goals and budgets.  However, we encourage you to reach out to any of us at 916.484.1111 if you have questions or have an urgent need today.

 

For public sector and eRate customers utilizing leveraged procurement vehicles such as CMAS or Form 470/471 in RFP process or with Form 470/471 filings already in progress, Sactech and Cadence Team will be in touch with each procurement contact this quarter to assist with transition and Sactech will be able to honor any open quotes as our partner based allows.

 

Our total commitment and focus remain on you, your business goals, your desired outcomes, and satisfying you and the customers you support.

 

I’d like to personally thank you for your continued support and loyalty over the tremendous years of growth and success we have achieved together. I hope you are as excited as we are about this business unit merger as we enthusiastically embark on this new chapter and path forward for our partner community.

 

Our shared success, driven by your growth and grit to contribute to the progress of IT, has led us to this important and pivotal moment. Additional details will be shared with you as they become available.

 

Please Check out our Sactech Frequently Asked Questions blog post for updates and more information about the merger as we field your questions daily.

 

With gratitude, to your health, and to continued success,

 

George Usi, CEO Sactech

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About Sactech

Founded in 2003 as Security Assurance & Compliance Technologies Professional Services Firm under the business name “Sacramento Technology Group”, we established a beachhead of private and public sector Clients in the Northern California area in need of security audits, technology solutions, professional services, and managed IT services with overall aggregate revenues in excess of $30 million.

In 2014, CEO George Usi recognized the ongoing commoditization of the VAR market and ideated the need for security compliance services.  He designed a National Institute of Standards & Technology Cyber Security Framework (NIST CSF) compliance service practice that applied open guidelines in cyber security, risk, and privacy.  Development of wireframes for the Omnistruct cyber security program SaaS model started by early 2015.

By 2016, CFO, John Riley initiated Sactech’s first pivot towards a more focused information security practice with the sale of the Sactech managed IT service division assets to Group One based in Folsom.

By June of 2016, the first proof-of-concept compliance client, AttainIt, was earned for a set of inaugural cyber compliance services.

In 2019, the compliance services division assets and customers were rolled into a new entity, Omnistruct Inc, and the final pivot for Sactech to software development of SaaS platforms and cloud services agent.

On March 31, 2020, the merger of Sactech’s resale division was formed with Cadence Team allowing Sactech to focus on our pivot.

Asset 1

Cadence Team is a premier technology solutions provider based in the Sacramento area specializing in networking and security solutions.

See our Frequently Asked Questions Blog post for more information about the merger.

Partnership Updates

We are working on exciting new partnerships that match cyber compliance to cyber security! Stay tuned and don’t forget to also bookmark our new cyber compliance partner, Omnistruct, Inc. We are also pivoting our partnerships to emphasize our utility focus.  Please read our FAQ on our partnership changes below:

When Will Partnerships Change?

Starting January 1st, you will begin receiving communications about our changing line card. Please be sure to add “@sactech.com” to your safe sender list.

What About Juniper and our other key partnerships?

Yes, our partnership with Juniper is alive and well and we have a goal to focus on Juniper’s cloud security solutions in all distribution channels.  Most partnerships are likely to change as we shift them to cloud-oriented service providers.  Cyber compliance oriented partnerships will remain depending on the nature of the relationship and distribution dynamics with each partner.

Will the team and our point of contacts be the same?

Mostly yes! The sales contacts you have grown to know and love will still be available for guidance.  Although, we will have some new representatives that will handle traditional resell fulfillment needs and renewals.  We will also have new distribution relationships to boot.

What do current Sactech clients need to know?

Keep us as your vendor of record as we will still be providing services, assessments, and key solutions for you to purchase directly from our unique delivery system (shhhh!  It’s still under development).

Will our contract change?

No, our Master Sales & Service Agreement will remain intact as will all MNDAs or contracts already signed between our organization and your Company.

Are you still selling to public sector?

Yes, we are still active with public sector sales under our small business certification although we are partnering with other resellers to help fulfill any unique leveraged procurement needs for the State of California solutions with expired CMAS agreements.

Do I need to do anything?

No. However, be sure to keep “@sactech.com” on your safe sender list.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us!

Requisite Cyber Security Organization

For those of you familiar with management theory, Elliott Jaques and his Requisite Organization may ring a bell.  Generally speaking, Jaques posited that an organization can excel at structure when managers understand each direct report’s growth potential measured in time span & complexity.

Simply stated, when placed in the right roll level, can someone tasked with “boiling the ocean ” break down such a large initiative so they can manage the completion of complex work effort effectively and efficiently.  Moreover, can they do so while using their ability to think into the future so as to avoid predictable barriers while exceeding expectations?

The answer, according to Jaques, is a resounding “no” for most everyone entering the work force on day one and a paltry “not likely” for most of your workforce.

So, how does Jaques and his theory relate to information security and cyber security risk management?

Well, most malicious actors (hackers) develop their exploits using automation coupled with massive compute power with malicious code and intent built at a very high stratum level allowing them to bypass most security controls easily.

The truth is, as good as the security tools and your Stratum I and Stratum II teams may be, your business may have already been compromised by a social network of hackers with Stratum III+ capabilities.  So, compromise should be considered a matter of “when.”

Great, now we know the problem.  What should we do about it?

Simple really, be prepared for when an attack happens by approaching cyber security as a holistic company risk management strategy.  This approach does three things for you:

  1. Compliance – Make sure you know your compliance exposures, analyze those exposures carefully, and build a security program and follow it.
  2. Build a Thick File of Proof – Contrary to popular belief, continuous oversight & visibility of technical AND non-technical actions works great for auditors, cyber insurance claims, legal depositions, and negotiations when you can prove that you are doing what you were supposed to be doing.
  3. Risk Sharing – Spread around the risk of a cyber compromise by makings sure the whole company is prepared to protect, detect, respond, and be accountable when attacks or compromises occur; rolling out an information security assurance program and holding 3rd parties to contractual compliance requirements are a great way to share risk!

Now, I know many of you naturally respond to risk with, “It hasn’t happened to me yet and I’m not really a target so why spend the money?”  Sadly, if you are connected to the internet and do business with companies that do have exposures, you most certainly are a target.

Furthermore, that cyber-insurance policy you purchased that you thought was “covering your assets” only works if you are meeting the subjectivities (fine print) of the policy and continuously keeping yourself self secure. Additionally, the leading insurance business master minds like Warren Buffett are certainly going to go out of their way to avoid being held accountable for a cyber insurance market that is likely to collapse.

Moreover, that cyber insurance application you filled out had a lot of questions about how you are handling your IT and my guess is that you guessed at a lot of the answers and have no proof that you are doing what you said you were doing.  Result = claim denied.  Make sure you are working with a reliable and knowledgeable broker, like Clinton Polley, who can help audit your policy with our help.

With that, I encourage you to accept the fact that more than half of all cyber security compromises originate from malicious attacks  (ref: Ponemon Institute 2017 Cost of Data Breach Study) and recognize that compromise is now a matter of when.  You can be prepared for “when” a compromise happens and SACTECH has the answer for you.

So, call us now at 916.484.1111 and ask for us to help you sort out your hot mess of cyber security risk management with our Omnistruct Cyber Security Maintenance Platform.