It’s hard to believe summer is already over, bringing an end to Ivanti’s spectacular Summer of Security Challenge!

Ivanti’s Summer of Security was an initiative we kicked off in the market to make the Ivanti brand synonymous with security. You’ve all seen the headlines  – cybersecurity is still  a daily topic on the news, with more than 90% of all healthcare organizations reporting at least one security breach in the last three years, Google has registered 2,145,013 phishing sites as of January 17, 2021, projections that cybercrime will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025 – and that’s just the beginning. And it’s time to make sure everyone knows that Ivanti is here to secure the Everywhere Workplace. Enter the Summer of Security.

We unofficially kicked off our Summer of Security with the news of our new Vice President and Chief Security Officer, Daniel Spicer.  With Daniel’s hire, we have demonstrated Ivanti’s commitment to customer security, but also our implementation of best practices as a company moving forward – raising the bar for security as threat actors continue to grow in sophistication. Adding Daniel to team Ivanti has been a phenomenal asset, and he’s already making tremendous impact.

Ivanti’s Summer of Security Challenge

So, how did we engage Ivanti employees in our Summer of Security 2021? We asked Team Ivanti worldwide to showcase their cybersecurity knowledge and skills by participating in weekly challenges. And the participation was phenomenal!

We watched and we listened as the thunder of employee Haikus, Everywhere Workplace photos, even artwork submissions came rolling in. We tallied up points each week throughout the summer, and at the completion of the weekly challenges, our top two finalists faced off in Ivanti’s Battle of the Summer of Security Challenge!

The Battle of the Summer of Security Challenge was a head-to-head trivia battle hosted by our own Director of Social Media Marketing Stephanie Carls. Members of Ivanti’s leadership team (including myself!) asked each contestant various summer and security-based trivia questions, celebrity-Jeopardy style!

Now I’m proud to present Ivanti’s 2021 Summer of Security Challenge Champion: Jennifer Smith! Jenn defeated our Challenge Runner-Up, Sales Development Representative Boyd Richardson after a heated battle that went down to one final, tie-breaking round! Each of our finalists will receive Summer of Security trophies, and Jenn our Summer of Security Champion wins $500 Motivosity dollars! I want to congratulate Jenn and Boyd once again for their terrific performances, and thank everyone who participated in Ivanti’s 2021 Summer of Security Challenge.

Now let’s learn more about Customer Marketing Associate Jenn, Ivanti’s 2021 Summer of Security Champion!

Employee Center Stage Interview with Jennifer Smith

Congratulations on winning Ivanti’s Summer of Security Challenge, Jenn! Tell us about yourself.

Jenn: I'm married to my husband Sean for 8 years now and a proud mom of 2 children! Samantha is 7 and Connor, my son is 4.5. We live in Mount Laurel, NJ and just adopted (on Sunday!) a sweet kitten, she's 11 weeks old and her name is Rosie Smith 🙂. We've spent a lot of time at the beach this summer where my mom has a beach house located in Brigantine, NJ. I've been priding myself on attending BURN bootcamp 5 days a week for their 6:30 a.m. camp. I LOVE the energy and sense of community I've found there. The early morning exercise keeps me balanced, focused and ready to tackle each day! 

How did you join Ivanti?

Jenn: I was following a handful of past Iron Mountain colleagues on LinkedIn. All of them sharing about "Ivanti" and all the awesome things going on. They inspired me to check out the open roles and apply! After being home with my kids for some time, this has been such a WONDERFUL transition back to work. I am so happy to be here. I also feel so fortunate to have been reunited with many people that were like family to me at our previous company.

What do you do at Ivanti?

Jenn: I've joined the Customer Experience Marketing team, reporting to Denise Champion. We are handling customer related communications to ensure a positive Ivanti experience. My first day was July 6, 2021.

What has your experience been like so far as an employee at Ivanti?

Jenn: AMAZING! The latest three-day on-boarding sessions were awesome.

What drove your participation in the Summer of Security Challenge?

Jenn: I was so new to Ivanti so I had the time to really anticipate. I looked at the challenge as an opportunity to learn about the company with zero expectation that I' be the champion. It sounded like a fun way to not only learn but get comfortable making a presence internally and on LinkedIn and Twitter.

What were the benefits of participating in the Summer of Security Challenge?

Jenn: I'd say the biggest benefit was learning about the security space as well as assisting me personally with a valid reason to share how great Ivanti is out to the world. I do feel it provided an avenue for someone very new like myself to meet key people within our organization.

Any words of advice for our next challenge competitors? Any tricks or tools that helped you win?

Jenn: Have fun! Use your creativity and don't be afraid to take a risk!!

Summer may be over, but the fun is not! Fall is fast approaching and so is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, coming this October. Stay tuned for more of the fun from your Everywhere Workplace!