SBS makes Inc. 500 list again

Photo by Jane Utecht: AARON GAMEWELL is the president and COO of Secure Banking Solutions. Originally from Arkansas, he started in the position in January. "Madison is home now," he said.

by Jane Utecht, Staff Reporter, courtesy of www.MadisonDailyLeader.com

There's not always good news in the cybersecurity sector, with daily news reports of breaches and the work of hackers.

There is good news in Madison, however, with the local cybersecurity company Secure Banking Solutions (SBS).

According to the national business magazine Inc., SBS has made their 5000 list for the fourth year in a row.

The Inc. 5000 list is an "annual ranking of the fastestgrowing private companies in America," says the magazine's website.

SBS first made the list in 2013 at 3,254; in 2016 they are 2,289.

Growth through a 2014 acquisition bumped the local company up to 2,240 in 2015; the 2016 ranking is a result of "pure organic growth," said Aaron Gamewell, president and COO.

SBS has made a significant investment in territories across the areas they serve by bringing on additional team members, Gamewell said, but there "is also a growing market in the cybersecurity sector, and banking in particular.

``We are serving a market that has regulatory demands beyond what is seen in other industries, so there's a need for our services that is beyond most industries."

Nick Podhradsky, vice president of sales at SBS, pointed out that cybersecurity is a need not only with banks but also with all businesses throughout the nation.

"It's something that is a very big problem for everyone," he said.

"One of the fastest growing segments of breaches now is in hospitals and government entities," Gamewell said, "including school districts and universities."

To that end, SBS is working now on projections for growth and territory across the U.S. "We see the potential to be even stronger next year."

Looking ahead 10 years, "our primary focus will remain on the financial services industry, specific to banking and credit unions," Gamewell said, but he expects to see further expansion into other industries such as health care, which will be a "significant focus."

Insurance, education and government "will all be areas that we feel we'll see significant growth in over the next 10 years."

NEW TALENT

SBS is preparing for that growth by bringing on talented individuals who the company can train to serve their clients.

While growing companies sometimes have difficulty attracting and retaining talent, that has not been a problem for SBS, "primarily because we've had the fortune of being based right here in Madison, South Dakota with Dakota State University," Gamewell said.

"We've been able to recruit from the extremely talented group of individuals" coming out of Dakota State, he said, and retain them over time.

As SBS's markets have grown, they have had to look outside Madison and DSU for individuals who are willing to travel or relocate, and they have been fortunate to find people with that flexibility.

However, moving forward may prove to be more challenging because of the growing need within the cybersecurity industry, Gamewell said.

There is a statistic that says by 2020, 1.2 million jobs in the cybersecurity field will go unfilled. That means attracting talent to companies like SBS will "become more difficult over time."

Gamewell is one of the newest individuals at SBS. He has a 21-year banking career and four years with a banking association as COO and as a consultant.

He became familiar with the company in 2014 when SBS merged with BLU3, an Arkansas-based information security firm.

"Madison is home now" for him, and it will remain so for the company.

"The roots in Madison are deep for SBS, and the roots in South Dakota are very deep for SBS," Gamewell said.

"We've been fortunate to attract the talent we have to keep our operational open hub here, even though we do work nationwide as well as outside of the country."

Because of that local connection, Podhradsky added that SBS plans to have a bigger presence in the community over the next few years.

"As we grow across the U.S. and beyond, our operational needs will grow as well," Gamewell said, "so we've made a strong commitment to Madison to keep our operations here and to grow inside this community."

Julia Miller, director of marketing, said the company is planning a few things in October, which is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. "We will be releasing a Ransomware toolkit for financial institutions," she said, and offering a free webinar called Hacker House: 10 Tips for Building a Culture of Cybersecurity. She has also been sharing cybersecurity tips on the company's social media sites.

The state has also helped with the company's growth. Gamewell, who is originally from Arkansas, has been involved with economic development in several states.

Since he started with SBS in January, he has seen something different in South Dakota, "a very deep commitment here" from the governor's office to Heartland and the local Lake Area Improvement Corporation.

"We see a really deep commitment to business in South Dakota" that is very supportive of growth.

With that support, and the tremendous talent and tremendous people at SBS, Gamewell said, "We're happy to be a part of the community.

``We've got a great story to tell with SBS, and I think it will only get better."

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