Open Systems appoints Gavriella Schuster to Board of Directors
Open Systems announced the expansion of its board of directors with the addition of Gavriella Schuster, a highly regarded executive recognized for her numerous achievements during her more than 25-year career with Microsoft.
“Gavriella’s impressive professional career has spanned more than 25 years at Microsoft, including five years leading its One Commercial Partner (OCP) Team,” said Open Systems Chairman of the Board Dr. Bernd-Michael Rumpf. “Her deep expertise in building successful channel businesses and transforming business, her network in- and outside of Microsoft, as well as her inspiring approach to leadership will help Geoff and the team execute an exciting growth path for Open Systems.”
As a corporate vice president and “Channel Chief,” Schuster was the driving force behind the rapid growth of Microsoft’s OCP, a global ecosystem of over 300,000 engaged channel partners that collectively achieved $1 trillion in partner revenues. Another of her notable accomplishments was growing Microsoft’s U.S. Cloud and Datacenter business; achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 35% CAGR in three years.
“I have been a fan of Open Systems since being introduced to the company two years ago and seeing firsthand how their use of repeatable security missions can dramatically improve an organization’s security maturity,” explained Schuster. “The company’s secure access service edge (SASE) and managed detection and response (MDR) services are compelling and complementary solutions for enterprises faced with the perfect storm of a talent shortage, increased attack surface, and tool proliferation.
“There’s a growing number of enterprises taking a new approach to managing their security, consolidating dozens of potentially misaligned and misconfigured tools by leveraging Microsoft’s integrated security suite. Open Systems is an ideal partner to assist companies in these efforts thanks to its deep technical expertise as a member of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) and a recipient of the coveted Advanced Specialization certification for Threat Protection. I’m eager to assist Open Systems in scaling their ‘go to market’ and customer success investments to reach more customers with even higher levels of service.”
“I am thrilled to welcome Gavriella to Open Systems,” said Geoff Haydon, CEO of Open Systems. “Her deep experience in ‘go to market’ strategy, channel partnerships, digital transformation, and diversity will be invaluable to Open Systems, as we expand our position as the leading provider of connectivity and cybersecurity services to Microsoft customers globally.”
Open Systems’ MDR service employs a unique mission-driven approach that goes beyond individual tactics, such as detection and response, to holistically include assessment, prevention, and recovery practices. These security missions improve maturity and truly deliver outcomes.
“The MDR market has exploded as organizations of all sizes embrace the need for additional resources and expertise supporting threat detection and response program objectives,” said Dave Gruber, Principal Analyst for ESG. “MDR providers who take the time to deeply understand and align their offerings to the security journey of individual companies will be well positioned to win in this highly competitive market.”