In the spirit of the season, SDI couldn’t be more thankful for our November employee spotlight feature. Meet Galaxia Martin, SDI's Solution Director for Cloud and Cybersecurity! Learn from SDI’s subject matter expert as she unravels the secrets to successful cloud migration and cybersecurity integration. Galaxia shares her expertise and experiences—from industry trends to success stories, and even shedding light on the vital intersection of cloud technology and cybersecurity.
How did you get your start at SDI?
I started at SDI in June of 2021 as the Solution Director for Cloud to help with the cloud digital transformation journey from a pre-sales perspective.
As the Solution Director for cloud and cybersecurity, what are your primary responsibilities?
I was brought on at SDI to help build cloud solutions and add additional cybersecurity solutions to the portfolio. I support our SBUs in pre-sales to be the technical and business savvy resource by engaging in net new or existing clients. I also help lead cloud and cybersecurity projects with the project managers and delivery executives.
What trends or innovations are you most excited about in the rapidly-evolving world of cloud technology?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation. There will likely be another wave of drastic technology from the standpoint of when ChatGPT-5 comes out in a few years, robotics taking off, and just general automation in operational activities and strategic initiatives.
Can you highlight a recent project you've worked on that demonstrates the intersection of cloud and cybersecurity at SDI?
Cloud Migration Assessments always have a component of cybersecurity. The reason is that just doing an Information Technology-based assessment is dead. Everything we do has a cybersecurity component. Security should be first in place for a customer to have a digital transformation journey.
What are some key challenges organizations face when migrating to the cloud, and how does SDI best address these challenges?
At a high level, the three factors that make cloud transformation difficult are legacy systems and who knows them, security concerns, and just having the time to do the work to be committed to the journey. SDI addresses these challenges by giving our clients a strategic plan to act on. Our Cloud Migration Assessment is based on industry best practices, several aspects of my long-term career experience in the cloud, and cybersecurity of helping clients before joining SDI in their cloud journey. I realized clients' challenges and aimed to provide a strategic plan that wasn’t fluff. My goal with building the cloud practice at SDI was to ensure that our clients obtained the core definite details in assessments that we complete so that the clients can make decisions with or without us. That is the unique part of SDI’s Cloud Migration Assessment because we want to empower the clients instead of them having to rely on SDI for all the answers.
Which emerging technologies will have the most significant impact on the cloud in the next five years?
AI. It is already happening, and every business needs to be prepared for AI, as well as advanced cyber-attacks.
What certifications or training programs do you recommend for professionals who aspire to have a career in the cloud?
- Azure Fundamentals
- AWS Cloud Partitioner
- Google Associate Cloud Engineer
- CCSK – Cloud Security Alliance
- CompTIA Cloud +
- CCSP – Cloud Security Professional
Can you share a success story highlighting SDI's effectiveness in solving complex cloud challenges?
Each cloud migration is different. The success stories all depend on the outcome of the goal. Complexity in cloud can happen from either innovation goals, technology changes so often, or the struggle with just getting there. Most of the challenges in a digital transformation are legacy environments and dependencies. Planning for those two things requires skill and creativity.
Tell us about your favorite hobby.
I don’t have hobbies—I define my activities as what I love doing, so nothing has ever been a hobby. My nature is always 100% into something to make it a reality. I am an ethical hacker and am heavily involved in helping solve problems in bug bounties (web application security is a scary place) or with past colleagues/peers who need my help. I am also a music artist—I have been for 25 years and recently had two tracks, soon to be three, signed to a record label in Brazil. I have had over six songs that made it to international dance charts in the last three years: top 100, top 50, top 25, top 10. So, if I am not hacking something, I am making or DJing music or spending time with my family.
How do you describe what you do for a living to family and friends?
This is always fun. I tell them my IQ now and leave it as that. Ha. On a serious note, I tell them I help companies improve their infrastructure and cybersecurity. My wife still has no idea what I do; I find that funny. When someone asks my wife what I do, she responds “I don’t know, she is in IT!”
How do you wind down after work?
I struggle with winding down because I am always on the go. I sometimes meditate, spend my wind-down time with my wife and two daughters, and try to capture special moments that I won’t get back. Time is precious, so do what you love and be with the people you love in this life.
Galaxia represents a driving force in cloud technology and cybersecurity solutions. Her insights and expertise spotlight the critical intersection of these vital elements in modernizing IT. To experience the transformative power of SDI's services in the cloud, contact us today for your journey toward a secure future.
Interested in learning more? Click the link to gain exclusive insights with Galaxia Martin as she speaks on Preventing System Hacking—HERE
We celebrate diversity; the views expressed above are those of the interviewed individual, not SDI.
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