Bart McDonough is CEO and Founder of Agio, a hybrid managed IT and cybersecurity services provider specializing in the financial services, health care and payments industries. Bart has deep institutional investment knowledge, with more than 20 years of experience working in cybersecurity, business development and IT management within the hedge fund industry. His core strengths are assessing, defining, advocating, and driving the adoption of risk management strategies, controls, and models that enabled organizations to advance cybersecurity resiliency while successfully complying with evolving regulatory requirements, and behavioral transformations.
I’ve always had a passion and an instinct for technology. My first job in college was at the Oklahoma City Law Library, because I thought I was going to be a lawyer. Within a month I was assigned to the computer lab because I was always fixing everyone’s computers.
Tell us about your background in Managed IT services and IT Security?
After college, I secured a position at American Express to pursue a career in finance, but within a few months I was hired as a technologist because—to no one’s surprise—I was fixing everyone’s computer problems again.
Fast forward a decade later to my position as Managing Director of System Architecture at SAC Capital Advisors. In that role, the plan was to move me to the UK to lead the office there, and then to Hong Kong to lead that office. Those plans fizzled when the financial crisis hit. SAC decided to get out of the market until things calmed down, but as their technology costs remained high, they looked to outsource their IT. That’s when I realized there was an industry need for a technology provider that could provide enterprise-level support but in a way that understands the culture and the demands of a large hedge fund. In 2009, after nearly nine years, I left SAC to start Agio.
What exactly is Agio, what kind of IT and Cybersecurity do you provide?
Founded in 2010, Agio is a hybrid cybersecurity and managed IT organization equipping financial services—namely the world’s most prestigious hedge fund, private equity, and asset management firms —with next generation cyber protection and technology support. We leverage applied AI, machine learning and natural language processing to reduce friction, increase speed to resolution and ultimately improve our clients’ experience with technology.
Over the last 18 months Agio challenged the traditional model of technology support during the Pandemic and are now unveiling your AI-Enabled IT Service Platform. Tell us about what happened during this time and Agio’s response and need to better serve clients?
The global pandemic fundamentally changed the way business operates, with people logging into work remotely, often on personal devices from vulnerable home networks. That reality, paired with interruptions in operations and cyber-threats, brought leaders face to face with the limitations of traditional IT service providers, which react instead of proactively anticipate needs and disruptions.
Agio took this crisis as an opportunity to reimagine how we could give clients what they truly need. We recognized that the rapidly evolving IT and cybersecurity landscape has become so complex, data-intensive, and intertwined that the best way to solve and prevent our clients’ problems is by adding machine intelligence to human expertise.
Tell us about your collaboration with Steven Cohen and Point 72 Hyperscale and your launch of an AI-Enabled cybersecurity and IT service platform? How did you come to know and work with Steve Cohen and why has this been instrumental in this updated platform?
Before founding Agio, I worked at Steve Cohen’s asset management firm for about 10 years. In 2010, they officially came on board as an Agio client. The firm was satisfied with our service, but saw an opportunity for force multiplier technologies to transform the managed service provider (MSP) space. In late 2019, we partnered to see how we could use investment capital to leverage the full power of AI and machine learning.
What are the benefits to your client base and how has this changed from what Agio offered previously?
Traditionally, IT support as an industry has long been referred to as “break fix.” By shifting from that reactive role of an MSP to a proactive focus on preventative solutions, we’re delivering faster, safer, smoother technology to our clients. In fact, they’re experiencing fewer technical issues and higher-quality interactions with their service desk, resulting in a 30% reduction in issues in the first 90 days they are with us.
How is AI Cybersecurity and IT transforming industries and making companies more dynamic? Your core clients are in the financial sector- do you envision your client base growing and changing?
Agio’s next-generation technology works behind the scenes as an invisible engine that constantly monitors a client system for potential threats and vulnerabilities. When our human agents do need to step in, they have enriched data analysis and effective, tested troubleshooting recommendations to fix disruptions faster and more accurately. Every problem our system solves today is a problem it learns to prevent tomorrow. All of this frees our clients to work at the top of their game to drive more value for their business, without technology interruptions like brownouts and breaches, or even the more mundane password expirations.
In 2014, we expanded our clientele to include healthcare providers and firms with healthcare strategies. In the short term, we’re focused on growing our client base within those industries. Long term, we’ll certainly explore expanding into new territory if it’s the right fit.
To that end, our deep industry expertise within the financial services and healthcare sectors is one of our key differentiators – we call it our “Purple Cow,” based on Seth Godin’s book. We have a thorough understanding of our clients’ industry, their sense of urgency, their partners, their regulatory environment and the overall ecosystem in which they participate. That knowledge enables smooth service delivery. It makes us different, and it makes us better.
What is your vision for the Agio AI-enabled cybersecurity and IT service platform?
Our vision is to provide secure, reliable, and resilient systems for our clients. By combining predictive intelligence and human brilliance, Agio is delivering a frictionless service that reduces issues, increases speed to resolution, and makes clients smarter, empowering them to spend more time focused on their work and less time worrying about technology.
What do your clients tell you about the improved service and how it has helped or changed their business?
Our clients have noticed a significant decrease in technology problems. If an issue arises and they do need to contact the Agio support desk, we’re able to resolve it faster. For businesses, this equates to increased productivity, lower cost, reduced risk, and overall higher satisfaction.
What is next for Agio?
We’re going to keep building better and better AI to continue to reduce issues and improve the overall experience clients have with their IT.
At Agio, we like to say our “why” is to “Be Better Than Yesterday.” We use every new day as a chance to improve – that’s the only way we can achieve The Agio Vision.
Where can people best find out about Agio?
I’m most active on Twitter – that’s where I share my point of view on industry news and trends. The best way for people to keep up with Agio’s technology innovations and thought leadership is to follow Agio on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
Twitter:
@bartmcd
@goagio
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/agio-technology/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartmcd/
Facebook:
@goagio
Instagram:
@go_agio
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