Business Fortune
While there are many businesses worldwide that provide top-notch IT consulting services, DVBE Technology is unique. With a leadership team with more than 25 years of experience, DVBETG is a recognized Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that offers creative and practical solutions to meet your most challenging business problems. The business has a track record of providing the public and commercial sectors with expert, high-quality information technology (IT) staffing and consulting services across the globe.
In conversation with Richard McKinnon, President of DVBE Technology
What inspired the founding of DVBE Technology?
If you could travel back in time to the early 1970s and 1980s and lived in the West of the United States, you most certainly visited Shakey's Pizza at some point. I had the good fortune to grow up with an incredible father who not only owned several Shakey's restaurants but also spent a lot of time teaching me valuable lessons about business and working relationships.
I learned that your reputation as a CEO or business owner is only as good as the individuals you deal with. I have had the good fortune to work with the same amazing group of people for more than 25 years, who genuinely believe in the idea we have put in place. "People don't work for the company, they work with the company" is that philosophy. I was raised to think differently; you should too.
The mission of DVBE Technology Group (DVBETG) is to increase the number of veteran-owned companies that operate in the public and private sectors while maintaining the high standards of service that one would anticipate from a firm operating on both a national and international scale. We are using our pool of bilingual subject matter experts to obtain contracts on a worldwide scale as we grow into Latin America and, shortly, Canada.
Could you briefly describe your services?
Our services have evolved throughout time to keep up with the rapidly evolving technological markets. Today's market is extremely fortunate to have an infinite supply of highly qualified technology consultants covering all facets of technology. We are now working on contracts that involve a lot of AI, IoT, big data, cyber security, smart cities, and analytics.
Experts believe that trustworthy algorithms will eventually fail. How do you create infallible AI solutions?
Like anything else, the key is to comprehend how the AI functions and then rigorously test it before implementing it in the actual world. managing all regulatory compliance in order to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and safety. We also raise awareness about AI's application. We attempt to meet such standards because we have observed and learned from some of the greatest.
Even though it seems wonderful to switch on the computer and go for the day, automated solutions do need to be watched over. How might possible technological errors be avoided?
It all comes down to governance and how your business applies it. Automation-related areas like RPA and specific AI decision-making solutions might also be helpful in this process. You must have a specific, well-defined end objective. Workflows should be examined to find possible opportunities for automation. These often have predictable, repeatable stages and require nothing in the way of human interaction.
How do you keep your services operating efficiently and avoid making bad hires?
We take great satisfaction in our quality. We have multiple stages in our hiring procedure in order to comply. I genuinely think that the phrase "Time is money, and I don't want to waste people's time" applies to this compliance process. Put another way, it matters to us that managers make the effort to schedule interviews and that consultants make the effort to conduct them. In order to ensure that we select the best candidate for the management style and general business climate of that organization, we thoroughly screen candidates during this process.
The most crucial factor is time, and we don't want managers to merely interview a never-ending stream of applicants with no outcomes. Even in the current market, the interview-to-hiring rate is 76%, meaning that three out of every four candidates who schedule an interview are recruited.
Cybercriminals are getting more and more creative in how they attack systems. How do you obtain information to keep current?
We use a model of zero trust. We recognize that security isn’t just about the technology stack that is installed but also about the governance and the training of the people in areas of password management, protocols, training, etc. We may operate from a company's fundamental foundation and infrastructure thanks to the Zero Trust Model.
What lies ahead for your business and its clientele? Are interesting developments imminent?
I am really enthusiastic about DVBETG's future. I am grateful that we are growing at such a fast pace, having worked in parts of Latin America and now adding new offices in Toronto, Canada, and New Jersey. Our objective is to keep using our SDVOSB and DVBE certifications to secure national contracts. The luxury of having an unending supply of engineers available to us both domestically and internationally will remain crucial to the company's growth.
About the leader behind the success of DVBE Technology in his own words
Richard McKinnon, President
Over the past 25 years or more, I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the Top 100 firms in the world; in fact, some of my relationships with these same companies and people date back more than 25 years. The Gold Medallion Coin from The Military Order of the Purple Heart and, most recently, the Gold Medallion Coin from the Ministry of Defense Colombia (Ministerio Defensa Nacional De Colombia) are just two of the numerous accolades and recognitions that DVBETG has won that have changed their lives.
In 2021-2022, DVBETG was awarded the CRN Triple Crown and was selected as one of the 50 Best Work Places for two consecutive years. It has been an honor for me to be named one of the Top 20 Pioneering CEOs for 2021-2022 and to have my work featured in publications like Fortune, Bloomberg, Money, and twelve other magazines.
The freedom DVBETG has given me to give back to others is the best gift of all. This has been an incredible journey, starting with providing jobs so people could support their families, creating a few thousand jobs for veterans, constructing orphanages in three different countries, and culminating with my volunteering my time to help with veterans at VA hospitals. I currently have the opportunity to teach technology to retired people and veterans not only in the US but also internationally.
