< PreviousJumpstarting Your Innovation EffortsFinding an effective solution to a problem is pretty difficult if you don’t understand the why behind the what. A lot of people believe that Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, was an innovation wizard. The reality is that Jobs was as practical as they come.Sure, he had an uncanny sense for design and a terrifying eye for detail; but by hiding under his control-freak bluster, Jobs was also able to recognize what consumers wanted: seamless, easy-to-use and cutting-edge solutions.The cutting edge is relatively easy. Just follow TechCrunch for six months and you too will know what direction the technol-ogy winds are blowing. Seamless and easy to use solutions, that’s a little harder.Let’s study the history of Apple’s first radical re-invention, the iPod. At its introduction, Steve Jobs pointedly remarked, “Music is a part of everyone’s life.” Only Apple could do digital music better and, given its history, this made a lot of sense.At the time, Creative Labs, a Singapore-based company, was the sure-footed leader of the MP3 player market. Apple was by no means first. But, Apple created a seamless and innovative solution consisting of: a 5GB hard drive, a simple click wheel interface, and a fast FireWire connection to the iTunes music store that let consumers buy music by the song. Before launching the iPod, Jobs and his engineering team were answering these questions:• How do customers interact with products on the market today?• What challenges do they have with current offerings?There were plenty of challenges. Cre-ative Labs’ Nomad MP3 player, launched in June 1999, was not only expensive at $429, but it had a 32-megabyte capacity — a laughable amount in this day and age of 320 gigabytes. While it also sported an FM radio and voice recording, the Nomad was the first player on the market that let users place the player in a dock to charge and transfer files. But buying music legitimately for a Nomad was a challenge for the aver-age consumer. It was a three-step process; users had to find music, rip it and transfer it from a computer to the player.Apple’s iPod had a miniature 5GB hard drive. This was a significant advancement in capacity; but, it wasn’t a radical departure in music storage. The same goes for the music format itself. The iPod used regular MP3 files because that was the accepted standard. And the LCD interface? The WorkSlate tablet computer that debuted in 1983 had an LCD screen, too. What about the iTunes music store? Ditto for the iTunes music store. Sony launched a retail site in 2000, first called Duet then Pressplay.Perhaps the most dramatic aspect of the iPod’s launch history was the fact that Apple had just come off fiscal year 2000 with 8 bil-lion dollars in revenues and was down 2.6 billion dollars. In other words, the company was on the skids. In a little over a decade, Apple went from a loss-making corporation to the world’s most valuable enterprise. No better example of the impact of innovation exists today.Conclusion: You don’t have to be an innovative genius to come up with some pretty groundbreaking ideas for tribal markets. But, you must craft liquid solutions that tackle tough challenges by asking the fol-lowing questions:• How do end-users interact with your technology?• What challenges do they face with current offerings?INNOVATIONPutting the Pedal to the MetalMICHAEL TCHONGFounderubercool INNOVATIONFEATURED COLUMNSMichael Tchong, Founder, ubercool INNOVATION20TribalNetThese are the first steps you must take to boost what I like to call your “IQ” (Innovation Quotient). Then attend my keynote presentation at TribalNet on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 at 8:30am to hear me satisfy your curiosity about the “bleeding edge.”What’s the takeaway from this article? A bit of due diligence in researching target audiences can go a long way in identifying problems that users may not know they have. Remember, do not put the “what” before the “why” and pay close attention to how Steve Jobs approached innovation. Think differently.INNOVATIONFEATURED COLUMNSThis article is based on Michael Tchong’s upcoming book “Ubertrends — How Trends and Innovation are Shaping Our Future,” which will be published in early 2017. Michael Tchong is a high-energy, passionate speaker who devotes himself to driving trends that reinvent markets. His trademark motto is, “I help you catch the next wave before it catches you.”An innovation catalyst, Michael inspires attendees by dissecting opportunities that exploit market shifts, in particular massive “Ubertrend” waves. His talks showcase brands and individuals who are leading the charge to reinvent industry sectors by harnessing emerging societal and technology trends, with a particular emphasis on the trajectory shift innovation provides.Michael is the founder of ubercool INNOVATION -- an innovation agency and incubator -- and an adjunct professor of innovation at the University of San Francisco and UC Berkeley. His trend and innovation analysis can be found at ubercool.com.Gaming and leisure organizations face escalating challenges to increase information security against cyber attacks, improve data quality, modernize their current infrastructure and enhance collaboration. Mainline can help your organization confront and conquer these challenges.Mainline Solves IT Challenges for Gaming OrganizationsFeatured Solutions:• Digital Video Surveillance• SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud)• Security and Risk Mitigation• Disaster Recovery• IT Infrastructure Optimization• Storage Solutions• Converged and Hyper-Converged SolutionsFor more information, contact:Tyler Burkett Account Executive Cell: 480.221.3244tyler.burkett@mainline.com2015 Gaming Partner of the Year**Awarded by Axis for 3 consecutive yearsWhat can you tell us about your background with Sycuan?I’ve been at Sycuan for over 23 years and have appreciated the opportunity to watch this organization develop into the property we have today. Prior to becoming the General Manager in October of 2014, I spent most of my career in slots. My outlook on operations and the importance of our frontline staff is from first-hand experience. As a GM I aim to continue to be just as responsive to questions from them as I am to tribal council while fostering a culture of sincere and supportive leadership. What can you share about the culture of your company and leadership style?Our organization works hard to provide an environment for our employees that we want them to provide to the guest. If we provide a positive, responsive and encouraging environment, that bleeds into how our managers and department heads lead their teams and how our staff treats our patrons. It’s also important to me, personally, to show stability and flexibility as a leader. I make a point to be on the floor as much as possible and to lead by example. What allows us to constantly rise to the challenge against our competitors is our level of customer service. We actually have “ON AIR” signs at the exit of our back of house into the front of house that reminds our employees to bring their “A game” to our customers every single time they walk through those doors. Gaming is a demanding 24/7 environment and it’s important to remember that it’s the people (both employees and guests) that matter. We engage in employee satisfaction surveys to be sure we stay on point with the needs of our team members and providing the desired level of support.How important is technology to you as a tribal gaming executive? Technology is critical for us in several ways. In the last couple years I would consider myself to have become a more data driven leader. We can all make more informed business decisions when we are able to collect the data and ensure that it matches the intended outcome or goal. It’s not just about making decisions off the data, it’s seeing if we made the RIGHT decisions by evaluating again after we’ve done something to impact the results. Another area of importance is with the guest. Everywhere we interact with them, technology is in play. No one (including me) has patience anymore. I can’t remember the last time I stood in line for more than two minutes and didn’t take out my phone to connect to something. Our guests expect a rich multi-media experience and it’s a devastating impact on their experience when technology isn’t in play. By catering to these needs we are also allowing them to multi-task how they want; but also give them more time on the gaming floor. Rather than waiting in line at the buffet, they can download our mobile app and use our “Rapid Reserve” feature to be notified when their table is ready. Win-Win. There is also the positive impact technology has on operations. We are constantly improving operational efficiencies and streamlining workflow and processes with technology, something extremely important for our bottom line. Although people will always be the heart of our organization, I can’t think of many areas that technology doesn’t come into play at our gaming facility.What do you think tribal gaming GM’s should be focused on now and in the future? I can’t say for others, but for me, it’s about a balance of solutions and relationships. I foresee a lot of tribes continuing to expand their enterprise portfolio to include more non-gaming business opportunities. It’s important for us all to remember that we aren’t just driving the bottom line of the business, but the long term self-sufficiency of the tribal government and tribal community. Sycuan also works with over 700 charities in a given year. The importance of our tribal gaming contributions to state and local communities should not be overlooked.GENERAL MANAGER, JOHN DINIUSSycuan CasinoEXECUTIVE Q & AJOHN DINIUSGeneral ManagerSycuan CasinoWe would like to thank John for taking the time to connect with us on this Q&A interview. He welcomes your questions and comments and can be reached at: jdinius@sycuan.com22TribalNetwww.gamingandleisuremagazine.cominfo@gamingandleisuremagazine.com702.547.4545Exclusive forum for industry CXOs,representing a majority of domesticgaming& hospitality technology spend& hosting the most gaming CIOs in oneprivate forum in North America.Gaming & HospitalityResearch CenterRevolutionized the way the industrysources future business partners.G&L BusinessPartner andG&L CommunityMember ProfilesBringing together tribes and technology for 17 years focusingon both gaming and federalcomponents of tribesCoveted annual award series in our industrydefined and evaluated by G&L Board andRoundtable Colleagues.Gaming & Hospitality’s quarterlymanagement periodical delivered domesti-cally and abroad for over 15 years.NowDigitalG&L MonthlyIndustry influencer insights & monthlymust know information and dates.G&L WebsiteYour daily connection to thegaming and hospitality industry.G&L IndustrySegmented Newsand Calendarof EventsStatistics &Resource LibraryEmploymentDashboardNEWNEWReach thousands of targeted decision-makers in Gaming and HospitalityMcLean & Company: Human Resource ManagementPractical research, tools and advice covering the entire spectrum of HR challenges to ensure you achieve measurable, positive results. Includes HR Strategy, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Performance Management, Learning & Development, Total Compensation, and HR Operations & Infrastructure. Info-Tech Research GroupInfo-Tech’s mission is to help our members conquer their challenges by improving their core IT processes and actively assisting in delivering on their key projects. Includes all core research including Applications, Infrastructure, Strategy & Leadership, and IT Management & Governance Best Practice Process Framework.Your NATRC Membership Includes:Access to Tribal specific research available nowhere else in the industry Complimentary 3 month Info-Tech Research Group & McLean & Company Core Membership for 3 of your IT and 3 of your HR executives Complimentary annual TribalNet all-access membershipComplimentary TribalNet conference pass On average our clients receive over $30,000 in value each time they engage with our analyst teamSpecial savings when combining the Native American Technology Research Center (NATRC) and the Gaming & Hospitality Research Center (GHRC) memberships •••••• IT’S IN YOUR HANDSThe NATRC is putting the choice for the right tools in your hands so you can put the opportunity in your tribe’s hands.Before the NATRC there was NO research available specific to technology and innovation within tribal organizations. Look at how far we’ve come now:TECHNOLOGY TO PROTECT YOUR PASTAND PREPARE YOU FOR THE FUTUREAnd we have exciting upcoming 2016 NATRC Additions:Tribal Financial Management SolutionsTribal Enrollment and Membership Management SystemsTribal Court & Docket Management SystemsTribal Asset & Work Order ManagementCritical Incident Management SoftwareHow to Select, Implement, or Change a Resource Patient Management System (RPMS)Strengthen Tribal HR’s Stakeholder Management Capabilities• • • • •••How to Prepare for a HIPAA Compliance AuditIT Strategy for Tribal Government & Constituent Services• • DISCOVER THE POWER OF THE NATRC JOIN TODAY!PREVIEW OF CURRENT NATRC MEMBER TRIBESErin FontManaging Director, NATRC1-888-670-8889 x 27721-519-777-3731efont@infotech.comLarry FretzPractice Lead, NATRC1-702-574-4575lfretz@infotech.comWith Info-Tech’s valuable research easily available, they save me time and money by not having to research it myself. It’s hard to believe they provide so much information on every topic I can think of. They understand Native American Tribes and issues with sovereignty which makes their research more meaningful and specifically focused. Info-Tech’s research has been very beneficial to my team, and has helped us define our technology strategy for BYOD, select the right vendor to meet our unique needs, and provide a cost analysis to help ensure the prices we were quoted are on par with what others are paying for the same solution. Our interaction with them is at a partner level, where they work beside us as we leverage technology to reach organizational goals. Currently cyber security is a major concern for the Navajo Nation. We have taken measures to secure the multiple layers of security for the nation. But we have been utilizing InfoTech as a primary resource for security measures and they have been absolutely helpful in many ways.NATRC has a lot of GREAT IT Policy templates! That proved to be highly valuable for our team. There is an enormous amount of information available to a NATRC member.JON JAMESCIO CHEROKEE NATIONHAROLD SKOW IT DIRECTOR NAVAJO NATIONJEROLYN TAKALA IT DIRECTOR THE HOPI TRIBEDUSTIN STARKIT DIRECTOR CHOCTAW NATIONConfederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation/ Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians/ Mashantucket Pequot Tribe/ Tanana Chiefs/ Hopi Tribe/ Chicksaw Nation/ Seminole Nation of Florida/ Gila River Indian Community/ San Manuel/ Navajo Nation/ Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma/ Southern Ute Indian Tribe/ Cherokee Nation/ Ho-Chunk Nation/ Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community First, a little history about my career. I have completed two information security certifications since 2012 including the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) through (ISC)2 and the CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) through ISACA. Currently, I’m working towards my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) certification so that I am able to better understand the tools and methodology used by cyber attackers. A large portion of the first two certifications was spent on Information Security Governance and Risk Management. While my past career positions as Director of IT & Security held some clout, I came to realize many executives believe that information/cyber security is IT’s responsibility. When you work directly for the CFO, it may seem that every decision is made with the question in mind, “How much will this cost me?” and with little regard to the responsibility of protecting information. This often meant that the IT department was tasked with taking care of the problem of information protection at no additional cost. This past December, I accepted a position as the Information Security Manager of Little River Casino Resort in Michigan after the Director of IT explained the importance of this new role to the General Manager (GM). My past IT experiences in software development, education, non-profit, and healthcare, (though very diverse in responsibilities) did not offer a smooth transition into this new industry. Now that I worked within the gaming industry, I had to start with new eyes because of all the different systems and controls. Whew! What a workout! While the transition has not been easy, I am very thankful that someone started to pave an “Information Security Pathway”. Although my position reports to the Director of IT, we were able to convince the GM and AGM that the program (which I am trying to instill within the organization) is not just an IT responsibility. It is a responsibility held by the entire casino.How did I do that? Read on and I’ll give you some of my secrets.Push your program up the chain of command.No matter the hierarchy, it is important to get your ideas of a casino-wide program accepted by the Director of IT, GM, and AGM, or whomever else could advocate on your behalf to the executive team. Get governance at the highest level possible.Once your managers and/or directors are on board, it’s time to create a business case for the executive team. This is the team you want to have governance of the Information Security Management Program. You’ll most likely need to create a presentation. Note: If you have an issue talking in front of people, then this career is probably not a good fit. Ideas of what to include in your presentation: • Explain who you are and what you do here. Don’t assume the executive team already knows this information.• Answer the question: “What is information security?” Explain it, but be careful not to use acronyms or technical words that may not be familiar to executive team members. An old boss once told me once, “Listening to you is like drinking water from a fire hose.” • Answer the question: “What Information do you have?” This is an eye opener for many people, not because they’ve kept their heads in the sand, but because they haven’t had to think about it. It’s important to make them aware.• Explain where the information is kept. Information can be kept on servers, PCs, tablets, and in the cloud. But, this can also include physical records in HR, Accounting, Audit, and even staff knowledge.• Discuss why you want to develop this program. Scare tactics are good! I suggest discussing a few recent casino hacks including what was stolen. Research is necessary to determine the stolen data cost to the victim. Relate the hacks discussed with your environment by including information held by your facility including things like the total number of credit cards stored in-house and the fees around PCI and HIPAA. This enables you to provide hypothetical costs when (not if) your organization is hacked. You should also talk about reputation, loss of customers and the potential law suits of angry customers looking to recover some of their gambling debt. Some executives believe that Cyber Liability Insurance will take care of these costs, but you can win them over by becoming familiar with that policy and the Limits of Liability. I took the time to study ours and poke some holes in it. This helped us find another provider and up our coverage.• Discuss who owns the data. This point is vital and our GM got it right CYBER SECURITYCyber Security: Who is Responsible?SUSAN SWANSON CISSP, CISMIT Security ManagerLittle River Casino ResortFEATURED COLUMNSSusan Swanson, CISSP, CISM, IT Security Manager, Little River Casino Resort26TribalNetthreatsoutthinkSecurity for the cognitive era.When everything is connected, everything is vulnerable. IBM uses cognitive technology to help protect the critical assets of your business. It senses and helps detect millions of hidden threats from millions of sources, and continuously learns how to defeat them. When your business thinks, you can outthink.ibm.com/outthinkIBM and its logo and ibm.com are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. See current list at ibm.com/trademark. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. ©International Business Machines Corp. 2016. P31864away. The casino owns the data. It’s not owned by IT, Compliance, Finance, or Audit. Therefore, protecting the information is everyone’s responsibility and support from the executive team can ensure success.• Explain how the program aligns with the business’ strategic plan. If your Information Security Program does not align with the organization’s strate-gic plan, then don’t expect ongoing support of what you are trying to accomplish. • Outline expectations of the Executive/Governance Team. Be specific and detail the expectations. For example, we asked the Executive Team to be the power which could dismantle the Information Security Program, adopt the Information Security Governance Policies, and appoint an Advisory Committee that is responsible for implementing the program, includ-ing creating new policies, developing training, and approving new controls.• Keep the Executive Team updated. The only way the Executive Team will continue to support your program is if you show your progress and its contin-ued alignment with the business strategy. Make sure to include this in the Informa-tion Security Governance Policy.Now you know some of my secrets. I can’t give them all away, but if you want to know more, please contact me at susans@lrcr.comHere’s to your success!CYBER SECURITYFEATURED COLUMNSSusan Swanson has been involved in technology for over three decades managing IT systems and staff in education, non-profits, healthcare with an exceptional commitment to compliance and security. Susan’s passion for cyber security is shown in her advocating for a consortium within her community in the Northern Lower Michigan area.threatsoutthinkSecurity for the cognitive era.When everything is connected, everything is vulnerable. IBM uses cognitive technology to help protect the critical assets of your business. It senses and helps detect millions of hidden threats from millions of sources, and continuously learns how to defeat them. When your business thinks, you can outthink.ibm.com/outthinkIBM and its logo and ibm.com are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. See current list at ibm.com/trademark. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. ©International Business Machines Corp. 2016. P31864AGENCY UPDATESDHS Cybersecurity Advisors Can Help Your Tribe Manage Cyber RiskHERB JOSEYDeputy Director (acting) External AffairsOffice of Cybersecurity and CommunicationsU.S. Department of Homeland SecurityHerbert.josey@hq.dhs.gov (703) 235-5767The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) partners with state, local, territorial and tribal nations to strengthen their cyber infrastructure, educate their citizens and defend against online threats and attacks by providing no-cost DHS cybersecurity resources. A wide-variety of these resources are available at us-cert.gov/ccubedvp. If tribes would like an expert to help them manage their cyber risk at no-cost, they can consider using a DHS Cyber Security Advisor.Cyber Security Advisors (CSAs) are DHS personnel located regionally who can provide immediate and sustained assistance, coordination and outreach to prepare and protect tribal nations from cyber threats. CSAs can help bolster the cybersecurity preparedness, risk mitigation and incident response capabilities of tribes and guide them to adopt National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) best practices. Some of the specific services CSAs provide include:• Facilitation of workshops to promote IT operations resilience and enhance cyber security capabilities within a tribal nation - each workshop introduces participants to cyber resilience concepts and to capacity and capability building activities in key performance areas related to cybersecurity, IT operations and business continuity;• Resource and education briefings;• Assessments of cybersecurity policies and procedures;• Sharing of open-source cyber threat information, best practices, guides, templates and after action reports;• Incident coordination support.One of the best starting points is to request a facilitated cybersecurity assessment, like the Cyber Infrastructure Survey Tool (or C-IST). The C-IST is another no-cost, voluntary, non-technical assessment that takes two and half to four hours to complete and can be used to evaluate basic cybersecurity practices (e.g. cybersecurity management, controls, personnel, incident response and disaster recovery and cyber dependencies).Another assessment that can be requested is the more comprehensive Cyber Resilience Review (CRR). It is designed to assess programs and practices across ten critical cybersecurity domains including risk man-agement, incident management, service continuity and others. The CRR assessment measures existing organizational resilience and provides a gap analysis for improvement based on recognized best practices. More information about this review including a self-assessment is located at us-cert.gov/ccubedvp/assessments. The Cyber Security Advisor team can be contacted at cyberadvisor@hq.dhs.gov. TribalNet’s ExclusiveMeet & Greet Event4:30-7:30PMMonday, November 7Kona Kai ResortSponsored byYour Itinerary for an Unforgettable Kick Off Event:3:45-4:15 Bus pickup (A short 5 minute bus ride to the beach site! Transportation to and from provided)4:15-4:30 Kick off your shoes, put your toes in the sand and get ready for an amazing evening!4:30-7:00 Watch the sunset on the beach, relax by the bonfire, roast a s’more, network and enjoy food & drinks along with some entertainment options • Mesmorizing entertainment by “hoopie” performances throughout the night• Have fun by participating in our team beach Olympics - Go for GOLD!• Try out your best moves on our surf-simulator7:00-7:30 Prize annoucements for drawings and awards!Attendees: This is included in your registration. Sponsors/Exhibitors: A purchased pass is required to attend.Ph: 269-459-9890 • info@tribalnetonline.com • www.tribalnetonline.comPRODUCT SPOTLIGHTProduct/Services HyperGrid HyperConverged Infrastructure -as-a-Service (HCIaaSTM) provides the greatest flexibility for developers and IT operations without ownership or lease liabilities, all through a service and opex fees. It is delivered via an open, distributed platform with a pay-for-usage model that requires no upfront costs. HCIaaS can be deployed on premises or through a qualified partner MSP.Key Benefits• Speed and rapid time to market• Simple and easy to use• Elastic scalability• Quality of Service (QoS)• Freedom from vendor lock-inValue to the Native American MarketHyperGrid is able to provide our tribal customers with the ability to easily deploy a private cloud that is well suited to support-ing the administrative needs of running reservation infrastructure. This includes workloads typical to municipality needs, like Microsoft Exchange, SQL databases, file servers, and Sharepoint. The HyperGrid solution can start small and expand as needed to support growth and incremental demands on the IT infrastructure of the tribe.COMPANYHyperGridCONTACTNorth American Salessales@hypergrid.comwww.hypergrid.comHyperGrid HyperConverged Infrastructure-As-A-Service (HCIaaS™)Who We Are: HyperGrid (formerly Gridstore)HyperGrid delivers IT at the flip of a switch: A revolutionary new concept in HyperConverged Infrastructure, HCI-as-a-Service (“HCIaaS”) is the industry’s first application aware offering that brings the simplicity and ease-of-use of HCI together with a pay-as-you-consume pricing model that scales elastically. HCIaaS delivers “one-click” automated application deployment and management seamlessly across any cloud or container infrastructure. Enterprises can now enjoy all the benefits of the public cloud at better rates without fear of vendor lock-in. HCIaaS solves the key challenges of DevOps for Enterprises – allowing for both traditional and cloud-native applications to be containerized, managed and deployed with a single tool, dramatically simplifying IT and bridging the needs of both developers and IT operators. HyperGrid solutions unleash innovation for the Digital Enterprise. HyperGrid is headquartered in Mountain View, CA. and its products and services are available through a global network of channel partners. HyperGrid is a VALUED BRONZE SPONSOR for TribalNet 2016. Visit them at their booth at this year’s TribalNet conference!Get started with HCIaaS in three easy steps:Next >