At RSAC Conference 2026, the noise is everywhere. Vendor booths compete for attention with flashing lights and polished pitches. But somewhere beyond the show floor, a different kind of conversation is happening -- one about trust, outcomes, and what it actually means to help a client make the right decision. Michael Parisi, Chief Growth Officer at Steel Patriot Partners, sat down with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli at the conference to cut through exactly that fog.
Why Is Cybersecurity Vendor Noise Getting Worse, Not Better?
The short answer, according to Parisi, is that the problem has expanded. What once was a cybersecurity marketing problem has now absorbed the AI wave, adding a new layer of vendors promising capabilities they cannot substantiate. The result is a market where security practitioners -- already stretched thin -- are swimming in claims with nowhere firm to stand.
Parisi describes a dynamic he sees playing out across conference floors and boardrooms alike: security leaders are exhausted and fragile. They are afraid to make the wrong call -- not just for the business, but for their own careers, in an era when the fear of being replaced by automation is real. In that environment, people stop trusting research tools and AI-generated answers and start returning to something far older: relationships.
"We're almost seeing a movement back to what's more trusted and true from a vendor perspective," Parisi says. "I trust the brand. I trust the name. I trust the relationship I've built." At its core, this is what Steel Patriot Partners was built around -- being the trusted advisor in the room, not the loudest one.
What Does 'Business Owners First' Actually Mean in Practice?
Steel Patriot Partners operates by a guiding principle that Parisi repeats with conviction: business owners first, engineers second, compliance and security people third. It sounds simple, but it runs counter to how most consulting firms approach a client engagement.
Rather than leading with frameworks, tools, or compliance checklists, Steel Patriot Partners starts with a different question: what outcome are you actually trying to achieve? That sounds obvious, but Parisi notes that the outcome an organization thinks it wants is frequently not the right one. He describes steering multiple clients away from pursuing federal compliance certifications, even though the clients came in convinced that was the path forward. The honest answer -- that the timing or business case was not there -- is exactly what a trusted advisor is supposed to deliver.
As Jason Ford, Steel Patriot Partners' founder, puts it: 80% of what the firm does is a therapy session. That is not a critique of clients -- it is a description of what high-stakes decision-making actually requires. People need to think out loud with someone they trust before committing to a direction that will shape their organization for years.
Steel Patriot Partners is a cybersecurity compliance and advisory firm that works with organizations struggling with complex business decisions around governance, risk, and compliance. Unlike firms that lead with frameworks or certifications, Steel Patriot Partners starts with business outcomes -- asking what an organization actually needs before recommending a path. With experience across FedRAMP, CMMC, HITRUST, DoD IL, and more, the team has lived through the compliance journeys they now guide clients through.
How Do You Know If a Vendor Has Actually Lived What They Sell?
One of the most pointed observations in the conversation comes when Parisi talks about the difference between vendors who have lived compliance and those who have not. His advice to any organization evaluating a partner is direct: ask that question up and down the team, not just of the founder. A company that has navigated FedRAMP, failed at it, learned from it, and come out the other side has something no amount of marketing can manufacture -- credibility born from experience.
Steel Patriot Partners makes this a core part of its own brand story. The team has held federal clearances, built compliance programs from the ground up, and -- critically -- made the same mistakes their clients are trying to avoid. That lived experience shapes every engagement, including the willingness to tell a prospective client that their proposed direction is the wrong one.
The conversation with Michael Parisi is a sharp, honest look at what the cybersecurity industry gets wrong about trust -- and what it looks like when a firm gets it right. Watch the full Brand Spotlight on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. Connect with Michael Parisi on LinkedIn and learn more about Steel Patriot Partners at https://www.steelpatriotpartners.com
