Founded and headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, Softdocs develops enterprise content management (ECM) solutions for the higher education and K-12 markets. Trusted by over 700 colleges, universities, districts and schools, the Softdocs product suite enables educational institutions to simplify business processes through document management, electronic forms and workflow automation.
William Scalf, Security Architect at Softdocs, recently attended one of our Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) classes while preparing to obtain his CISSP certification. We are proud to have played a small role in helping him succeed and reach his goal. I sat down with William and Mike Williamson, Vice President of Research and Development at Softdocs, to talk about William’s career and recent accomplishments, as well as Softdocs as a company.
Meet William
William Scalf has been working at Softdocs for nine years. He explained that he grew into his role as the company grew and his responsibilities have shaped and become clear as the company has expanded. He joined as a Developer and is now a Security Architect designing security critical features around authentication and authorization.
Finding that “aha moment”
It becomes immediately apparent when talking with William about cybersecurity that he’s in a career field he loves. He shared that his interests began as a teenage hobby, and he later had an “aha moment” where he realized he possesses a valuable, sought after skillset. He thrives in being the one building up walls of security for protection while also trying to find ways to knock them down. That’s a skillset not often found in job descriptions.
“A faster route to the end goal”
Obtaining his CISSP certification was the next logical step in William’s professional career. His goal was to build his credentials, and he knew that CISSP is a respected certification in his field. When asked about the class he took with us, William explained that it was nice to go over everything in a structured way, and it was a faster route to his end goal of becoming certified. When asked if he had any advice for future students, he shared that a strong basis in area practice would be very helpful. He finished that thought with some positivity saying individuals with field experience may find this will act as an advantage during the certification process.
Creating a “learning culture”
While William’s certification is a personal victory, he bridged this victory into benefits it has for Softdocs as a company, as well. He explained that being certified helps him project competence, which in turn, helps the company. Mike Williamson stepped in to explain that one of Softdocs’ core tenets is to strive to be a learning culture. He says this involves investing in their employees and finding areas that benefit Softdocs while also fostering growth and interest for their employees. He stated, “Growth of your career and personal knowledge is something that ought not be a chore.”
Knowing where “greatness arises”
Softdocs has recently renewed focus in employee training. Mike recounts that announcing William’s CISSP certification created a spin and got people excited. He shared some of his thoughts on the benefits of training saying that Softdocs’ next big idea won’t come from a scholarly article someone reads. Mike feels it will come from investing in their employees by training them and fostering their growth. This, he details, will spark hallway conversations that could lead to something great.
“You’re almost there”
Mike and William both agreed that utilizing Training Concepts was easy and their needs were met. Mike said the expertise they needed was available and their goal was accomplished. He added that Training Concepts was very easy to work with and that being local was a plus. William touched on the class structure saying he felt the smaller sized class was perfect considering the amount of material being taught. He also spoke on the fast-paced tempo saying it worked for him with the addition of outside class time spent on topics that weren’t as familiar. Still reflecting on the fast pace, he shared that this is the whole idea, you could spend six months working towards a certification or you can come to a fast-paced class for a week and you’re almost there.