Senior Sales Engineer
Senior Solutions Architect

Tulane University

Developed a layered security design tailored for Tulane University’s complex IT environment, with particular attention to identity controls, cloud workload isolation, and advanced log telemetry. The architecture offered a future-ready framework that supported both academic freedom and data protection. It enabled Tulane’s stakeholders to plan for secure growth with senior technical and executive teams aligned.

Executive Case Study 

In mid-2021, I was asked to rescue a stalled Managed Threat Detection and Response (MTDR) deployment at Tulane University, a $3M+ AT&T Cybersecurity engagement. Six months after contract signing, the deployment had stalled, the CIO was frustrated, and no progress was visible despite daily log submissions. I was given no budget, no timeline, and one directive: fix it.

Challenges Identified

  • Sensor Overload – Palo Alto PA7050 Firewall logs exceeded sensor ingestion capacity, causing repeated crashes.
  • Control Node Overutilization – Overload cascaded upstream, slowing processing and leaving the control node non-responsive.
  • Delayed Threat Model Workshop (TMW) – Contractual holdups had stalled this critical step, leaving deployment improperly scoped.

Resolution Approach

  • Conducted a deep-dive discovery with university IT to pinpoint log ingestion bottlenecks.
  • Re-engineered log parsing and filtering at the sensor level to balance throughput.
  • Coordinated with engineering and the customer to optimize resource allocation on the control node.
  • Personally facilitated the long-delayed Threat Model Workshop, aligning stakeholders and clearing contractual obstacles.

Outcome

  • Restored the control node to full functionality, stabilizing log ingestion.
  • Regained trust with Tulane’s CIO through transparent communication and proactive remediation.
  • Kept the project within the original budget, fulfilling the “no additional expenditure” mandate.
  • Created a repeatable remediation framework later applied to other MTDR accounts.

Conclusion.

The Solution

After facilitating the Threat Model Workshop, I worked with Tulane’s deployment team and security engineers to realign the MTDR deployment around business-critical assets. We broke the rollout into phases, prioritizing the most mission-critical systems first.

  • Firewall Optimization: Partnered with Tulane’s firewall engineers to segment PA7050 logs by type and subnet, eliminating noise and stabilizing the control node.
  • Phased Migration: Brought critical servers, load balancers, and switches online, ensuring visibility into the most essential traffic.
  • Capacity Management: Surpassing 90% utilization of contracted storage highlighted the value of insights being generated. I guided Tulane through a storage upgrade from 6TB to 20TB/month, ensuring scalability.
  • Completion & Visibility: With contractual updates finalized, the deployment team onboarded the remaining assets. By project close, Tulane had achieved 85% network/server/endpoint visibility, a significant uplift in security posture.

Impact

  • Stabilized a previously stalled $3M MTDR deployment.
  • Elevated Tulane’s SOC visibility from near-zero to ~85%.
  • Drove incremental revenue by facilitating a 3x storage expansion (6TB → 20TB).
  • Restored customer confidence and salvaged a high-risk account.

Results.

Increase in instance size
0 +%
weeks to bring customer to resolution
0
TCV of uplift at project conclusion.
$ 0 K