Stop calling me agnostic...

“We are vendor agnostic”

Ever hear your VAR say something like that??Since 2010, I’ve heard colleagues and co-workers describe themselves (and me by extension) that way.?And it’s never hit right with me. ?

Ok, I might be on a slllllliggght bit of a pedantic rant here :)

Because everyone understands what you’re trying to say when you say you’re “platform/vendor agnostic”. So yes, you're effectively communicating and getting your point across.?You’re not beholden to one platform, one vendor, or one ecosystem/network.?You’re neutral, you play well with others.

So what’s my problem?..... (besides being wound up on thanksgiving weekend desserts and leftovers for days)

Lets take a look at what agnostic means...

In typical usage, Merriam-Webster defines
 
agnostic (n) as: “a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something” 

and agnostic (adj) as: “noncommittal or not preferring a particular device/system.        

The problem is, I’m not agnostic in any definition of the word.?I am, however very knowledgeable, impartial, and unbiased.? And I definitely prefer certain technologies for certain problems. If you've had more than a 10 minute conversation with me, you'll think to yourself "wow, this guy likes soapboxes and has an opinion.". An opinion cultivated over 2 decades in my field.

When you call me vendor-agnostic, you miss an opportunity to show my expertise, you convey my impartiality, but not my knowledge. In fact it could communicate quite the opposite.

The English term "agnostic" is derived from the Greek "agnostos," which means, "to not know." An agnostic is one who admits, "I don't know." So in the original Greek language, calling me an Agnostic means I don't know.

Ok, What about Latin? That's calling me something even worse: "ignoramus". Do I really need to spell out the definition of that one?

When you say agnostic, what I hear is that you don't know much, aren't an expert, and/or don't care.

But, I do care about cyber security..... A LOT. My peers do too! The #nerdtalk that happens among our team of 30+ security experts is educating, fascinating, and sometimes even infuriating when different philosophies are challenged. We're passionate, we're knowledgeable. And yes, we're vendor-neutral with our recommendations. With over 500 vendor and industry certifications, we're anything but ignorant. Our team knows more about the landscape than any single vendor team could hope to.

The "trusted advisor" position that VARs are in is one of utmost importance to their customers. It's actually the main reasons I've only ever worked for them instead of vendors. They aren't beholden to one vendor, they have the ability to take your business problem, and find the RIGHT technical solution that fits. No matter the logo, color, or box the solution comes in.

So, if you've made it this far (wow, thank you) and you're one of those who say "we're vendor agnostic", may I suggest a new phrase?

"We're impartial experts in cyber security.", "We're vendor-neutral experts in cybersecurity", or "Our subject matter experts take a vendor-neutral approach to business problems."