When you feel the energy of RSAC week starting to build, you know it’s going to be a memorable one. Conversations, collaborations, learning, connecting—it’s what this community thrives on. And ahead of the big week, we had a chance to catch up with Sterling Wilson, Field CTO at Object First, to talk about their vision for data resilience and why backup security can’t be an afterthought anymore.
Sterling’s career path reads like a masterclass in data protection. After working deep in the trenches as a Microsoft and virtualization architect for both government and private sectors, he transitioned into the vendor space—eventually joining Veeam Software, where he became immersed in the world of backups and data resilience. That journey eventually brought him to Object First, and it’s clear that passion for simplifying security while strengthening infrastructure hasn’t faded.
One of the major shifts we talked about is how the world of cybersecurity is now fundamentally interconnected. Sterling emphasized what we’ve said many times ourselves: it’s no longer about isolated tools or technologies. It’s about how everything fits together. And at the center of it all? Data.
Object First is hitting RSAC with a mission: making backup security radically simple without compromising strength. Their “Ootbi”—short for Out Of The Box Immutability—makes protecting backup data straightforward, automatic, and resilient. No special configuration needed. No extra security knowledge required. Just plug it in and let the design do the work.
We loved hearing how Object First applies core Zero Trust principles—like assuming breach and strict segmentation—not to networks or apps, but directly to backup storage. It’s a philosophy Sterling calls “Zero Trust Data Resilience.” Especially in a world where admins are juggling multiple roles, budgets are tighter, and attacks are getting smarter (yes, AI is helping the bad actors too), reducing complexity while increasing protection is a game-changer.
Sterling also shared a hard truth that many organizations are realizing too late: a lot of backup storage solutions weren’t built for today’s threat landscape. They weren’t designed with security-first thinking. Object First aims to fix that by focusing on simplicity, immutability, and speed—not just in backup, but in recovery when it matters most.
If you’re heading to RSAC 2025, make sure you swing by Booth S260 to check out Object First in person. There’ll be demos, trivia, swag, and a few surprise announcements. Plus, Sterling will be speaking at the Insights Theater (South Expo Booth 2151) on April 30 at 10:30 AM. He’ll dive deeper into what Zero Trust Data Resilience really means—and why it’s time to rethink how we secure our most valuable digital assets.
And if you can’t make it to San Francisco? Don’t worry—we’ll be recording another conversation with Sterling on location during the conference, going even deeper into these critical topics.
Be sure to follow our On Location coverage to stay connected with everything happening during RSAC 2025.
The future of security isn’t just about new firewalls, AI-driven analytics, or policy updates. It’s about protecting what matters most—our data—with approaches that are built for the challenges of today, not yesterday. And with companies like Object First pushing the boundaries, we think the conversation around data resilience is about to get a whole lot louder.
Guests:
Sterling Wilson | Field CTO | Data Resilience Strategist | ZTDR Advocate
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sterling-wilson-007
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Resources:
Learn more about Object First: https://itspm.ag/object-first-2gjl
Learn more and catch more stories from Object First: https://www.itspmagazine.com/directory/object-first
Immutable Storage for Everyone.
Ransomware-proof and immutable out-of-the-box, Ootbi delivers secure, simple, and powerful backup storage: https://itspm.ag/objectzlju
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Keywords:
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Learn more about Object First: https://itspm.ag/object-first-2gjl
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