DISA Southern Command meets Miami Marlins director of IT

By Yalier Farinas
DISA Southern Command Field Office
May 16, 2022 

DISA SOUTH and USSOUTHCOM personnel pose for a group picture with the Miami Marlins IT director and staff during the field office’s Professional Development Program. The goal of the Professional Development Program is to enhance partnerships with South Florida IT leaders from across private and public sectors. (DOD photo, DISA/Released)

Representatives from the Defense Information Systems Agency Southern Command Field Office along with U.S. Southern Command Communication Systems Directorate and U.S. Army Network Enterprise Center - U.S. Southern Command mission partners met with David Enriquez, Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins information technology director, as part of the field office’s Professional Development Program.

The goal of the Professional Development Program is to enhance partnerships with South Florida IT leaders from across private and public sectors.

Enriquez, an 18-year veteran with the Marlins, shared how IT operations have evolved since his early days with the organization.

The amount of data produced and processed is far greater than a few years ago. Data sources are varied and ever expanding with video feeds coming from scouts in the Dominican Republic, Japan and various state-of-the-art systems installed throughout the park, all designed to analyze and improve player performance.

With all this connectivity comes the responsibility to store, manage, protect and deliver IT services on demand.

Major League Baseball operations do not stop when the World Series ends, they run 24/7 year-round, and in addition to baseball, the IT staff is responsible for dozens of events throughout the year such as concerts, each with unique service demands.

Trust, teamwork and partnerships are themes that play critical roles in ensuring the small cadre of IT personnel can adequately address the demand for IT services.

Enriquez explained that it’s a team effort and that his staff must rely on expertise outside the organization. When it comes to cybersecurity, they collaborate with Major League Baseball who provides remote monitoring and expertise to protect and defend the ever-increasing amount of data and endpoints.

Miami Marlins IT staff describe the importance of cybersecurity to baseball operations during the field office’s Professional Development Program. The goal of the Professional Development Program is to enhance partnerships with South Florida IT leaders from across private and public sectors. (DOD photo, DISA/Released)

As with the DOD, education is key for both the professional IT staff and the end user. Engagements like these serve as a learning opportunity where challenges and success stories are shared. The goal is for all sides to benefit from the sharing of best practices.

In the spirit of team building, the field office presented Enriquez and staff with the field office coin and patch. Appreciative and familiar with the tradition, the Marlins are pushing the MLB community to institute team coins. Maybe this engagement will serve as the impetus that helps turn the idea into reality.

Following the technical exchange between the staffs, they watched the Marlins play the Arizona Diamondbacks for an afternoon of camaraderie, team building and fun.