Cloud Source

How to Effectively Secure Data

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DataIn today’s vulnerable security landscape, data protection is of paramount importance. Organizations must strive to effectively secure both incoming and outgoing data. No truer is this than with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which offers additional security for encrypted technologies and firewalls. As a form of legislation for mainly European entities, GDPR is designed to protect all forms of data for worldwide companies and private citizens.

The GDPR interface is now being adopted by North American markets as well. In fact, businesses that span several industries are taking security measures to ensure optimal protection for clients and employees. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Integrating GDPR security guidelines for all business data access, transfer, and communications
  • Securing formidable defenses that protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for customers and staff
  • Enhancing existing security infrastructure to comply with all GDPR rules and guidelines
  • Ensuring good security hygiene for all business verticals
  • Seamlessly blending new security protocols to enhance existing ones

While GDPR is relatively new, it has resulted in timely and efficient results for a number of organizations. However, this form of security legislation can only succeed if the suggestions below are followed by global companies.

Changing the Business Mindset

Organizations must start thinking about information security in the following ways:

  • As an element that is crucial in enabling daily business protocols and communications
  • As a pivotal and vital part of risk management that enables businesses to secure a competitive edge and protect their brand validity and professionalism
  • As an essential tool in protecting even the most discreet and confidential client and business data across all access points
  • As a technology that is easily integrated with cloud, hardware, software, and communications applications for everyday business

Consistent Security Procedures

GDPR also stresses the importance of being consistent with all security measures, including the ability of staff members to view daily business from a security standpoint. They must have a clear view of how business activity can impact security as a whole. While it may take some time to find the right blend of sound security procedures, GDPR offers a wealth of techniques that have so far had a positive and profound impact on companies of all sizes.

Security First, Business Second

Without adequate and sound data protection, it’s next to impossible to conduct normal business. With this in mind, organizations need to understand the importance of security first, business second. Cultivating an environment of security is not only relegated to IT departments. All employees should play a part in identifying and addressing potential risks on a day-to-day basis. This can include malware and viruses, along with potential vulnerabilities with applications and data protection. It will ultimately be up to organizations how they want to introduce and implement new data security measures.

Using Data to Improve Small Businesses

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SMBSmall to medium businesses (SMBs) that wish to succeed past their first five years are increasingly looking towards personalization and connecting with their customers to drive repeat sales. According to consulting firms BIA/Kelsey and Manta, SMBs receive 61% of their revenue from repeat customers, who spend up to 67% more than new customers. The best way for SMBs to connect with their customers is to learn what data is best to focus on, and how to use it.

Engaging Customers

The easiest way to find out what matters to customers is to engage with them. This data should always be entered into a customer relationship management program — such as Excel or Method — so that it’s easy to access and can’t be forgotten. Businesses should think about their products or services from the customer’s perspective — just be careful not to go overboard and get too invasive.

Sales and Costs

Running a small businesses is about balancing time spent with money brought in. Businesses that spend more time on less profitable products or services will struggle to bring in enough money to keep the business afloat. This can be adjusted by tracking not only sales, but also exact costs, from material costs to labor. The resultant data will help the business decide what products or services to concentrate on in order to increase revenue while still keeping customers happy.

Stock Levels

SMBs that offer products rather than services can use data to adjust their stock levels depending on what sells and what doesn’t. This keeps customers happy — because what they want is more likely to be in stock when they want it — while reducing the chance of wasting money on a product that won’t sell. A good inventory tracking system will enable to businesses to see what’s currently on hand, when they have to re-order, and even fluctuations like the best times to start and end stocking of seasonal items.

Learning from Big Businesses

Studying the competition is never a bad thing, and there’s a lot that SMBs can learn from the big players within their industries. By learning what big businesses are doing to attract and keep customers, small businesses can adapt the same methods for their own sales. The biggest thing to avoid is building a system that costs too much but doesn’t bring in a decent return.

Today, it’s easier to access data than most people think — especially with the many different types of software on the market that SMBs can use. By engaging with customers, tracking stock and costs, and learning the methods big players use, small businesses can discover and augment their own strengths.

Unified Communications: Using a Single Vendor for both UCaaS and Internet

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Unified CommunicationsIn order to stay competitive in today’s fast-paced and technology-based world, businesses need to be efficient and productive. One way to achieve this is through unified communications, so that all tools and platforms are connected — which can save businesses hundreds of thousands a year.

There are two ways to unify communications: outsourcing to a vendor (UCaaS) or through an on-premise solution. Businesses looking to purchase UCaaS from a vendor should be aware of the risks of using different vendors for UCaaS and internet versus a single vendor for both.

Business Continuity

Losing data, whether through cyber criminals, a natural disaster, or an employee misplacing a device, can cripple a business. A regular internet provider doesn’t always offer backups or geographic redundancy, whereas a single dedicated vendor with a commitment to business continuity will. This also means that data can be restored within minutes, allowing the business to continue with barely a hiccup.

Customer Service

Regular internet providers may not have dedicated customer service reps for important tools like phones and internet connections, especially outside of regular business hours. A single vendor will be more likely to have live and knowledgeable customer service available no matter the time or day, ensuring efficient, quality help in the event of a problem.

Hardware

Mismatched hardware can cause issues both in setup and later down the road when troubleshooting problems. If choosing a multi-vendor network, the business will need to do the research to ensure that UCaaS transmissions are properly prioritized.

Outages

Internet uptime mostly relies on the type of connection a business has. Fiber optic cable is more reliable than copper, which can fail due to:

  • Equipment failures
  • Moisture
  • Severe weather
  • Temperature fluctuations

Vendors that provide both unified communications and internet connectivity are more likely to offer fiber optic cable lines, which will ensure that the business has access to the cloud — where data is stored — as well as phone lines and other tools of communication.

Quality

The biggest drawback of using a regular internet provider is that all business traffic will be competing with traffic from other customers, both large and small. During peak times, this can result in slow transmissions, delays, and sound quality issues on phone calls. Using a single dedicated vendor ensures business data is prioritized and resources are not being hogged in one direction or the other.

Security

Security is paramount in protecting sensitive data, but transmitting over a regular provider’s network can mean that cyber criminals have easier access — and copper cable is less secure than fiber. A single-vendor UCaaS solution means more focus on security as well as access to the information and reports that make risk analysis easier.

Troubleshooting

All technology requires troubleshooting occasionally. Having internet and UCaaS from separate vendors means first figuring out which one is having the issue, and then trying to find what the issue is and where it’s coming from. A single vendor means easier, faster troubleshooting so that any issue is solved as soon as possible.

Businesses with the capital to purchase unified communications and internet from a single vendor will benefit from improved efficiency and productivity while saving money. Data will be more secure, troubleshooting will be simpler, and businesses will have higher quality customer service and prioritized transmissions to ensure their communications are quick and steady.

5 Ways to Ensure the Security of Data in the Cloud

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Cloud computing is becoming the way of the future, and many businesses are storing their data in the cloud. This increase of use comes with an increase of concern about security. The majority of providers have their own security in place, but any business using the cloud should also ensure that they have their own effective methods of security.

Service Provider

Before even transferring data to cloud storage, businesses should research the best provider for their unique needs. A good provider should have up-to-date protocols and systems. When choosing a service provider, businesses should consider whether they offer the following:

  • Comprehensive service level agreements (SLAs)
  • Data encryption
  • On-site data recovery
  • Replication and migration
  • Scalability
  • Virtual backup

Strong Passwords

One of the basic tenets of Internet safety is a strong password—one that isn’t overly popular or that can be easily guessed. When creating a password, businesses should focus on using a mix of numbers, letters, and symbols, as well as making it as many characters long as possible.

Knowledge of Data Location

Those accessing the data should be of a high enough security level that they know the physical location of the server storing the data. Using the cloud generally means that the business doesn’t have a dedicated server within their premises, but high-level employees should still know where everything is.

Points of Access

Safety practices around points of access are the first step to ensuring the security of data in the cloud. Only the people who need to use the data should be allowed access, and businesses should ensure that all employees with access follow proper safety procedures. This includes:

  • Ensuring that users are signed out at the end of each session
  • Ensuring that any connected sites are also signed out
  • Entering login details each session instead of saving them
  • Using incognito browsers

Security Software

A compromised device means compromised data. This includes not only computers, but also smartphones and other Internet-capable devices. A proper antivirus or Internet security solution is paramount to keeping devices safe, whether the business chooses to go with free open-source or paid proprietary software.

Ensuring basic Internet safety is the best way to keep data secure, whether it’s on-premise or in the cloud. Strong passwords and anti-virus software will keep devices safe, and employees accessing the software should have high-level security clearance and understand how their sessions can affect the safety of the data. With these procedures and a partnership with a reputable service provider, businesses will keep their important data safe and secure.

 

Enterprise Storage Trends for 2016

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shutterstock_174578783Enterprise IT today is changing dramatically. Shifts in device management, networking, and storage are just a few areas of transformation, with many others in the infancy of their evolution. A few trends have begun to rise to the top and are predicted to be significant movers in the field of enterprise storage in 2016.

IoT Stands up to Be Counted

Big data has been a common topic over the past year, and will continue making headlines. The next trend will be the inclusion of analytics from Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Considering the variety of “things” that now produce data, this presents interesting new knowledge of user routines and patterns.

Since so much data will be coming from so many sources, data management will quickly experience elevated importance. Storage of these huge data sets must be highly accurate and speedily accessible. Data may also need to be retained nearly indefinitely. Storage methods that can manage such a complex network of data collection and analytics will be in high demand.

Greater Flash Potential

Flash memory has been around for a while, but costs to allow an enterprise to use it for everything have historically been prohibitive. The next year will bring about a variety of technologies that can use flash more effectively through use of intelligent compression, virtualization, and hybrid caching techniques. In addition, flash prices should see a steady decline. The result will be increased use of flash across the enterprise.

Cloud Optimization

Data is everywhere now, coming from both traditional and unexpected sources. Enterprises are struggling to manage such massive data sets using on-premise hardware. This strategy is being largely abandoned in favor of cloud storage and processing, with this trend growing even stronger in 2016.

Public, private, and hybrid cloud arrangements will allow enterprises to store, move, and analyze data efficiently, whether active or cold. Security is imperative in all cloud, on-premise, and hybrid models. It’s expected that data management will be a key topic over the coming year, with more data centers beginning to specialize in enterprise-grade storage and cloud solutions.

Software Defined Networking

Software-defined networking (SDN) has made controlling multiple devices a much more manageable process than it was in the past. Considering how rapidly device count expands as each minute passes, it would be nearly impossible to reroute traffic, add capacity on the fly, or optimize software delivery without SDN.

In 2016, data centers will need to be almost completely virtualized and managed via centralized SDN. Every step from provisioning to management will need to be governed via software. Eventually, everything from applications to network and data retention will be provided using as-a-service models that can be implemented nearly instantly.

Expansion of DevOps

DevOps has experienced a major shift in the past few years to become a service and strategy entity rather than simply delivering chunks of code. This will continue to be the case in 2016, allowing enterprises to rapidly deploy new technologies and see a prompt reward in doing so. Innovation efficiency will be the name of the game, and DevOps will play a key role.

If there’s one fact that can be stated of the IT industry, it’s that it changes daily. This time, increased data storage and processing needs have begun to highlight old weaknesses and demand their mitigation. Technology professionals are responding loudly with innovative solutions and tools. The coming year will show major advances in storage methods, helping to finally address the data boom in effective ways.

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