We focussed on M&A and financial services on our blog this month, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped keeping an eye on enterprise collaboration news. In fact there’s been a heavy emphasis on collaboration and security in the news this month, with several opinion pieces discussing the relationship between IT departments and the business. Here’s our roundup of the most important stories from the enterprise collaboration world over the last four weeks (with a little bit of M&A thrown in for good measure).
BYOC
In her article for Information Age, How to put a stop to Bring Your Own Collaboration, Chloe Green explains that companies are becoming aware of the dangers of employees storing confidential data on consumer cloud services. She refers to the rise of a tech trend known as Bring Your Own Collaboration (BYOC), whereby employees use consumer-grade file-sharing and collaboration software, for example iCloud, in the workplace. BYOC represents a huge threat, says Chloe, that has significant security implications as it results in confidential company data leaving systems and networks controlled by the company’s IT dept, leaving it open to loss or theft. Chloe offers three tips for putting a stop to BYOC: understanding why employees are using consumer technologies and what enterprise tools they’re lacking; educate staff of the risks associated with using consumer tools; and employing the right enterprise-grade technologies.
Carl S Young expands on Chloe’s points in his article for Harvard Business Review, stating that the enemies of data security are convenience and collaboration. Carl explains that the fundamental drivers of information security risk are organizational culture and the behaviors that result from it. Often, he says, the leaders who define and shape the organization’s culture, have the lowest tolerance for inconvenience, who resist the kinds of security protocols put in place by IT. Yet, Carl says, in the event of a data breach, the IT department is usually blamed for failing to control the security of the organization’s information, when in fact the prevailing culture throughout the organization has undermined IT’s risk-management efforts. The answer, Carl says, is not to destroy the existing culture, but rather to infuse security into the organisational DNA and to support those responsible for implementing secure technology solutions in spite of encumbrances that result from user inconvenience. Importantly, he states, the message must emanate from the top, and senior executives must lead by example.
Budget cuts in IT
What Carl explains isn’t as easy as it sounds, says Ron LaPedis. In his article for Forbes, he explains that IT professionals think security and disaster recovery should be last to get budget cuts, yet information security and disaster recovery budgets often suffer cuts because they struggle to prove ROI for the business. However, when asked what should be last to receive budget cuts, 51% of IT professionals said that security planning programs should be the last thing to receive budget cuts and 42% said that disaster recovery testing should be last in line for budget cuts.
Scott Kriz also highlights the budgetary issues IT departments face in his Information Week article, How CIOs can win in the cloud. It’s a given that businesses will move to the cloud, says Scott, but now they have to figure out how they can turn that move into a competitive advantage and realise the full benefits. He explains that CIOs need to re-frame their strategy to elevate the core business over costs and employee productivity over control. The recession times IT cost-cutting mentality must change, argues Scott, saying that evaluating the move to the cloud in terms of cost should take a back seat to employee usage, satisfaction, and productivity. He advises CIOs to plan a move to the cloud so that it ties to a strategic goal, such as empowering employees to work from anywhere, or building a superior product. Making it possible for employees to reap the full benefits of the cloud will effect real, positive change in the organization, says Scott.
David Linthicum picks up on this point of aligning technology and business goals in his article for Infoworld. He explains that business and IT have no good reason to fight over the cloud, yet too many organizations are battling internally over who controls business technology. David states that “enterprise IT has been wimpy in adopting the cloud, especially public clouds”. This has meant that business units who’ve needed cloud resources to conduct their business have worked around IT, which has led to them using public cloud consumer services, he says. David’s advice is to have IT be the gateway to cloud services that are required for the business. He explains that IT should become cloud service brokers and provide business units with the ability to self-provision the resources they need, when they need it.
Data security and sovereignty
In her article for ZDNet, Eileen Yu explains how changes to cloud technology raise even more questions between the business and IT departments, stating that the enterprise move toward hybrid cloud heightens the need for better definition. She says that more enterprises are expected to look to hybrid cloud in the new year to gain some control of their infrastructure while tapping into the benefits that cloud has to offer. However, many still do not have a proper strategy in place, and the lack of a definition for what a hybrid cloud actually means isn’t helping, either, she says. Eileen quotes Kevin Wo of Avenade who describes the added pressure on IT departments in recent years, stating that “in an increasingly digital world, companies now expect IT to look inside and outside the organization to identify new innovative technologies that will enable better business results.” The hybrid cloud model allows organizations concerned about security to address these needs while still enjoying the cost benefits that cloud offers, says Eileen.
HighQ’s CEO Ajay Patel reinforces the importance of being able to choose where their data is stored (a key benefit of hybrid storage) in a commentary for Digital Guardian. In this article, 30 data security experts on on the most common mistakes companies make when it comes to securing their data. Ajay states that the biggest problem businesses can make with data security and when moving to the cloud is not checking where their data is hosted. He advises companies to always check with a prospective cloud provider where they host their data. He says that good providers should offer hosting in a range of jurisdictions and many now offer hybrid storage solutions. Vendors should be able to talk prospective clients through the laws surrounding each jurisdiction, Ajay explains, so they can make an informed choice as to where is the best place to store their company’s and clients’ confidential data.
M&A and IT
In his article for TechTarget, Celso Mello explains that With M&A activity, IT must get involved. Celso details the vast impact mergers and acquisitions have on the IT department. He identifies three distinct stages of any M&A in which an IT department may be called on to participate: due diligence, contract and integration. IT professionals are uniquely positioned to identify some of the issues that arise during these phases of M&A, says Celso. Technology departments can see how to combine the resources of both companies, streamline processes, consolidate systems and facilities and, ultimately, reduce costs. For IT leaders involved in M&A activity, Celso explains, they should be involved throughout the M&A process.
The vital role of IT that Celso describes plays a key part in avoiding what Thomas Wadlow describes as the reason why up to 90% of mergers and acquisitions fail. Without a clear strategy, Thomas explains, effective project management and open communication between stakeholder groups, the merger or acquisition will struggle to deliver the desired results. The complexity ramps up when multiple branch offices, cross-border IT infrastructure and financial regulation are included, he says. Instead, Thomas explains, the process must be transparent, realistic and involve all areas of management if success is to be achieved. A successful merger or acquisition comes from carefully combining employee engagement programmes with a multi-layered strategy built around communication. With this at the centre of the overarching strategy, Thomas says that organisations will have a better chance of bucking the merger and acquisition trend.
