How are IT security fears impacting your business agility and competitiveness? You are worried. You are not alone.
Digital business is the new norm. The shift in the global business ecosystem puts pressure on businesses to transition from legacy infrastructure systems, while remaining vigilant about security.
No matter what your business “is”, you generate tons of data. Where is that data stored? When is it accessed? Who has permission to access it? Where does all that accessed data “go”? How is that data leveraged within your organization?
Who else might want to get their hands on that data?
Your Digital Business conundrum: how to keep your business competitive, secure and resilient.
The new business norm involves growing your organization within a digital ecosystem. Making the move to a hybridized IT environment incorporating the Cloud is inevitable if your business wants to remain competitive. IDC forecasts there will be an 80% enterprise hybrid cloud adoption by 2017.
With the transition come the trade-offs. Laurence Guihard-Joly, GM, IBM Resiliency Services, told channel partners at the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference in Orlando, February 15-17, 2016 that 50% of organizations currently are not prepared to handle service disruption from cybercrimes or attacks. Why? Inconsistency in current IT infrastructure skill sets and processes to test, improve and maintain system security measures.
That scenario means addressing IT security fears by taking a look at your resiliency strategy at the same time you ponder your cloud migration strategy.
The typical enterprise can face an average of 81 million security incidents annually as companies increase interactions to their network through mobile devices and cloud networks. How can your organization be proactive, agile and competitive, yet remain diligent in the face of growing cybersecurity attacks?
In the New Digital Norm, IT Infrastructure becomes a portfolio of “Always on,” “As-A-Service” offerings.
IBM GTS (Global Technology Services) is leveraging its core competencies as a holistic IT Infrastructure portfolio of services. At the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference in Orlando, February 15-17, 2016, Richard Patterson, GM, GTS Infrastructure Services, spoke about the GTS Roadmap to the Cognitive Era. The mantra: All Connected. Continuous. Always On. Protected.
When combined and leveraged strategically, the portfolio of offerings allows your IT infrastructure to be “always on.”
Your IT security fears are rooted in questions about the resilience of your existing IT infrastructure. We all do not want to think about the unthinkable. However, your IT infrastructure must provide resiliency in a world where security and safety are not guaranteed, as Guihard-Joly told a packed room of channel partners.
The IBM GTS strategy includes Resiliency-as-a-Service, referring to overall strategy and preparedness, at the organizational level, human level and IT infrastructure level in the face of natural or man-made disasters. How will your company be able to provide and maintain an acceptable level of service if normal operations are challenged?
Your leadership team must regard any type of IT infrastructure solutions as components of a strategic, complementary portfolio of offerings serving your company and maintaining overall resiliency.
Leverage Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure to remain Secure and Competitive.
Creating a hybrid cloud infrastructure is advantageous in terms of flexibility. This environment also introduces vulnerabilities: more than half of all attackers come from the inside. Why? They introduce human error or human interference. Consider that today’s cyber criminals manipulate data rather than steal it: they compromise data integrity.
Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president IBM Systems, unveiled a new mainframe, the z13s, which allows the company to deliver secure data encryption services to mid-sized organizations without compromising speed and performance. The “s” is for security; the system will be available March 2016.
When placed into an “Always On” GTS Infrastructure focused on Resiliency-as-a-Service, IBM believes they have addressed security fears. The new z13s server is touted as the world’s most secure server built for hybrid cloud environments. The offering includes automated monitoring and new analytics technology. These features, along with a company’s internal IT governance policies, can quickly identify user access habits and identify threat sources.
Build your IT Infrastructure portfolio for the New Digital Norm.
Both enterprise and mid-market companies are wrestling with a strategy to update their legacy IT infrastructure. Take a page out of the IBM Cognitive Era Roadmap Playbook. Perhaps the best strategy is to regard IT Infrastructure as an integrated portfolio of services your company invests in, on behalf of your customers.
Create a more secure foundation for maintaining a resilient hybrid cloud infrastructure. Allow your business units to quickly access data and develop analytical insights that make your company more responsive and competitive in meeting client needs.
Babette N. Ten Haken is a strategist, analyst, author and blogger. Her focus: the interrelationship between teams, leadership and culture in technology and manufacturing. Her Workshops target excellence in the execution of strategy. Her Playbook of collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.com. She writes for IBM, Penton, and other brands in the technology sector. Contact Babette here.
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