The “Aha” Moment. Say Yes to Security and Collaboration.
In survey after survey, IT executives continue to say that security is one of the top challenges they face. No one has to tell us about the risks. The stories of data theft and breaches are in the media every day. We are intimidated by the rapidly changing threat environment. New malware is being written every day and some of it is being written using a variety of methods that defeat existing security technologies. And too often the way that we protect our organizations is to add a myriad of approaches, tools and solutions, creating a tremendous amount of complexity that becomes hard to understand let alone manage.
But if you dig down one level, what you find is that security concerns create a barrier to doing what IT really needs to do, which is implement cool new initiatives that move the business forward.
Everybody wants to be seen as a hero, the clever one who can take on challenges, solve problems and make an impact on the business. Unfortunately, the security concerns become the reason they can’t do it. At SonicWall Security, we are working to help out with the security equation.
What are the initiatives that organizations are trying to deploy? One of the biggest areas of opportunity comes from all of the innovation that is going on in the cloud. Moving your work to the cloud streamlines the ability of your workers to collaborate and share information in real time. Tools like Microsoft Office 365 and DropBox allow employees to collaborate in a way that is changing the workplace.
This really hit home for me a couple of weeks ago when my 11-year-old daughter was assigned a big project in her fifth grade class. She and her teammate needed to create a report and a presentation. The night before the project was due, I came into her bedroom and she had her iPod setup to FaceTime her partner. They were both working together on the report using Google Docs and on the presentation using Google Sheets. They were oblivious to me, so I watched for a few minutes as they talked through ideas, added and edited text and pictures, and generally created and fine tuned the deliverables.
For this project, there was no need for them to meet, or even call each other. Collaboration tools enabled the entire project. This was an “aha” moment for me, because I realized then and there that these kids were demonstrating the future of work. What they take for granted is sadly often not possible in the work environment for a variety of reasons, but I couldn’t stop thinking that security is a big stumbling block to achieving the productivity new collaboration tools offer.
So, what is on your IT wish list? Do you want to move your CRM to the cloud? Or streamline your customer service delivery, or give your team access to data analytics no matter where they are? Or are you looking to eliminate paper and go all digital? Whatever it is, don’t let security be a barrier. If you want to learn how to turn IT security into the Department of Yes, contact SonicWall Security.
