7 security best practices: Preventing ransomware attacks — with people Posted on June 22, 2017 by Tim Burke If you have taken note of enterprise network security over the years, you’re aware of security best practices basics, which are also applicable to ransomware: layer your security defenses, back up your data, keep your software patched… Continue reading →
The cloud in 2017: 3 trends to watch out for Posted on January 10, 2017 by Tim Burke In this age of the restless customer – not merely digital-centric but also “adventurous, experimental, and downright fickle” – I notice three crucial cloud-shaping trends: 1 The shadow IT underground Business units everywhere buy cloud services without IT department approval in a mass decentralization of IT “authority.” Why? Because these cloud services help business units stay competitive, responsive, and innovative at a time when 40% of consumers have expressed “a high willingness and ability to shift spend,” and another 25% are leaning that way. Continue reading →
Why Shadow IT will drive you to a hybrid cloud Posted on July 7, 2016 by Tim Burke Given how much cloud apps can boost your business agility while reducing maintenance, labor, and capital costs, chances are you’re spending a sizeable chunk of your IT budget on them (probably more than you realize). You’re not alone. Industry watcher IDC predicts that in just a couple of years, at least half of all IT spending will be cloud-based, and by 2020, 60%-70% of all IT infrastructure, software, services, and technology spending will be cloud-based. Continue reading →
3 Steps to Closing the BYOD Gap Posted on October 16, 2014 by Tim Burke In my last post, I discussed the gap between business units that enthusiastically embrace BYOD and IT departments, where BYOD is regarded with more hesitation. Yet it’s clear: BYOD is not only here to stay, it is quickly becoming a dominant force that IT departments must deal with. And in most circumstances “just say no” isn’t an option; BYOD offers employees too many rich opportunities to boost productivity, innovation, and collaboration. So what’s an IT department — your IT department — to do? Continue reading →
The BYOD Gap Posted on October 2, 2014 by Tim Burke What’s the state of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in your organization? When I ask this of our customers I get replies aligning with industry research and other anecdotal evidence pointing to what I call the BYOD gap. Business units are adopting BYOD – along with mobile apps and consumer-grade cloud services – pretty much as fast as they can, but too often such adoption is unsanctioned by their IT departments; there is no BYOD policy. In the shadows It’s a sizable gap, too: by some reports, almost 90% of employees use their own devices at work – but only about 40% of enterprises have committed to implementing BYOD policies, procedures, and infrastructure. This is classic Shadow IT, and it’s on a scale unlike anything since the 1980s when corporate business units defied their IT departments to acquire PCs. It took mainframe-obsessed IT staff a good long time to grasp that forbidding PCs was a supreme waste of time, because whenever business unit managers find tools enabling them to boost productivity and achieve better results, they are enthusiastically embraced whether IT likes it or not. Continue reading →
