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10 Best Business Process Automation Tools Small Businesses Use

Posted in: automation of manual processes, automation tools, Business Process Automation, business process workflow automation, IT Strategy - Sep 02, 2021

What business process automation tools do you use at your small business?

To help small business owners adopt process automation tools for their company, we asked CEOs and executives for their best suggestions. From utilizing cloud-based case management to scheduling content in advance, there are several automation strategies that may help you streamline business processes to grow your company.

Here are 10 business process automation tools for your small business:

Integrate Chatbots Into Customer Service

A tool we use at our small business for business process automation is a chatbot that immediately notifies a customer that we’re online and ready to help. This is good for business because users are able to feel immediately connected to a resource in case they have a question, and also helps us speed up service delivery.

Our employees don’t have to do repetitive tasks, such as asking for a person’s name, because the bot does it for them. All they have to do is come in to help answer any questions or issues. In turn, it also helps us increase customer satisfaction.

Peter Babichenko, Sahara Case

Use Automated Payroll Systems

As an outsourcing service provider, we at C9 use business automation solutions that have global capabilities to serve our dedicated staff around the world. When employers choose to source talent through our company, we offer end-to-end managed services and utilize automation solutions to streamline those complex processes.

For example, we use Veem for international online payroll. Incorporating automation in business processes has reduced overall cost and chances for human error.

Phillip Lew, C9 Staff

Utilize Cloud-Based Case Management

One business process automation tool to consider is a low-code platform for its automation and collaboration capabilities. We recently created a cloud-based flexible case management and automation solution for one of our clients that centralized all the information needed for each case being worked on at any given time.

Business users were able to access pertinent case files, including team comments, emails, and team member details. With our advanced process automation capabilities, we digitized process initiation and management so that users could access the newest case information at once and improve their productivity and customer satisfaction.

Spiros Skolarikis, Comidor

Leverage Automated Routing Optimization

Automated routing optimization produces less congestion, less packet loss, and more success with deliverability. By selecting a network that uses the Noction Intelligent Routing Platform, a business can automatically analyze routes with congestion or packet loss and then reroute packets to their optimal routes.

This automated tool has been shown to improve performance and deliverability by up to 50% by bypassing congestion and packet loss.

Mor Hasson, Maple Hosting

Delegate Repetitive Tasks

For us, as we create handwritten cards, we’ve had to invest in robots that help us write each card. This helps us automate our business and makes sure that we’re able to deliver our cards in a timely fashion as well. While this is specifically tailored to us due to the nature of our business, I would encourage any business to look at their own repetitive tasks and try to automate them.

It will free up a lot more time for you to do other things for your business and help your employees do their tasks better as well. Whether it’s implementing faster ways to send invoices, or a tool that helps you in the creation of your product or service, investing in it is worth it.

David Wachs, Handwrytten

Simplify Customer Referral Programs

We developed a fully automated referral program to allow our users to invite their friends and earn more free credits when using our product. This automation includes sending invites, receiving invites with an activation code, and assisting users in understanding how to get the most out of their invitations.

This improves our organic growth and helps us reach a wider audience with no human intervention required. We highly recommend small businesses implement and automate a referral program that matches their business goals.

Guy Katabi, Lightkey

Utilize Machine Learning With Python

At Terkel, we place thousands of panelist insights into articles for brands through daily questions posted on the platform. This process requires selecting the best answers from the submitted insights and creating collaged images of the panelists and experts. To reduce human intervention and automate the process, we depend on machine learning and deep learning algorithms in Python.

We developed a deep learning model that runs to select the best answers through content intelligence. We also have another machine learning model that automates the image graphics and consolidates all the answers and the final image into an article which will then be published for brands.

Sri Sagar Kalisetty, Markitors

Schedule Content in Advance

I use HootSuite to automate my content calendar. I’m able to create content and post to four social media sites simultaneously. Using HootSuite also enables me to schedule content weeks to months in advance. This saves lots of time that I can use to focus on other aspects of business operations.

Annette Harris, Harris Financial Coaching

Unlock Customization Options

Zapier is a great tool that can be adjusted to suit any business. Whether you need to back up files, notify team members of changes, or follow up with leads, Zapier is able to do it all. It’s easily customizable and can fit the needs of any small business — a truly versatile tool.

Jason Brandt, Podopolo

Get Control of Your Schedule

One business process automation tool we use at our small business is Calendly. Calendly helps us automate the process of setting up meetings both internally and with our clients. It is really useful and saves our teams a ton of time.

Lauren Picasso, Cure Hydration

The post 10 Best Business Process Automation Tools Small Businesses Use appeared first on CIO Insight.

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Data Collection Ethics: Bridging the Trust Gap

Posted in: Big Data, Blogs, data collection, data collection and management, ethical business practices, ethics, Security, user data, user data collection - Aug 30, 2021

Who is responsible for data privacy and collection? Recently, KPMG surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults and 250 decision-makers involved with security, privacy and data at companies with more than 1,000 employees. The overall consensus in the report is striking: there is a vast gulf between how businesses and the general public view data collection ethics.

Business Leaders Are Too Confident

According to the KPMG report, business leaders are ramping up data collection.

70% said consumer data collection grew over the past year
62% said their companies should do more to protect customer data
33% said consumers should be more concerned about their data
29% said their company sometimes uses unethical data collection methods

Business leaders may also be overconfident about their company’s ability to handle a data breach. Ninety-two percent of surveyed leaders felt they are prepared for a data breach, and 95% said their company has very strong data security measures in place. However, many employees stated they weren’t getting adequate training.

For example, on password security training, only 47% of full-time and 42% of part-time employees said they had received training. The percentages are lower in data protection, email security, privacy, privacy policies, and phishing scams training. Unfortunately, the statistics show a disconnect between the leadership and the company’s employees.

Consumers Question Corporate Data Collection Ethics

The U.S. general population is increasingly suspicious of data collection. Survey respondents expressed growing resentment — even towards their employers.

86% are concerned about data privacy
68% are worried about the amount of data collected
40% don’t trust the data collection ethics of companies
30% don’t want to share any personal data for any reason
13% don’t even trust their employer’s data collection practices

It’s worth noting that consumers view data collection differently across different sectors. According to another survey on data collection from McKinsey, 44% of respondents said the healthcare and financial industries are the most trustworthy when it comes to protecting their privacy and data; only 10% said they most trust consumer packaged goods or media and entertainment companies.

Data Collection in the Time of Covid

Public concerns may be growing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. An IBM report on data breaches found that remote working due to the pandemic is affecting breach response times.

“At organizations with a greater than 50% remote work adoption, it took an average of 316 days to identify and contain the breach,” read a Security Intelligence analysis of the IBM report. “Compared to the overall average of 287 days, increased levels of remote work appeared to make containing a breach take nearly a month longer.”

Since the pandemic began, remote workers have expressed concerns about not receiving data privacy training. They worry they would be held accountable if a data breach occurred.

Data Collection Best Practices

Are there any solutions to bridging the trust gap? The KPMG report outlines several ideas for company leaders to win back suspicious consumers.

Practice transparency. Three quarters of surveyed consumers wanted companies to be more transparent on the use of their data.
Give consumers more control. Consumers expressed interest in choosing how widely a business shares their data, as well as viewing data the company has already collected on them.
Make data anonymous. Anonymizing data preserves the value of consumer data to the business without risking protected personal information.
Take accountability. Half of surveyed consumers said they don’t know how to protect their data. An overwhelming majority (88%) said they want businesses to take the lead in establishing data responsibility policies.

Above all, businesses should act ethically when data collection goes wrong. Most of the consumers surveyed said didn’t trust corporations to protect their personal information. When a data breach does occur, don’t try to hide it. Have a disaster recovery plan in place, and explain your remediation steps to alleviate public fear.

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Best Threat Intelligence Platforms & Tools for 2021

Posted in: advanced threat intelligence, cyber threat intelligence, Security, Threat Intelligence, threat intelligence software - Aug 30, 2021

Threat intelligence platforms take security beyond traditional defensive strategies. Threat intelligence helps IT to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals and prevent information or financial loss. This makes it possible to warn organizations about potentially malicious activity inside the network. Unusual patterns or behavior are flagged so security analysts can find out what is going on.

Threat intelligence platforms, then, deal with any threats or potential threats related to computer systems and web-based applications. This represents a way to collect relevant information relating to cyber threats. Further, threat intelligence software applies analytics to that information, adding a predictive capability and risk estimation.

However, threat intelligence is not just about signing up for one of the many threat indicator feeds. Threat intelligence tools work in conjunction with security experts to apply indicators of risk intelligently and protect the environment.

Core Elements of Threat Intelligence

Vendor offerings vary markedly. In general, the following are some of the key functions that most threat intelligence platforms cover:

Threat indicator feeds of malicious IP addresses, domains, file hashes, etc.
Extracting content from chats, publications, and data repositories
Machine learning and filtering capabilities to sift through millions of pieces of data simultaneously
Removal of false positives
Ability to rapidly engage, verify, and clarify a detected threat via automation
Integration with other security platforms, such as Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Cyber threat intelligence is about automation and information analysis. It is particularly useful for advanced persistent threats (APTs), and less useful when it comes to individual ransomware incidents, which tend to strike fast.

Best Threat Intelligence Platforms & Tools

CIO Insight evaluated the various threat intelligence vendors. Here are our top picks in no particular order:

ZeroFox

Value Proposition

ZeroFox acquired Cyveillance, a threat intelligence pioneer. It offers timely, relevant intelligence tailored to organizational requirements. Instead of noise from endless feeds, it delivers what matters. Actionable data allows IT to head off threats before damage can occur. ZeroFox enables your team to execute unlimited takedowns and disrupt malicious actors at scale with fast action to immediately black list key indicator infrastructure across a global disruption partner network of social platforms, hosts, registrars, and ISPs.

Key Differentiators

Threat data lake that includes attacker campaigns and infrastructure history
Full spectrum intelligence tailored to the business
Combines AI processing, deep learning tools, and dark ops operatives
Combs through massive datasets across social media, the web, dark web, and other sources
Identifies exposed or stolen credentials before they are weaponized
2.6 million disruptive actions per week
Fast analysis, triage, contextualization, and correlation of potential threats
Investigates relationships between various attack and threat indicators

Resecurity

Value Proposition

Resecurity by Massive Alliance provides proactive alerts and comprehensive visibility of internal and external risks targeting the enterprise. It helps to reduce potential blind spots and security gaps. This tool identifies threats coming from outside based on threat intelligence data aggregated from over 20,000 public and closed sources.

Key Differentiators

Massive repository of Dark Web data
Can add your own threat intelligence feeds
Integrates available security solutions to actualize the risk score of the enterprise footprint
Round-the-clock security monitoring of cloud workloads in AWS to prevent data breaches
Cloud-native integration, including integration with Amazon GuardDuty

Keysight Technologies

Value Proposition

Keysight offers Threat Simulator and the Keysight Application and Threat Intelligence (ATI) Research Center. Threat Simulator is an element of Keysight’s Security Operations Suite. It leverages the output of ATI, allowing enterprises to safely conduct offensive operations against their infrastructure, pinpointing gaps in coverage and blind spots by using the tactics leveraged by threat actors.

Key Differentiators

Immediately identifies hostile activity on the network
Detects open security holes hackers can exploit
Gives security teams experience with recognizing and classifying attacks in real time
SaaS solution that delivers results in a few minutes
Continuously validates email, endpoint, cloud, and perimeter defenses against the latest threats

LogRhythm

Value Proposition

LogRhythm incorporates threat intelligence from STIX/TAXII-compliant providers, commercial and open source feeds, and internal honeypots — all via an integrated threat intelligence ecosystem. The platform uses this data to reduce false positives, detect hidden threats, and prioritize the most concerning alarms.

Key Differentiators

Incorporates Structured Threat Information Expression (STIX) and Trusted Automated Exchange of Indicator Information (TAXII)
Part of an open, community-driven effort that offers free specifications to help automate the exchange of cyber threat information
Provides the ability to add custom STIX/TAXII compliant providers, such as Soltra Edge
Rapidly incorporate threat intelligence from open source providers like Abuse.ch, AlienVault, AutoShun, and TOR Network

Red Canary

Key Differentiators

Red Canary Security Operations Platform is a SaaS security solution for detecting, hunting, and responding to threats. It helps organizations to gain threat detection, hunting, and response capabilities. It’s driven by human expert analysis and guidance across endpoints, cloud deployments, and network devices.

Key Differentiators

Improves threat coverage, reduces dwell time, and eliminates alert fatigue
Purpose-built software removes the need to integrate third party products
Security engineering as a service enables SOC teams to focus on protecting the business
Threat and behavioral intelligence curated from thousands of incident response engagements

FireEye

Value Proposition

FireEye Helix is a SaaS security operations platform that allows organizations to take control of any incident from detection to response. Available with any FireEye solution, FireEye Helix integrates your security tools and augments them with next-generation SIEM, orchestration, and threat intelligence capabilities.

Key Differentiators

Designed by security experts, for security experts
Empowers teams to conduct primary functions, such as alert management, search, analysis, investigations, and reporting
Integrates over 600 FireEye and non-FireEye security tools, overlaying contextual threat intelligence and behavioral analytics
Accelerates response with security orchestration and workflow automation informed by frontline experience
Grants visibility across all threat vectors and deployment types, whether on premise or in the cloud
Centralizes security data and infrastructure with SIEM

New Net Technologies

Value Proposition

New Net Technologies (NNT), now part of Netwrix, offers FAST (File Approved-Safe Technology) cloud threat intelligence. It helps IT determine if the change that is happening to an asset in the infrastructure or cloud service is good or bad. In other words, FAST determines whether a change is intended and desirable, or related to malicious activity or a breach.

Key Differentiators

Happening in real time, FAST checks any file change and classifies it as good, safe, or bad
Enables the SOC team to focus on unwanted alterations of a system’s status
Automatically assesses and approves changes confirmed on the whitelist
Includes system integrity monitoring

CrowdStrike

Value Proposition

CrowdStrike’s threat intelligence solution is known as Falcon X. It helps organizations consume intelligence and take action. Falcon X automates the threat investigation process and delivers actionable intelligence reporting and custom IOCs specifically tailored to the threats encountered on endpoints.

Key Differentiators

Automation eliminates the need to pick and choose which threats to analyze
Combines the tools used by cyber threat investigators into one solution that performs investigations automatically
The integrated tool set includes malware analysis, malware search, and CrowdStrike’s global IOC feed
Falcon X Premium intelligence reporting includes expertise from CrowdStrike’s Global Intelligence team

Netenrich

Value Proposition

Netenrich threat intelligence platform leverages natural language processing and machine learning to enhance data collection, aggregation, and contextualization. To enhance operational efficiencies, the platform adds insights and scoring techniques to make decisions faster. KNOW is easy-to-use with threat intelligence and analytics functionality built into customizable dashboards.

Key Differentiators

KNOW provides global insights on the overall threat landscape
Encompasses ransomware, vulnerabilities, threat actors, and other areas
Aggregates real-time threat intelligence on a continuous basis
Analysts eliminate time-consuming and laborious threat research to speed up analysis
Near real-time data collection and automated context building
Detailed and contextual drill down into any cyber threat entity
Supported by the Netenrich threat research team and analysts

RSA

Value Proposition

The NetWitness Platform encompasses threat intelligence, threat detection and response, and a lot more. It provides pervasive visibility across IT infrastructures, enabling better and faster detection of security incidents, with automation and orchestration capabilities to investigate and respond efficiently.

Key Differentiators

Provides visibility into threats and incorporates threat intelligence and business context
Automated capabilities for incident response
Extended detection and response (XDR) to detect and automatically respond to intrusions that have bypassed preventative controls
Quickly halts the progress of threats and minimizes their impact
Centrally manages and monitors log data from cloud-based and on-premises infrastructure
Real-time visibility into network traffic with full packet capture
Detects unknown threats by applying behavior analytics and machine learning

Read next: What Is a 3-2-1 Backup Strategy?

The post Best Threat Intelligence Platforms & Tools for 2021 appeared first on CIO Insight.

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What Is a 3-2-1 Backup Strategy?

Posted in: backup, backup and disaster recovery, data backup, IT Strategy, Security, tape backup - Aug 27, 2021

The importance of having a backup for your files is not a new concept; most people would agree that backing up data is crucial. However, not every company implements a robust enterprise backup strategy, causing billions of dollars worth of lost data.

As the number of places a person or company can store data increases, one of the best backup strategies is sometimes forgotten. The often overlooked 3-2-1 backup strategy is a foundational approach that should still be applied today.

What Is a 3-2-1 Backup Strategy?

Simply put, a 3-2-1 backup strategy will protect your data against the unforeseeable, whether it be a server crash, cyberattack, or natural disaster. A 3-2-1 backup plan puts multiple data preservation concepts into practice. Here’s the framework:

Create 3 copies of the data
Use 2 different media types
Store 1 copy offsite

3 Copies of the Data

A sound backup system will always preserve at least three copies or versions of data over different periods in time. Having three copies of the data ensures you can recover from accidents that affect multiple versions.

For this example, let’s use a file named sunset.jpeg, which is a picture of a sunset you took on your last summer vacation. It lives on your desktop and represents the first version of your data.

2 Different Media Types

Say you add that picture to an external hard drive — if you or your company uses Mac, you might be using the Time Machine drive. As part of the process, your external hard drive will hold the backup of sunset.jpg.

Now you have a second copy on a different device, or medium, from the first. If something happens to your desktop the picture is permanently deleted there, you can recover it from the Time Machine drive.

1 Offsite Copy

After the scare of losing your sunset picture, you decide you need additional backup, so you consider your third backup: a completely different form of media than your computer or external hard drive. Importantly, you need this data to be accessible in a different way.

So now, in addition to your picture living on your desktop and external drive, you put sunset.jpeg on the cloud. A cloud storage service acts as an online backup method, making it the third copy of your picture. Because this cloud backup exists on a separate network, it won’t be affected if your local network is compromised.

At the enterprise level, creating a tape backup is a more secure way to safeguard sensitive data. Tape backups are more secure than disk and flash backups because they create an air gap — a barrier between the data and the rest of the network, hosted offsite and not accessible online.

Read more: Are Air Gapped Networks Secure?

Why Are Backups Important?

Many of us have experienced the heartache of permanently losing data. Whether it be a corrupted file or a white paper we forgot to save, losing data can be heartbreaking.

On a corporate level, however, these losses are more than just sad. They can be costly, too. As we’ve seen from recent cyberattacks, data breaches hurt your brand and could you to lose your entire business.

Therefore, the third copy of your data must be stored seperately, in a safe place that won’t be affected if your local or cloud storage gets hacked, fails, or experiences a physical disaster like a fire or flood.

Is Having a Backup Strategy Enough?

To be clear: It’s not enough to have a backup strategy in place. There is always the possibility that you or your business will experience a devastating loss of data, even if you adhere to backup strategy best practices.

So how can you recover once you experience a loss? Always have a disaster recovery plan in place. A recovery plan will help DevOps respond in an effective manner and help minimize recovery time and losses.

Here is an example of what you may want to include in your recovery plan:

List of all assets
Description of critical resources, equipment, and staff required for recovery
Recovery time targets
Checklist of next steps to follow in the short and long term

Once you’ve recovered from a disaster, you must take steps to prevent a recurring event. Perform an audit to gather information and learn from the event. Reconsider your current backup software and solutions, making sure your backups don’t all live in the same place

A recovery plan will help your business get back to being operational after an emergency. To help safeguard against such events in the first place, be sure to have a 3-2-1 backup strategy in place.

The post What Is a 3-2-1 Backup Strategy? appeared first on CIO Insight.

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What Is the Supply Chain Management Process?

Posted in: Innovation, IT Strategy, SCM, supply chain, supply chain management - Aug 27, 2021

When you hear the word supply chain, you may experience a variety of emotions. Recent disruptions in the global supply chain have lead to crowded ports, part shortages, and delayed deliveries. In this article, we’ll walk through the basics of supply chain management, and discuss the technology solutions that can help.

What Is Supply Chain Management?

Supply chain management (SCM) is the organization of resources as they move from point of origin to end consumer. It refers to the various processes involved in transportation, order processing, warehousing, inventory control, product planning, and production management.

A supply chain is a channel that brings a good or service from the producer to the consumer. A business’s supply chain can be either complete — comprising all the links from raw material to end customer — or partial.

SCM is the organization of resources as they move from point of origin to end consumer.

Businesses that follow sound supply chain principles have an advantage over others that don’t. For example, they can maintain product quality, charge competitive prices, and provide high levels of customer satisfaction.

Further, a well-managed supply chain may considerably lower a company’s operational expenses, resulting in higher profits. Finding small efficiencies in any step of the process, from concept to end product, can create huge savings overall.

The SCM process incorporates all the different tasks, policies, and controls of the supply chain. This process is usually understood as the coordination, interaction, integration, planning, design, control, and monitoring of activities along the various supply stages. The goal is to meet the customer’s demand while maximizing the efficiency of resource use.

Impact of Technology on SCM

Supply Chain Management has gone through a lot of changes in the last few years. These changes are due to high competition in logistics, as well as globalization. Digital transformation has also contributed a lot in improving the way companies managed their supply chains.

It’s important for business owners today to understand the impact of technology on supply chain management, and how they can benefit from it. SCM software allows for real-time tracking and analysis, and makes this information available to all stakeholders in the supply chain; information is stored and disseminated in the cloud.

It has never been easier to share information with distributed businesses and consumers.

In addition, real-time traffic data impacts the shipping and receiving of parts for product manufacturing. Along the same line, the Internet of Things (IoT) and improved tracking software make it easier for users at the end of the supply chain to see the movement and handling of goods in production and distribution.

What’s more, innovations in supply chain tech have made driverless deliveries, smart road technology, and robotic warehouses more feasible and cost-efficient. All told, it has never been easier to share information with distributed businesses and consumers.

SCM Best Practices

Supply chain management is a complicated endeavor. Here are the best ways to deal with it:

Maintain clear communication throughout the supply chain.
Invest in a diverse range of suppliers.
Find a balance between cost-effectiveness and flexibility.
Leverage digital transformation to improve efficiency.
Ensure the supply chain is in sync with company goals.

Supply Chain Management Software

Your company will be more agile and capable of meeting consumer needs if you can use the proper supply chain management software. Consider how digital supply chain technology can improve your operations, depending on your industry:

Oracle Supply Chain Management is appropriate for a wide spectrum of companies, from large corporations to small businesses.
Vizient is ideal for pharmacies and health care institutions.
SAP Supply Chain Management is best suited to companies that produce complex goods.
ArrowStream is ideal for food service establishments.
Magaya Supply Chain is the best option for transportation and logistics companies.
iM3SCM is suitable for small and midsize businesses that need increased warehouse visibility.
Logility is the best choice for consumer products and retail businesses.

SCM plays a vital role in the efficiency of any organization. When supply chain managers use collaboration tools, they can accomplish their goals more effectively and efficiently.

The greatest benefit of supply chain collaboration technology is the ability to accelerate processes and enable companies to make data-driven decisions in real time. By leveraging SCM technology, organizations can reduce costs and risks — which ultimately leads to success for companies across all industries.

Read next: What Is Predictive Analytics?

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