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How a Cybersecurity Incident Hurts Your Brand

Posted in: big data security, breach, cyber attack, cyber criminals, cyber-security, data security, incident management, Leadership, Security - Aug 13, 2021

Recent high-profile data breaches have put the threat of a cybersecurity incident at the forefront of every CIO’s mind. Especially now that many people are working remotely, companies are facing unprecedented threat levels.

With so many organizations affected by security breaches worldwide, it shouldn’t be a surprise that digital information is now the most commonly reported form of fraud according to the FCC. Any business that uses the internet in any capacity should create a culture of security that adds consumer confidence.

The reality is that these cybersecurity incidents have become more impactful as they target essential services, including everything from gasoline to health care. Here’s how data breaches and other security events hurt your brand, and what you can do about it.

What Happens After a Cybersecurity Incident

No one is immune to security incidents; they can happen to smaller startups that may not have safety protocols in place, as well as larger companies that claim to be well-prepared for such an attack.

For instance, Sony stock took a prolonged hit in April 2011 when hackers stole the information of 100 million users of the PlayStation Network. While Sony has since been able to recover, some companies are not so lucky.

In 2019, a U.S. telemarketing firm called The Heritage Company suffered a ransomware attack that forced them to close their doors just before Christmas, leaving hundreds of people unemployed.

Likewise, Wood Ranch Medical shut their doors in 2019 after a security incident locked them out of customers’ data and infected systems to the point of no return.

How to Bounce Back After a Major Event

Equifax is an excellent example of a brand that didn’t let a cybersecurity incident stop it.

Back in 2017, hackers breached their systems and stole the personal and financial data of more than 147 million people in the U.S., including Social Security numbers, home addresses, driver’s license numbers, and credit card numbers.

The Equifax incident is considered the worst corporate data breach to date in the U.S. due to the nature of the information stolen. In 2019, Equifax “agreed to pay at least $575 million, and potentially up to $700 million, as part of a global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 U.S. states and territories,” according to the FTC.

Equifax was underprepared to handle the fallout. They mismanaged the public disclosure of the breach, as well as its efforts to make resources available to those impacted. So how did Equifax bounce back?

Equifax has since hired a new CISO, Jamil Farshchi, and invested $200 million in data security — including processes for patching, vulnerability management, and certificate management.

Another primary priority for Equifax has been strengthening access control protections and identity management across the company. Farshchi has also increased the security team, so Equifax can offer proof of compliance and overall progress.

How to Restore Trust When the Worst Happens

There are steps you can take to earn back support if a cybersecurity event transpires.

Prepare Now With Planned Improvements

Implement security best practices now to reduce the impact of an event. Data encryption can protect confidentiality, a backup plan can hasten recovery, and network segmentation can isolate the incident and the degree of impact.

Read more at ServerWatch: Server Security Best Practices

Be Accurate and Specific

Analysis shows that a CEO who immediately and effectively communicates about the cybersecurity systems the company has in place will help reassure both customers and the stock market after an event.

Broadcasting that your company invested in cybersecurity before a hack shows that the company took security seriously, especially for its customers’ privacy. Even if these measures didn’t stop the attack, talking candidly about attack prevention can help mitigate some damage.

Be Transparent

One blunder a company doesn’t want to mirror is Uber’s cover-up after hiding their attack for over a year.

Back in 2016, Uber didn’t report it had been breached. Instead, Uber paid the hackers $100,000, making it appear as though the payment was for a bug bounty. It even got the hackers to sign non-disclosure agreements, lying about the attack. When Uber publicly disclosed the incident in 2017, there was significant damage to their reputation and a hefty fine from the FTC.

Good Cybersecurity Policy Protects Businesses

Of course, strong cybersecurity policy can help protect your customers’ information and maintain their faith in your business.

A cybersecurity incident can have significant financial ramifications, and it’s getting worse. According to Accenture, the average cybercrime cost to companies increased by 72% between 2013 and 2018. Enterprise security management may just save your business.

While consumers are right to be concerned that their personal information may be compromised, companies have broader cybersecurity considerations: the loss of intellectual property, disrupted operations, loss of investor confidence, and, of course, decreased customer trust. Invest in robust protections now.

The post How a Cybersecurity Incident Hurts Your Brand appeared first on CIO Insight.

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Creating a Cloud Strategy: Tips for Success

Posted in: cloud, cloud computing, cloud strategy, Cloud Virtualization, IT Strategy - Aug 13, 2021

Businesses implementing a cloud strategy need to realize early on that cloud computing will continue to be a large part of business resources, time, and expense. Cloud migration leads the business into uncharted territory, but there are a few things every organization needs to know when developing a cloud strategy.

Executive Involvement in Cloud Strategy

Internal or external cloud strategy solutions need a solid core team, not a project team — there’s a difference. The core team needs to be the decision-makers, starting with the executive team. For the CEO, COO, CIO, and the board, effective cloud strategy is a crucial success factor.

Don’t leave technology decision-making to just the IT team.

As such, the top leaders need to take part in decision-making, be involved, and communicate the corporate goals. Above all, don’t leave technology decision-making to just the IT team. If cloud strategy efforts derail, then cost overruns, frustration, wasted time and materials will happen almost daily.

For executives to make the best decisions, they need to be involved from the start.

Team Selection

Cloud migration needs a great deal of preplanning. The best time to select the core team is always at the beginning; however, the effort is ongoing. Taking the time to understand the key objectives, people, time, and cost at the beginning saves frustration throughout the effort.

The cloud strategy team is essential for success. The resources chosen early on will have the most significant impact. A clear understanding of expectations made by the executive team will keep the effort on track.

The most crucial factor in keeping the core cloud strategy team engaged throughout deployment is their essential knowledge. In large companies, the cloud strategy resource pool comes from multiple departments, including accounting, IT, marketing, and others.

When the cloud strategy effort starts, many employees get excited and want to join the initial team. Too often, a lack of preplanning and decision-making causes this team to get frustrated.

Unfortunately, once this occurs, motivation and commitment slip, egos start to get in the way, and eventually, the project is put on hold or begins with a new team. Before this happens, take steps to avoid potential roadblocks.

Vendor Selection

After the decision to begin cloud migration and the selection of the project team, the actual planning begins. Unless the company is conducting an internal cloud strategy, a vendor selection process should be at the top of the list. There are many cloud vendors, and finding one that aligns with the business’s goals is essential to the initiative’s success.

If you’re struggling with an existing cloud vendor, the easiest decision is the hardest: change vendors.

The vendor needs to align with the company’s mission and goals. Will the vendor make the right core decisions for the cloud strategy? Again, the executive team and board’s involvement will eliminate these early issues.

If the organization is struggling with an existing cloud management vendor, the easiest decision is the hardest: change vendors. Regardless of how much money and time it has spent with an incompatible vendor, the business needs to move on.

Perform a Cloud Strategy Proof of Concept

A proof of concept (POC) helps the team see early warning signs and gives them short achievable targets for success. Remember, executive involvement during the POC shows commitment to the team.

The POC helps eliminate many of the problems in cloud strategy efforts, especially companies taking on an end-to-end (E2E) cloud strategy effort. Goal settings become a more manageable structure and will continue throughout the project. A POC should take no more than six months.

Collaboration is key. The groundwork laid by the POC allows everyone to understand the team dynamic and the decision process, as well as outlining a successful path for the primary cloud strategy. The POC will have mistakes, but an approach to mitigate future issues and risks is solidified.

Cloud Strategy Challenges

More issues occur in implementing cloud strategies than most corporate initiatives. The three biggest threats to a successful cloud strategy are:

Resources

In most cases, organizations tend to spend more than what is required. Enthusiastic members of the team, or individuals enamored with the newest cloud techniques, will escalate costs and oversell the latest concepts.

Executives should manage the company’s needs, not the latest, newest tech and costly ideas. Making sure the executives lead at the start creates an aligned, cost-efficient solution.

Scope Creep

The allure of getting the newest, latest, or best technology can end in starting over. If the decision is made to try a new solution, start with a POC and ensure measurable success throughout.

Ultimately, simple upfront decisions will lead to more success.

Legacy Systems

When migrating to the cloud, legacy systems and infrastructure can throw a wrench into the project. Problems in a standard data dictionary, or allowing groups to maintain an outdated structure, will always cause ongoing issues.

Always keep consistent strategies around time, cost, and resource allocation. Putting off the solution will create more pain down the road.

Defining Success

The success of any cloud strategy begins and ends with communication. An actionable communication plan from the beginning will eliminate costly decisions throughout the effort. Remember, executive leadership needs to be engaged; critical decisions should always align with the business.

Cloud strategy is still relatively new to most companies. Ask questions early and often; if the answer is “No need to worry about that yet,” that is a red flag. Poor planning will be costly and frustrating, and will continue to burden the organization.

Read next: What Is Vector Similarity Search?

The post Creating a Cloud Strategy: Tips for Success appeared first on CIO Insight.

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Can You Pass the Elevator Test? The Importance of Being Likable

Posted in: Agile Project Management, Collaboration, communication and managerial skills, customer service, developer, DevOps, elevator pitch, elevator test, IT hiring, IT Management, IT Strategy, Leadership, Project Management, Workplace - Aug 13, 2021

Have you heard of the elevator test? Imagine you walk into an elevator with a stranger and they ask you about yourself, or a product or service that you provide. As you ride the elevator up several floors toward your destination, do you have the time to clearly explain who you are and what you do? Do they understand why your answer matters, do they know how it can help them, or have you otherwise offered information that makes you trustworthy and likable?

The elevator test is a business concept that venture capitalists and investors have used for many years to judge a pitch for a new product or business idea. In the world of business technology, the elevator test looks a little different, depending on if you’re using it to sell a solution, to better organize an internal project team, or just to get to know a colleague.

CIOs and other top executives can use the elevator test to teach their teams how to market themselves and their brand’s solutions in different scenarios.

More for CIOs: How to Create a Business Continuity Plan

The Elevator Test in Business Technology Settings

The Elevator Test for Customer Pitches

Although business technology differs significantly from most traditional sales avenues, the core conversation should be the same: what problem does the customer face and how can you solve it? You should be able to effectively articulate the solution to the customer.

Tech vendors often make one of three mistakes when they pitch their product to potential customers:

Use too much niche, industry jargon that loses the customer.
Share extensive details to describe all product features, without considering what problems the customer actually wants to solve.
Focus too heavily on what makes them special or different from their competitors.

Although a little bit of each of these pitch approaches is appropriate, tech vendors can’t lose sight of the ultimate goal: you want prospects to realize they need your product to solve a specific problem. The potential client can learn more details about the product and your company after you catch their interest, but start with a clear and concise pitch to grab their attention and get them started.

More Communication Tips: Watch Your Language and 6 Other Selling Tips for Introverts

The Elevator Test for DevOps Projects

Whether they’re working with an internal operations team or a customer’s team leads, many developers struggle to communicate what they’re doing on a project and why it matters to operational goals. Software developers tend to be very comfortable writing and working with code, but as soon as they need to communicate its value with non-developers, a communication gap develops and projects unravel.

For CIOs who work closely with developers and other technical employees, you have the opportunity to take them through different exercises that strengthen their elevator pitches, or their ability to clearly explain the work they’re doing. When they’re working on a particular project or subtask, approach and ask them to explain it to you. They’ll likely respond very technically and without considering the larger framework into which their project fits. Continue asking them “why” until they respond with something that shows how their task directly benefits the operational side of the project.

You can run through this same exercise with operations employees, either when they’re testing a solution or asking for changes to a development project. The ultimate goal is to get both teams accustomed to communicating in a common language, ultimately making their combined DevOps projects and change orders run smoothly.

More on DevOps: Best DevOps Tools & Software of 2021

The Elevator Test for Hiring and Getting Hired

The version of the elevator test that most people have heard of is also known as an “elevator pitch.” Elevator pitches are typically used to advertise a product or service that you offer, but they can also be used to concisely describe who you are and what you do. Interviewers and applicants alike should practice a personal elevator pitch that covers your (or your company’s) most important features in a manner that’s quick and memorable.

Interviewers are looking at many candidates at a time and applicants are applying to several different tech roles and firms, so what can you do to make the other person feel connected to what you’re saying?

Businesses often already have a mission statement or core values statement, but they rarely have an established elevator pitch. It’s a good idea to develop an elevator pitch that works for salespeople, recruiters, and anyone else who might need to speak about your business’s goals off the cuff.

One more example of the elevator test encourages you to consider relationships with colleagues and how you can define a good culture fit. If you were stuck in an elevator for an extended period of time, would being with this other person positively or negatively impact that experience? Would they anxiously complain the whole time, or would they jump right into problem-solving action?

Thinking about how a colleague might respond in unexpected or high-pressure situations like a stuck elevator helps leaders predict how employees will perform in teams and client-facing situations. Regardless of which elevator test you choose, leaders and their employees can directly benefit when they use the elevator analogy to optimize their daily business interactions.

More Tech Hiring Tips: Edge Computing: Tips for Hiring and Getting Hired

The post Can You Pass the Elevator Test? The Importance of Being Likable appeared first on CIO Insight.

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CRM vs ERP: What Are the Key Differences?

Posted in: Cloud ERP, CRM, CRM platforms, CRM software, CRM Solutions, ERP, ERP software, ERP systems, IT Strategy, ITSM, ITSM software - Aug 12, 2021

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) have a lot in common, and the two terms are occasionally used interchangeably. They’re often housed in the same software portal, which is usually cloud-based. When it comes to CRM vs. ERP, you don’t have to choose.

CRM vs ERP

CRM	ERP
External	Internal
Sales	Supply Chain
Marketing	Operations
Customer Service	Risk Management

What Is CRM?

Customer relationship management software is an interface through which a business and its customers interact. It consolidates previously separate functions related to sales, marketing, and customer service. Salesforce is a big name in this industry, but other CRM options have emerged on the market.

What Is ERP?

Enterprise resource planning software manages internal resources to ensure a streamlined workflow. It’s the application of technology to essential business functions. ERP systems aggregate data from across the enterprise, from accounting to supply chain management. Some big players in this arena include SAP S/4HANA and Oracle Netsuite ERP.

CRM and ERP work hand in hand. While ERP relates to the internal functions of the business, CRM is the system that interacts with clients.

Why Your Business Needs Both CRM and ERP

All businesses ultimately need both types of software systems. You need to keep an eye on both the internal workings of your business, such as finances and operations, as well as external processes, such as customer acquisition and retention.

Because they tend to work with related data, many vendors consolidate CRM and ERP functions into one comprehensive portal.

Sometimes Less Is More

Given the prevalence of all-in-one software platforms that combine ERP and CRM tools, two things thing to watch out for feature creep and price.

Typically, a business will want to keep adding products to a platform in order to accommodate all potential scenarios. Poorly configured portals can be overwhelming and unruly for internal and external stakeholders alike. To combat this, you must configure a portal to only show what the end user needs to see.

More importantly, as you add products, modules, or features to an all-in-one platform, there’s additional costs associated with each new tool. Further, adding roles or seats within a given product incurs additional fees. Licensing agreements are specific to the enterprise, so your ultimate costs will depend on your negotiated service contract.

When selecting which products are best for your company, keep these things in mind:

Prioritize core functions when selecting tools
Consider the cost of integrating additional features
Assess how much users will actually benefit from new products
Only pay for the seats you will use

Are ITSM Tools Crowding the ERP Space?

Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) tools oversee how various IT-related services are delivered across an organization. This typically includes ticketing and incident management. ITSM tools automate what a customer service representative or IT technician would otherwise have to do, and share many of the same core capabilities of ERP software.

However, ERP is more broad and covers a business’s essential functions. ITSM tools draw from the same data as ERP, but oversee IT-related functions within the organization and signal incidents, alerts, and requests within the system. Examples of ITSM software include ServiceNow and Zendesk.

ITSM is an internal tool that keeps the functions of ERP and CRM systems running smoothly. It serves both internal as well as external stakeholders.

ERP is born out of the same principles as ITSM, as IT services are essential to ERP. These two tools are therefore deeply intertwined and rely on one another. Much like CRM and ERP, ITSM and ERP are not so much competitors as they are partners. As such, you often see ITSM tools baked into larger ERP platforms.

You Don’t Have to Pick a Side

Given their increased integration, ERP and CRM are often confused for one another, but their functions differ.

While ERP automates and oversees all essential business functions, CRM focuses on sales-related, outward-facing features. You don’t have to pick a side when it comes to CRM vs. ERP.

ITSM tools will continue to play a supportive and essential role to both ERP and CRM systems ensuring technology runs smoothly. Because all these tools support each other, many businesses are opting to fold them into all-in-one platforms.

Read next: Three Key Advances in ERP for 2021

The post CRM vs ERP: What Are the Key Differences? appeared first on CIO Insight.

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What Is Vector Similarity Search?

Posted in: AI, AI-driven data analytics, Big Data, cybersecurity, data searches, machine learning, machine learning algorithms, News & Trends - Aug 11, 2021

Regardless of your industry, you probably know that staying abreast of new technologies is an important part of keeping a company competitive and able to meet emerging needs. Vector similarity search is a relatively new option that could soon become more relevant for businesses. Here’s what you need to know about it.

What Is Vector Similarity Search?

As you might guess from its name, a vector search involves representing pictures or bits of text as vectors, or embeddings. They often help train machine learning models. Object similarity also comes into play, which compares the vectors in a multidimensional space.

A vector search involves representing pictures or bits of text as vectors, or embeddings.

Closeness represents more vector similarity between the embeddings, whereas more distance means fewer common characteristics. People using a vector search engine could perform nearest-neighbor searches to determine the closest query-related vectors in a space.

How Could Businesses Use Vector Similarity Search?

A vector search uses deep learning and other advanced techniques to answer queries based on contextual understanding rather than a simplistic assessment. Here are some specific ways your organization could see the advantages of vector similarity searches.

Show Users Similar Products

Giving e-commerce site visitors similar or exact matches to the things they search for is crucial for prolonging their engagement and increasing the likelihood of a sale. The results of a vector search could be useful for showing shoppers such content.

eBay developed an interactive visual search feature based on the vector similarity approach. Users choose pictures from batches of images that most closely match the products they want. People see new groups after making their selections.

The idea is to gradually narrow down the online marketplace’s massive product assortment while encouraging item discovery.

Develop Deep Learning Algorithms More Quickly

Vector similarity search relies on deep learning — an advanced form of artificial intelligence (AI) based on how human brains process information. There’s a growing push for businesses of all types to see how AI could help them.

For example, statistics show it’s possible to get up to 20% conversion cost reductions when applying AI to core business practices in producing industries, according to BlueSentry. However, many companies don’t have people on their teams with extensive AI knowledge, and it’s not always easy to find such specialists quickly.

That said, a company called SentiSight.ai offers an online dashboard geared toward people who want to develop similarity search models, but don’t have extensive prior knowledge.

For example, the product’s image similarity search function can make predictions about pictures a person uploads from their mobile phone. There’s also an AI-assisted labeling feature.

Read more: AI Software Trends for 2021

Improve Security Measures

Maintaining a high level of physical and cybersecurity is vital for today’s businesses to succeed. For example, vandalism or product theft could cut into profits, while a ransomware attack could lock company representatives out of critical systems and data.

A recent study found that one in three organizations are experiencing more cybersecurity attacks this year than last. Fortunately, vector similarity approaches could help in both regards.

A vector search engine could store data about people who have stolen from a store previously, allowing an algorithm to recognize possible problematic shoppers. Computer codes could also feature in vector similarity searches. According to GSI Technology, checking a piece of software against a database of known vulnerabilities could tell a company whether the product has issues for hackers to exploit.

Improve SEO Strategies

You may also use a vector search within a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. That’s because it can help you find word synonyms that could help you include phrases relevant to customers’ primary search terms.

For example, Word2Vec finds the words most similar to an originally inputted one. It works with pieces of text and assigns one vector to each word. The closest vectors represent the best-matching terms.

What Could Negatively Affect Widespread Adoption?

Now that you know why company representatives might use a vector search engine strategy in their operations, you might wonder why this technology is not yet part of the mainstream. The main challenge is that vector similarity search is still emerging.

It may not be easy to convince decision-makers to invest in a technology that does not have widespread usage.

Thus, it may not be easy to convince decision-makers to invest in a technology that does not yet have widespread usage. Business leaders often want to see case studies before committing to investments, and it’ll take a while to gather the evidence for those.

Further, vector similarity databases once required significant resources to implement and maintain. However, service providers are making it easier to work with these searches at modest costs. For example, Pinecone offers a fully managed vector similarity search database and a pay-for-what-you-use model.

How Can You Explore Vector Similarity Search Applications?

If you’ve decided to dive into vector similarity search and determine some of the specific ways it could help your business, there are a few options beyond those already mentioned.

Facebook’s engineers unveiled Faiss, a vector similarity search tool, in 2017. Developers reported an 8.5x improvement in processing time when using it across GPUs for nearest-neighbor searches. You can get it on GitHub. However, it’s intended for people with prior coding experience.

There’s also Weaviate, an open-source tool that allows working with any kind of media — including video, audio and text. Milvus is an open-source vector search engine suited to unstructured data, and counts Trend Micro and the Cleveland Museum of Art among its users.

Microsoft offers Bing vector search, another specific tool geared toward developers. And companies in the AWS ecosystem can leverage Amazon SageMaker and Amazon ES to build visual search applications.

Will You Benefit From Vector Search?

This technology is still in the very early stages. As more companies decide to use it, the potential applications will become even more evident and exciting.

If you’re strongly considering using vector search based on what you’ve read here and elsewhere, start by envisioning a few business cases or goals you want to meet. Then, research more deeply into how vector similarity searches could provide the necessary assistance.

The post What Is Vector Similarity Search? appeared first on CIO Insight.

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