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Archive for ‘March, 2015’

March 17, 2015

Will your company have a CDO by 2017?

by Jason Kallevig / Posted in CDO, Cloud Services, Mobile, Security, Tech Management, Uncategorized

CDO is becoming a vital role in many companies.  In 2012 Harvard Business Review named Chief Data Scientist as the ‘sexiest job of the 21st Century’, and Gartner has predicted that 25% of organizations will have a Chief Digital Officer by 2017.  Are these indications that business leaders of all shapes & sizes recognize that all things connect digitally?

A CDO provides vision and strategy for all data management activities and is responsible for digital quality control and managing digital vendor relationships across an organization. Metrics of this operation are reported on and provided to CEO/CFO/CIO to summarize clearly the health and benefit of digital systems that businesses depend on. CDO provides owners with the Big Picture.

The CDO is able to maximize quality of data and digital systems through continual root cause assessment as day to day issues arise. While employees encounter system crashes, errors and nuances directly; a CDO is able to identify patterns and commonalities across isolated incidents. This enables high level decisions and changes that PREVENT OR AVOID system and/or end-user errors that would have resulted in productivity loss and potentially bad data.

Standardization. The only way to manage the fast paced evolution of technology is though standardization of systems and policies in real-time. Staying in tune with a company’s vision, constraints, and culture is critical to leveraging technology as a tool rather than a hindrance. Lest we become buried in the bureaucracy of our digital systems.

Navigate and succeed in mastering unstructured data. Social media, email, transactional records, images, video, and media are very real aspects of any businesses digital day. But they don’t necessarily compute on a one-to-one basis very well. Understanding how to implement, manage, store, and report on very different technology models is crucial to a successful CDO and ultimately a company’s digital health.

Master of all things Digital. A CDO begins to shine as the technology they manage begins to benefit people in quantifiable ways. Decision makers who have quick access to accurate information, and weary employees who begin to experience mundane, time consuming tasks becoming automated become a CDO’s greatest advocators.

March 17, 2015

Data Protection – Multi-Function Printer a Security Threat?

by Jason Kallevig / Posted in Security, Tech Management, Uncategorized

Have you considered your printer a security threat, a potential bridge of information in and out of your organization? As IT trends towards access “outside the firewall” we need to closely consider all components that store and process information, even the seemingly mundane Multi-Function Printer.

Today’s MFP’s have hard drives that store information, memory, and processors. Many include features to enable remote users to communicate to and from the public internet via remote PC’s and mobile devices. Features like scan to email, and print from phone are great for productivity, but what vulnerabilities are exposed for malicious purposes?

It is very possible that every print job is stored in a persistent history log. Could any employee with physical access to the printer simply walk up and select re-print of the most recent payroll? What information would be gained by removing the hard drive?

Unfortunately, plugging in your new printer and “getting it to work” is only the first step. Most MFP’s offer surprisingly advanced data protection features that are overlooked, especially in small businesses where resources are limited and productivity gains overshadow security risks. Administration passwords should always be set and documented. Many MFP’s offer drive encryption, ability to secure the user, and even to secure the output tray. “Sanitization” can overwrite historical information and clear active cache’s on a regular basis. While scan to email may seem a simple and green method to send paper outside your office, other document management tools offer much more robust audit trail and accountability of the delivery and receipt of such information.

Most people know that they need to invest in physical security, network security, firewalls and data backup. Many businesses overlook the inherent risks from physical or remote access to productivity features of their most fundamentally basic technology equipment.

Contact KDS Systems today by phone at (320) 281-7033 or by email at virtualcdo@kdssys.com to learn how quickly and cost effectively your business can review, plan, and implement secure network infrastructure to protect your valuable business assets.