As an IT leader, your job is growing more challenging by the day. Your IT strategy must be sophisticated and agile, balancing digital transformation priorities with security imperatives—and you probably have to stick to a lean budget too. What are the non-negotiable priorities you absolutely must include? Here’s a look at some of the most important IT issues that a modern CIO or CTO must tackle and why they matter to your success.
1. Enable digital maturity
Digital transformation may be the buzzword phrase of the moment, but there’s a good reason for that. Businesses that fail to become digitally mature will struggle to compete and thrive within the evolving digital landscape. While the transition to digital maturity often involves updating legacy infrastructure and implementing new technology systems that enable powerful business capabilities, it also requires a considerable amount of cultural change.
According to TechTarget, IT and business leaders often underestimate the degree of change management and political acumen required to lead an organization to a state of digital maturity. With that in mind, remember to keep a close eye on the softer human elements associated with digital transformation as well as the innovative technologies your organization is pursuing.
$575Million Equifax Settlement Illustrates Business Security Basics
We recommend and help implement security for every one of Computing Center's clients. While totally baffling given what Equifax's business is, they apparently didn't do many of the basics. A bit of a long read, but there are many lessons to be learned here. No time to wade through the entire article...checkout the last section - what you and every business should be doing is listed there.
Patch your software. Segment your network. Monitor for intruders. According to tech experts, those are security basics for businesses of any size. But when you’re industry giant Equifax – a company in possession of staggering amounts of highly confidential information about more than 200 million Americans – it’s almost unthinkable not to implement those fundamental protections. An FTC, CFPB, and State AG settlement of at least $575 million illustrates the injury to consumers when companies ignore reasonably foreseeable (and preventable) threats to sensitive data. Read on for security tips for your business and what consumers can do to get compensation for their losses and sign up for free credit monitoring.
The Equifax data breach has been in the headlines, but what happened behind the scenes? According to the complaint, in March 2017, US-CERT – Homeland Security’s cyber experts – alerted Equifax and other companies about a critical security vulnerability in open-source software used to build Java web applications. The alert warned anyone using a vulnerable version of the software to update it immediately to a free patched version. It didn’t take long before the press reported that hackers had already started to exploit the vulnerability.
The Battle for Talent
Many of us in Ithaca are used to a tight labor market, especially for high quality technologically savvy employees. Our unemployment rate is typically the lowest in New York State and Tompkins County has over 15,000 people drving into our area daily. This has become a nationwide phenomenon. Here's some tips on how best to hire and retain employees.
How you can win
With U.S. unemployment below 4 percent, it’s probably become more difficult for you to find good talent. Not only do you have to cast a wider net across a shrinking pond of potential employees, you’re also increasingly competing with the deeper pockets of much larger organizations.
In fact, according to a recent Goldman Sachs report, 70 percent of small businesses struggle to find and retain skilled talent, And 56 percent of small businesses say it is somewhat or very difficult to find the right employees for their businesses, according to an Indeed.com survey.
Make "Green" = Success in your Business
Our community is a leader in sustainablity. Even though we beat ourselves up about doing even more, we are way ahead of many others and are thinking about more and better ways to utilize resources more effieciently every day. In our world of Information Technology, the industry has done a lot to make their products use less energy and last longer. Hewlett Packard (yes they are self-serving) does provide products that are more sustainable. Here are some ideas that you can incorporate into your business or organization.
By 2050, there will be 9.8 billion people on earth. Greenhouse gas emissions expected to rise 34%, energy use expected to rise by 48%, and the demand for water will be 40% higher than supply. And we have just 12 years to make massive changes to our global energy infrastructure to limit global warming to moderate levels, according to a comprehensive 2018 United Nations study.
Beyond a few recycling bins, making your business greener may not have been a priority until now. It’s time to change that. Not only will you be helping the planet, but it’ll also be good for your business: 88% of consumers will be more loyal to a company that supports environmental issues. Here are some things your business can do to make an impact.
Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Legacy Systems
“I’m in favor of progress. It’s change I don’t like.” — Mark Twain
Any CIO or IT manager thinking about upgrading legacy equipment would agree. Many who were forced to shelve upgrade plans during the 2008 economic downturn now face a vastly different digital world where they must embrace change or lose ground to competitors.
It’s a tough decision to say the least. Business hardware and software carry a hefty price tag. Plus, companies must rebuild the legacy equipment infrastructure without undermining everyday operations. In a recent Forbes article, one Nationwide executive aptly compared the task with changing tires on a moving car.
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