Channel Voices

How To Convince Customers
That They'll Always Need Security

May 15, 2012

Malware and network intrusion are the two most popular security threats to companies today. Breaches can mean millions of dollars in losses. Reynolds, SVP, Corporate Sales at Kaspersky Lab, North America, discusses how to communicate the severity of the danger to your customers.—Jennifer Bosavage, editor

Right now, companies are facing several types of threats from various groups. In 2011, the most widely publicized were hacktivists, who are groups of actors that commit cyber attacks on organizations based on socio-political ideologies and motivations. However, the most common group threatening corporations and consumers are cybercriminals. Such groups commit cyber attacks strictly for monetary profit and have a commercialized operation that targets companies with a variety of techniques including spam, malware, social engineering and denial of service attacks.

The most common threat comes in the form of viruses, spyware and other malicious programs (malware). And those are common.

Related: PCI Security Standards Council Takes On Credit Card Security Threat

• In 2011, 91 percent of corporations reported at least one IT security incident from an outside source.

• Despite recent law enforcement arrests on the Zeus creators, the Trojan continues to plague the industry. In 2011, Zeus’ source code was leaked to the public, which gave cybercriminals open access to configure the malware to meet their individual attack needs. The customization creates more targeted attacks and only increases the challenge companies have with securing its networks from the malicious Trojan.

• Mass exploitation continues to spread with crimeware and online attacks. In 2011, the United States was ranked #3 overall for the number of online attacks targeting victim’s computers. As a result of successful attacks, victim computers were infected with a full array of malicious programs: Zbot (ZeuS) Banker Trojans, ZeroAccess multifunction backdoor clickers, fake antivirus programs, and blackmailers.

The second most frequent security issue was network intrusion; 44 percent of companies experience an issue because of vulnerabilities inside its existing software. Patch management for IT continues to be an issue with the amount of diverse software applications running on their employee’s computers.

What’s at stake? Security breaches most frequently result in the loss of financial data, followed by personal customer information, intellectual property, and employee information. Thirty one percent of the reported malware attacks resulted in some form of data loss, with 10 percent of companies reporting loss of sensitive business data.

Although statistics show the majority of attacks are traditional cybercriminal methods, the rapid adoption of mobile devices, cloud services and social networking applications in the work place creates an even more complex model for your customers to secure.

Next: Help your customer understand why security is so important

How can you help organizations take cybersecurity more seriously? Help them understand :
1. the threats that exist,

2. what the risks are and how it relates to their markets.

Reading about security events in the news and sharing research reports with your customers only acts as a long sword when they require a scalpel to fully dissect their cyber security needs. Assist them with evaluating their assets, intellectual property, processes, expertise and resources so they can ascertain what’s the most valuable and invest in security solutions that meet the scope of their needs the most. Here’s where to start:

Evaluate your customers' most valuable assets and offer a customized solution to protect them.
• Assess the market and threats with your customers IT infrastructure/existing technology.
• Conduct a security audit to evaluate strengths/weaknesses and develop a plan to secure the most valuable areas for your customers.
• Look at the tools that are available.
• Look at alliances.
• Evaluate vendors’ interoperability and integration ease.

Adapt to new threats by expanding your portfolio of protection
• Can you broaden by selling adjacent technologies?
• How can you wrap services around vendor offerings?
• What are the tools/barriers to entry?

Who to choose? Finding the right vendors
• What percent of their business is channel?
• Can you continue to build your business with them?
• How deep is their threat analysis team?
• Are they global? Can they meet geographical requirements like IT support in native languages for each region?
• What percent of employees are in their R&D team (i.e. how deep is there R&D)?
• What are their key strengths? Solutions, support and expertise, etc.
• How well do they know the threats in each market and geography?
• Can they offer solutions that fit these diverse needs?

How can you prepare your customers to meet emerging threats with new technologies?
• Are your vendors flexible enough to support virtual and mobile platforms/needs?
• How well can they integrate with existing IT infrastructure and system management technologies?
• How often do they expand and update their portfolio of security solutions and products?

Proof of Concept (POC) – Why it’s important to you and your customer
• As a solution provider, you continue to show your expertise and relevance to your customer.
• POCs will demonstrate and validate the capabilities of your recommendation solution prior to full deployment and installation.
• POCs are another way of activating your professional services business unit and on-going contact with the selected vendor.

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How To Kill Off Legacy Systems

May 11, 2012

Niel Nickolaisen is the chief information officer for Western Governors University, a nonprofit, entirely online university. He is also one of the founders of Accelinnova, a think tank focused on improving organizational and IT agility. Here, he discusses how to move a customer off of a legacy system for good.—Jennifer Bosavage, editor

I have spent the past 15 years of my career replacing legacy systems. When those systems no longer appropriately support the business, I launch projects to implement something new and better.

These are complex, challenging projects. The biggest challenge of is not managing the team, stakeholders, timelines, deliverables and costs. The biggest struggle is convincing the organization to decommission the legacy system once the new system is in production. It seems a human tendency to want to hold on to things we think we might need.

Many years ago, I managed a large ERP project for a consumer packaged-goods company. Midway through the project, the company acquired one of its competitors. The acquired company had its own systems for order management and distribution. When we tried to include them in our ERP project, the acquired management team responded that the new system could not possibly support their order-entry and shipping processes. The new system could accurately take an order, process an order, allocate inventory, ship the order, and integrate with the accounts receivable system. The new system would not work because it was not “their system.” So, in order to keep our ERP project on pace, we went ahead without them.

After the new system went into production, I left the company. Recently, I was talking with the CIO that took my place. Guess what? I learned that the company is still using both systems to process orders.

If you are like most of us, you have orphan and duplicate applications in your portfolio. Perhaps one department implemented one collaboration suite while another department implemented something different. Both departments are enamored with their separate applications and refuse to consider using one or the other. Perhaps you have not been able to pull the plug on an application you replaced. When you first put in the new application, there might have been a good reason to keep the legacy system alive. Someone needed access to historical data that you did not want to convert. Or, the accounting department wanted to do one more financial close on the old system. But, that was five years ago, and the thing is still alive and kicking. And consuming support time and dollars, adding to IT complexity, and pulling some of our best people back to continue to do work on an application that should be retired.

Next:: Three ways to kill off legacy systems

After years of being frustrated with my inability to turn off duplicate and legacy systems, I have developed three practices I use to minimize the temptation to keep them alive. These are:

• When developing the project plan for a new application, I also plan the decommissioning of the application we are replacing. For this planning, I develop a checklist that defines how, at each phase of the implementation, I will phase out the legacy application.

• I reduce costs by eliminating duplicate systems. If we are using multiple applications that perform similar or nearly similar tasks, I determine the fully burdened costs to support each system and then ask the business to select which one it wants to keep. The business then manages the transition to a single platform.

• I regularly report on what is in our application portfolio. When people see a diagram of what applications we are supporting and what tasks those applications are performing, they start to ask why we have two order management applications, why we have five reporting and analysis tools, and why we can’t just use one intranet application. Each time we add or delete an application, I update the diagram and send it out to my business customers. That one thing does wonders; especially when the CEO is on my distribution list.

The most important lesson I have learned about application consolidation is to plan for it. I budget for it. I put it on my list of opportunities. I communicate the options and benefits. Ultimately, the business decides what to consolidate. I just want to help them with that decision.

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How To Protect Mac Files In Today’s Workspace

May 08, 2012

As different devices enter the workplace -- from iPads to iPhones, from those employees own to those issued by the employer -- the challenge of data management becomes greater. With more data than ever before to have to handle, solution providers are faced with helping customers figure out how to store it all. Here, Mark Ross, Dolly Drive's director of client services, offers five ways to deal with the changing environment. (Dolly Drive is an online services provider delivering cloud-based data sharing and storage service for the Mac community.) —Jennifer Bosavage, editor

Our workspaces are rapidly changing the landscape that defines our workday. As technology advances, we sometimes are presented with myriad of options that transcend the environment that we used to experience.

With this paradigm shift comes the changing dynamic of how we store data, how we use that stored data and even more so; how we protect that data.

It is not your father’s data store anymore!

In today’s workplace, we not only send files, we share projects and parts of projects. The need to coordinate has become the focus of many new technology initiatives and in itself, requires a simple and easy to use solution. And with this new freedom, comes the challenge of protecting and securing that data.

Here are 5 "Must Do’s" when moving toward an effective cloud storage process.

The Solution

#1. Choose a provider that embodies a dynamic and flexible solution to keep up with the changing demands of the virtual workspace.

#2. Don’t crowd desktops with multiple apps or service but rather intelligently provide the best in class solution that solves the problem.

#3. Consider a hybrid-cloud approach that provides a range of services locally for accessibility, security, control and integration; Hybrid-clouds and private clouds help the ultimate security of true offsite replication and storage for the mobile workforce.

#4. The lines have also been blurring between how we work and how we backup. What was once the exclusive domain for backup now becomes active work product. For some, the fact that this is automatically synchronized to another machine provides a degree of comfort. For others, and rightly so, a formal archive of backups is the only real preservation.

#5. Support your support. As in most cases, there is no one-size fits all. The solution set needs to be dynamic, flexible and customizable to support the client workflow. The consulting, engineering and deployment teams are still an integral part of today’s sales cycles despite the ease of downloading an app. Do not overlook the human connection in a technology heavy sector, especially considering time and implementation needs.

At Dolly Drive, to ensure that the Mac user is completely protected we have designed a unified solution that brings all of the various solution elements to bear in an easy to implement, easy to use and simple toolset. We listened to our customers—they told us how they work and what they need—we provided the tools for them to use.

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How-To Match Flash Memory Solutions to Application Needs

May 04, 2012

The time has come for flash memory solutions. Here, Venkat, Vice President of Product Management at Violin Memory, discusses where and when flash is superior to compete storage methods. —Jennifer Bosavage, editor

With decades of experience storing data on hard disk drives (HDDs), the IT industry is long overdue for the type of revolutionary advantages offered by flash memory technology. Flash technology is making significant inroads to the modern data center and as those early-adopter solution providers are demonstrating, change can be a challenge without being disruptive.

Forward-looking organizations view the industry shift as a close cousin to challenge: opportunity. While those decades of experience have led to lots of tech advancement, at some point your reach diminishing returns. The opportunity in this case is putting storage on a Moore’s Law technology curve that brings the data center into balance across compute, networking, and storage. The key to avoiding disruption is finding the right tool for the job in this new landscape.

Many modern business critical applications continue to rely on high-value data that is stored on disk. Access to that data is becoming the primary data center bottleneck. Data is an enormously valuable business asset, but if an organization can’t extract information from the data, it’s simply an idle asset. Strategically, CIOs face the pain of fighting through storage roadblocks while trying to roll out critical business initiatives such as Big Data, eCommerce, virtualization, mobile, and cloud. Without the ability to rapidly read and write data, application performance will not be sufficient to support a business environment that is near real-time. Flash promises to solve these problems, dramatically increasing throughput and IOPS while delivering orders of magnitude lower latency.

Flash started out as consumer technology and has evolved to meet the more rigorous requirements of the enterprise data center. That evolution has resulted in three general categories of flash-based products:

• Server-based PCIe cards
• Solid State Disk (SSD) solutions
• Purpose-built flash memory arrays

Each of those approaches has a unique set of characteristics that when matched with the right use case can deliver substantial improvements, but when mismatched can lead to disaster. The optimal approach delivers the performance, reliability, and cost for a given application.

Next: Let's look at PCIe Cards

1. PCIe Cards
This option packages as much flash as possible onto a PCIe card that plugs into a high speed slot on a server. Instead of a slow disk, it’s a large capacity memory resource to feed hungry CPU cycles. Because of their much higher interface speeds, PCIe cards have much better performance than a typical commodity SSD. Through smart design, it can build in certain flash-optimized hardware and software features.

This solution is most commonly viewed as a memory extension that’s cheaper and denser than DRAM, while making a single host server run faster. Because PCIe cards are tied to a host server, there are reliability concerns in its inability to be deployed as shared network storage. Cost is a factor as well. A single PCIe card is typically two to three times the cost of the server and can double your overhead if mirroring is needed for reliability.

2. Solid State Disk (SSD) Solutions
Commodity SSDs are a natural evolution from consumer flash devices. The concept is straightforward: a device with the same form factor of an HDD that uses the same connectors and interfaces and can be plugged into a server or disk array. Multiple SSDs can be combined into a disk array to boost performance with little change needed to the surrounding hardware and software. Applications think they are seeing a faster disk drive.

While SSD solutions are convenient in that the ability to ‘look like a fast disk’ simplifies things, it overlooks the key issue that flash is a very different media than rotating magnetic disk. The commodity SSD is not meant for a use case that is focused solely on performance. Rather, it's designed to take advantage of the commodity cost and associated commodity reliability. That tradeoff means the surrounding hardware and software is not optimized for the unique characteristics of flash.

HDD arrays don’t need to account for flash specific issues, such as garbage collection and wear management and hence treat the devices as a black box. A controller designed for an HDD array can easily become the bottleneck, reducing the performance benefit.

3. Flash Memory Arrays
Flash packaging has a significant impact on the strength and weaknesses of a given solution. Flash Memory Arrays take the approach of designing a system from the flash chip up to better manage the balance of performance, reliability, and cost to optimize for enterprise storage. By starting at the flash chip level, vendors can optimize hardware, firmware, and software for the unique characteristics of flash. A purpose-built system such as that can very efficiently pool flash resources within the system for superior performance density and aggregate multiple systems for scalable shared network storage. Given the emphasis on efficient flash aggregation, a memory array is likely to be suited to a use case where a faster disk drive will do the trick.

Solution providers who are armed with the information to help their clients sort through the myriad of technology options on the market become valuable business partners. The best ones consistently get the round peg in the round hole. Flash storage is similar to all strategic technology decisions in that there are pros and cons to the various approaches.

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How Apple Apps Advance Recruiting at Your Own Business

May 01, 2012

If you've ever had to fill job openings at your solution provider business, you know how difficult recruiting and hiring is. Plain and simple: It's time and resource consuming. Bradford, CEO of HireVue, discusses how to recruit effectively using Apple mobile devices, including iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches.—Jennifer Bosavage, editor

Regardless of your industry or company size, hiring the talent that will propel your company to success requires being at the right place at the right time – before the competition is there – and with a strong employment brand and an enhanced candidate experience. The problem is, recruiting and effectively evaluating job candidates takes time, and often employers invest their resources in screening individuals only to determine that they’re not a right fit for the position or company.

In a market where both unemployment and talent shortages are in abundance, and communications trends point to a mobile movement, the HR technology industry is catching on to offer employers new ways to reach, attract, identify and hire those individuals who are right for their organizations. Companies at the cutting-edge of recruiting are now connecting with and interviewing a diverse range of job candidates all over the globe through the use of Apple mobile devices, including iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches.

A New Approach: iOS Apps and Interviewing
Using SaaS, video and now mobile based technology, companies are improving productivity and effectiveness, and saving money by skipping bad job interviews. With new mobile apps available, employers can create “on demand” job interviews – including video, essay and multiple choice questions – and share them with candidates. Candidates then complete the interview at their convenience using a mobile digital interviewing app and the built-in camera and microphone of their favorite mobile iOS devices. Once complete, employers can review responses, compare candidates side-by-side, share interviews and capture feedback within a cloud-based digital interviewing platform.

There’s nothing more frustrating than flying an individual in for a full day of interviews, only to realize that they’re not the right candidate after the second interview question. Because the app-enabled interviews are recorded, employers are able to avoid scheduling hassles and quickly identify and engage those candidates that are a good match for the position and company. With better insight than a phone screening or resume provides, they can also quickly determine in which candidates they should avoid investing their valuable budgets and time.

Employers can watch, share, replay, skip and compare the interviews at any time, even from their own mobile devices. A business leader in New York can interview a sales candidate in Boston without ever stepping foot on a train. A busy CEO can review and consider executive support candidates while at the airport, waiting to catch their next flight.

Next: Elevating the Candidate Experience

Elevating the Candidate Experience
Boost employment brand and provide a memorable, one-of-a-kind candidate experience using mobile recruiting technology that enables completion of job interviews at any time, from anywhere. Thanks to the app, job seekers no longer need to spend days away from their families traveling or take time off from work. They also get better mileage out of their job interviews, which can be shared with multiple stakeholders at the company. Digital interviewing technology also provides a consistent, standardized and fair interview – all candidates are asked the same questions and evaluated on the same criteria.

Imagine being able to complete a job interview on your lunch break from your iPhone, or in the evening after the kids are in bed from your iPad. Candidates can appreciate the convenience of this technology, and employers can attract talent by showing they are a forward-thinking company that values the candidates’ time and embraces effective and evolving communication methods.

Other mobile recruiting technologies also place emphasis on easing the process for candidates and untethering recruiters. Some mobile apps provide a company-branded mobile job search experience that puts job posting information and relevant content at candidates’ fingertips. Other mobile recruiting solutions focus on sharing job alerts that candidates can respond to instantly from their mobile devices. Industry leading recruiting, applicant tracking and talent management solution providers offer employers integrated real-time mobile access to enterprise recruiting solutions to encourage greater candidate relationship management and more effective communication.

Reach Candidates Wherever They Are Employers can also gain a competitive edge using mobile apps by reaching a more expansive and diverse global candidate pool. Research indicates that U.S. minority populations regularly access the Internet using handheld devices, but may not have regular access to a traditional computer. While 80 percent of the world is connected by the electrical grid, 85 percent of the world’s population is covered by commercial wireless signals. And according to International Telecom Union, in 2010, India and China added 300 million mobile subscribers. The numbers speak for themselves; this is a widespread, global and quickly growing communication trend. It’s time to adopt mobile recruiting strategies if you hope to become or remain a competitive employment brand.

Interviewing in the Instant Age
Effective recruiting is a crucial element of any successful business strategy. But quickly identifying those individuals who will drive sales, increase market presence and can foster lasting partnerships is no easy task – especially when communication expectations are high and social media trends make the world smaller.

Mobile interviewing and recruiting apps not only improve internal processes, but they also can help employers reach and identify top performers wherever they are, before their competition does. Many of the HR industry’s leading solution providers offer iOS apps that help recruiters maximize effectiveness and allows candidates showcase the characteristics that make them stand out. As iOS devices take their place in the mobile movement, companies can take their places as leading employment brands by leveraging apps that improve processes and help them connect with top talent.

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