Imagine this scenario: you’re leading a growing business in Seattle (or anywhere else). Your company relies on technology for everything from customer communication and data storage to sales and marketing. But lately, your IT services provider has become more of a headache than a helping hand.
Data fuels most businesses today. The way a company manages its data can significantly impact decision-making, innovation, and security. However, with rapidly evolving technology and regulations, keeping up with data management best practices is essential.
IT compliance standards are evolving rapidly, with new regulations and auditor expectations emerging every year. Organizations in the US need to ensure their IT infrastructure and security policies align with the latest requirements — or risk negative consequences like fines, reputational damage or loss of customer trust.
Data security has never been more crucial for organizations and individuals alike. However, many common misconceptions persist about best practices for data privacy. These assumptions often lead to risky gaps in protection, exposing valuable customer data, intellectual property, financial records and other critical assets.
Bringing on new employees generates excitement for HR teams, but it also creates vulnerability if onboarding isn’t handled properly. When careless mistakes happen during the onboarding process for new employees, as well as when offboarding them, you risk breaches that expose sensitive data.
Managing large amounts of data over time requires strategic planning combined with the most appropriate technology. Anyone can store an organization’s files in the cloud; however, it takes deliberate management to ensure that those files do not turn into a massive, costly problem.
Purchasing cloud services from Microsoft Azure or AWS may seem like the simplest solution for your organization. But it is often also the costliest. From your standard monthly costs to new service fees, it seems the list never ends on your monthly bill.
The Shift to Cloud and Data Egress Challenges
Businesses are moving their data from old systems to cloud-based ones because of the new hybrid work model. This move spreads important data across many places like data centers, cloud services, and various applications.
Storing paper records in a cardboard box next to a fireplace or in the basement of a house in a flood zone are both recipes for disaster. How do you know that your digital records are not stored in the online equivalent of those situations? The information you collect and store about your customers, employees and organization should be protected beyond a doubt.
You wouldn’t return to a restaurant if you were consistently underwhelmed or skeptical about the quality of food and service. Details matter, and a lack of attention to the right ingredients can cost an establishment a customer forever.
The same should be true for your IT services provider.
