Tag Archives: data analysis

Mind The Skill Gap: How To Expand Talent In Cybersecurity

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The modern cybersecurity industry has been the subject of much attention in recent years as threats to businesses large and small continue to mount. Even outside of the industry, business experts have correctly concluded that more measures are necessary to counteract aging infrastructure and an increase in possible attack surfaces. The interest exists, but what doesn’t exist is enough personnel to fill the myriad jobs in cybersecurity. And this problem is only expected to get worse as time goes on, with the number of new professionals eclipsed by how much their talents are needed.

The discrepancy in cybersecurity is often blamed on the failure of universities to provide the courses necessary to train the next generation of experts. While this is a noted problem, it is only one of many. The same cybersecurity professionals who scoff at formalized education in the field are often unwilling to invest the resources into training others within their organization, instead preferring to solicit existing talent from other businesses. Though there is significant work involved when it comes to building a reliable team, the reward of cultivating new talent is preferable to poaching the old and widening the skill gap further. It’s a sacrifice, but one that must be made if the industry is to be sustainable moving forward.

The other advantage of in-house training is the integration of cybersecurity practices throughout all of a business’s processes. Too often, organizations view these tools as afterthoughts to be stapled at the end of every project. The reality here is that new systems, products, and infrastructure should be created with cybersecurity in mind. Training and apprenticeship programs provide enough personnel to adequately address anything new coming through the pipeline. This carries the added benefit of allowing new entrants in the industry to receive a hands-on experience with a variety of systems.

And, if a company doesn’t have any place to start when it comes to building in-house cybersecurity firms, a third-party organization can help. These companies can provide support for companies that don’t have the resources to train new experts and build the start of a good security culture. However, even dedicated cybersecurity organizations should be mindful of their practices when it comes to recruiting vs. fostering talent.

It’s also important to consider the kind of training that is being given to aspiring cybersecurity experts. The best way to handle cybersecurity is to start with the broad strokes—the compliance laws that it is absolutely vital that any professional knows. In many cybersecurity courses, emphasis is placed on the products that businesses can use to combat threats. This leads to experts with very specialized knowledge of a specific solution, rather than knowing many brand-agnostic solutions or the compliance standards that underpin the whole industry. Consultants should be neutral when it comes to recommending solutions and find whatever suits an organization’s needs.

The future of cybersecurity will need to be collaborative. Between academic organizations selling their programs to business organizations offering opportunities for interested professionals to learn, a lot needs to change about how new talent is cultivated. In the future, expect to see a new generation of experts that know compliance law inside and out—and that are focused on spreading their best practices to others.

 

 

Adapting to Data as a CIO

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The data revolution has put companies in an interesting position—swamped with information, it is now their responsibility to ascertain actionable insights as fast as possible to avoid falling behind. It’s a challenge to keep up—while there are plenty of tools for collecting big data, and plenty to analyze it as well, the sheer variety can overwhelm a CIO not prepared for the influx.

Because of this, data agility is king. Anyone can collect large amounts of data, but it takes a skill to translate this data into something that companies can take advantage of. Cloud platforms and databases such as Hadoop can help this effort in many ways, but it still falls to the CIO to track recent innovations and keep current. This in of itself requires a strong knowledge of data best practices; no company can adopt every new innovation, but picking and choosing the right scalable data infrastructure can ease the burden of adapting as time goes on.

A big part of a CIO’s responsibility to agile data is choosing a cloud platform that’s right for their business. Different individuals and stakeholders may have a diverse array of opinions on which is best. For instance, Google Cloud Platform may be preferred by a company’s data scientists for its machine learning capabilities, whereas the integration capability offered by Azure may be a good choice for developers. In cases like these, where a company will have to serve a variety of cloud users, it may be smart to consider a multicloud infrastructure to accommodate for as many needs as possible. This approach, though potentially more costly, can ensure that companies are able to harness the developments of each of these platforms in the future.

Beyond infrastructure, other tools exist to help a company maximize its data agility. Apache Drill is one such tool that circumvents the need for IT assistance to query data. It’s an SQL query engine that avoids the problems associated with schema creation while being ANSI SQL:2003 compliant. This and other tools like it are the key to gaining data insight as quickly as possible by cutting down on cycle time.

And concerns about data processing have changed over time. Before, hand coding data architecture was more common, and though it may still be serviceable for small, specialized projects, it is the antithesis to data agility in that it is time consuming to develop and always created for a specific platform. A better alternative for the modern business is data integration software, which takes the burden off of the business and supports new innovations and all types of cloud data.

That said, it takes a bit of vetting to choose the right integration software. The ideal software should be scalable, cross-platform, and allow for real-time data processing. It’s called an agile data fabric, and it’s meant to synthesize all types of data a company will need to work with. Platform agnosticism is important for the same reasons why a multicloud infrastructure is valuable; it allows the company to take advantage of new innovations and specific capabilities.

Organizations should also strive to be self-sufficient with their data. A controlled move to properly distributed data can greatly enhance insight. However, this requires a number of different participants within a company, including IT staff and dedicated data analysts, all with their own needs. A savvy CIO can craft an infrastructure that meets everyone’s needs and allows for scaling as innovation continues its mad rush forward.

Best Cloud-Based Apps for Business

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I spend a lot of time talking about applications of the cloud, so I figured I’d dedicate myself now to discussing some applications for the cloud. If you’re the owner of a small-to-medium sized business (often colloquially referred to as an SMB), then you’ll be happy to know that, even without cloud services, it’s still possible to leverage this technology to work for you and improve productivity. Thousands of applications exist on the web, and now, some recent additions are using the cloud to better manage their resources.

Have a look at some of the best services available now.

Intuit Quickbooks Online Plus

For under $40 per month, you can use cloud-based accounting to get a better handle on company finances. From its modest beginning, Intuit has since expanded its services and created a simple, user-friendly UI that caters specifically to SMB needs. It even includes a flexible payroll management service to make it your one-stop shop for dealing with finance.

IDrive

For the business with a minimal web presence looking for a hassle-free way to protect its data, IDrive is ideal. It’s inexpensive and boasts an easy setup that offers businesses disk image backups, folder syncing, and a hard drive for physical data security.

The downside? It only offers a terabyte of storage, which some smaller businesses may not mind, given IDrive’s ease of use.

Carbonite

For slightly larger businesses, Carbonite offers a more robust backup option for businesses looking to protect their data in case of disaster for a reasonable price. However, it does nothing to protect or back up virtual infrastructures or cloud-based data centers, making it so that businesses that are more digitally involved will have to look elsewhere for answers.

MailChimp

Even if your budget for email marketing is low, MailChimp delivers (pun intended) with a level of customization that’ll keep anybody happy regardless of their level of technological expertise. It’s also capable of integrating third party tools, and includes templates to get a new user off and running as fast as possible.

Hootsuite

If you’re interested in easily managing multiple social media platforms from one place, then consider Hootsuite. It starts off free, but an interested user can scale up and add more socials if they decide that the like the service.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer all-in-one analytics; though most social platforms have their own free services if you’d like to really track engagement.

Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus

For a little bit of money (around $20, to be precise), you can protect your devices from viruses and ensure recovery of files encrypted by ransomware. It doesn’t take up a lot of space on your device, scans rapidly, and offers a protective firewall. Plus, Webroot is constantly updating its database of programs and potential threats, and is willing to respond and adapt to any attack by an unknown software.

Ascencio System OnlyOffice

It’s a lot like Google Docs, but OnlyOffice offers a few more options that make it worth the higher price point. It provides additional features that can aid in productivity, including task, project, and customer relationship management tools. Plus, its myriad of functions are all cleanly integrated together in a way that makes it easy to shift from task to task.

Its main drawback is its lack of included storage, but this is offset by the fact that OnlyOffice plays nicely with other third-party storage providers for your convenience.

Improving Research with the Cloud

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When it comes to fighting disease, it can often feel like an uphill battle that consumes funds and lives without end. While treatment options have improved greatly for diseases such as Parkinson’s, cancer, and heart disease, research methods associated with them have not and have remained largely stagnant over the past few decades.

Now, cloud technology may provide doctors and researchers with better, more consistent controls when it comes to collecting, measuring, and analyzing data. I’ve already discussed the ways that the cloud can assist with medical maintenance and improve patient outcomes through Big Data, but when applied to research, it offers consistency and an easy exchange of ideas.

Cloud computing is a prime example of disruptive technology, and nowhere else is it becoming more apparent than in the medical field, where integration with wearable devices offers access to a wealth of biometric readings in conjunction with easily-shared patient data, further blurring the line between treatment and research. Before this, data was often collected solely by doctors during patient visits, and inconsistent reporting measures majorly hampered the reach and quality of the collected data. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has tried to leave these practices behind and embrace cloud computing in an attempt to better understand and eventually cure the disease. With Big Data, the Foundation is able to get a better picture of the progression of the disease through patient wearables. Smartwatches allow researchers to monitor a number of biometric readings, including tremor symptoms and sleep patterns.

The Foundation’s CEO, Todd Sherer, Ph.D., remarked on the lack of progress in measuring Parkinson’s, stating that it measurement methods are “largely the same” as they were in 1817, when the disease was first described. In addition to the wearable devices that the Foundation uses, patients are capable of entering notes about their daily symptoms on a web portal as a more consistent substitute for reporting directly for a doctor. The information is then collected on Cloudera CDH, a secure data platform.

Parkinson’s isn’t the only disease that is being tracked through cloud services. The American Heart Association recently partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create a cloud system to empower scientists and researchers from all over the world to share data with each other. Previous data that has remained unseen for years is now being distributed on the cloud, to the mutual benefit of all organizations involved. While this system requires the people involved to sacrifice some level of self-benefit to provide progress toward a major problem facing humanity, enough researchers have stepped up to make the AHA’s new project a major step forward.

However, the cloud does still offer solutions for researchers interested in preserving their intellectual property. Hybrid clouds, another platform that I’ve discussed before, enable individuals to share data on a public cloud while storing their own progress on a private cloud. Because of this, others are still able to benefit from their research while they pioneer their own findings.

Not only is the cloud changing the way that data is collected and analyzed, it changes the type of data that can be measured. Compilation of genetic data is much more manageable than before thanks to better ways to sift through data, enabling researchers to better compare genomes and find subtle genetic trends that would otherwise take countless hours to detect.

Collecting a large amount of data to leverage through the cloud is part of the ongoing efforts of many research organizations; part of the ambitious Cancer Moonshot initiative is establishing a “data ecosystem” aimed at sharing and analyzing patient data on a national level.

It is exciting to see the cloud being used for medical goals in addition to business goals. From consumer trends to genetic trends, expect to see measurement metrics and data analysis improve substantially over the next few years as this disruptive technology rapidly becomes the norm in research.

Small Businesses, Big Data—Data Analysis that Fits Your Business

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So by now, there’s a good chance that almost all of you are acquainted with the concept of Big Data—the name for comprehensive information gleaned from numerous interconnected, ubiquitous devices. The common misconception is that data projects are a lofty, corporate concept, and that only big businesses with dedicated analysts can create and make use of them.

This is, of course, untrue; the growing prevalence of cloud computing and data networks means that any company can adopt some sort of analytics program without need for specialized training or extensive resources. The key is finding a program that fits your business.

Before analyzing any data, however, you’ll need something to work with. Now, this can vary depending on your business, but common useful data can include lead metrics, ROI statistics, social media engagement or, in the case of a Washington zoo, weather patterns. The goal here is to cross-examine multiple factors and create a picture of past trends in your business, allowing you to extrapolate future possibilities.

Don’t worry; this isn’t as complicated as it sounds. All you need is solid analytics software.

For e-commerce businesses, multiple viable options are available, including Google Analytics, which is customizable, easy-to-learn, and, perhaps most importantly, free. I mention GA because, for businesses that lack any sort of data specialist, choosing an analytics suite that can be easily used and interpreted is key. Google’s Analytics certification also provides an inexpensive and quick way to train employees on the basics of web metrics.

As for gathering the data, there’s no need for modern devices monitoring every facet of your business to make it work; things like POS systems will generally already have the information that you need. Your small business objectives are similar yet distinct from larger businesses, as you will likely be attempting to drive sales and improve your web presence, but through smaller promotions and with less capital to dedicate toward marketing material.

But, on a more practical level, what do you do with these analyses once you’ve seen them? Part of using Big Data is making an actionable plan based on your findings. Some data is completely useless on its own and must be compared with similar data to get a better picture of how your business is doing.

For instance, online click-through rates are nice, but you’ll need separate figures from ads, email campaigns, and social media posts to really get a sense of how to best reach your audience. The bottom line is that no data exists in a vacuum; you will always need to compare all business channels to create a useful picture.

I wish I could tell you that there was a magic bullet for small businesses to take advantage of the data boon, but there really isn’t. That said, I’m far from pessimistic about data usage. It’s certainly easier than ever for small businesses to make use of data, but the really tricky part is figuring out what your business wants to measure and how to use it in the long run.