By Henk Olivier, MD of Ozone Information Technology Distribution
Business resilience has become a commodity in the current economy. Resilience is your ability to bounce back when hit by uncertainty. It’s the doorway that opens when other companies are scrambling to find their feet. It’s the systems, processes and planning you’ve put in place to ensure you can pivot, adapt and change on demand. Right now, your business needs to be resilient, particularly with regards to IT infrastructure and security.
These two pillars that support the business are central to resilience and long-term success. You need to embed the right IT infrastructure that’s capable of evolving alongside your business, providing you with scale and flex as you grow and adapt. Lumbering systems, slow processes and limited capability are the last thing the organisation needs today. You need infrastructure that can be customised to fit whatever boot your business is wearing, and that can give your people the tools they need to thrive in complex times.
The same can be applied to security. Right now, as the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) sits right at the front of every To Do List deadline, security has to become, and remain a priority. By ensuring that your company is compliant with POPIA, you are not just ticking boxes and meeting governance standards, you are actually focusing on building robust security frameworks that will deliver long term benefit to your business.
Start out with a risk assessment. This is your first, best move before you change your security systems or internal processes. It will allow you to find unexpected vulnerabilities and loopholes, and to ensure that any new processes and systems are compliant with POPIA and your own internal regulations and policies. Then, ensure that training and employee awareness sit at the top of your agenda. You should have proper induction processes for new employees and repeat all employee training on a regular basis to ensure that everyone is aware of compliance and security processes.
Make use of compliance and security tools that are designed to assist you in reporting, compliance and software management. Their capabilities and functionalities can help you to track the flow and movement of data inside the organisation and ensure that it is compliant within the POPIA mandate, and respects customer privacy. This will also help you in managing the flow of information and the security of that information in the remote working landscape. With the right tools, you can ensure that you are mitigating all the risk factors while enhancing employee productivity, customer security and business compliance. It’s worth it.
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