Cloud Architecture Services Archives

Introduction to Enterprise Architecture and Process Modelling

Posted on: 18 November 2024

This blog is the first part of a two-part series exploring the roles of Enterprise Architecture and Process Modeling in ensuring compliance with security standards. You can find part two of this series here.

In today’s highly regulated business environment, organisations are increasingly required to demonstrate their adherence to strict information security standards. Compliance audits, whether for regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA or ISO/IEC 27001, require a detailed understanding and documentation of an organisation’s processes and systems.

Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Process Modelling (PM) play pivotal roles in ensuring that organisations are well-prepared for these audits. In this blog series, the roles and key benefits of using EA and PM to streamline and enhance the process of achieving information security compliance will be uncovered, along with recommendations for organisations that are in the process of adopting and integrating them.

Information security compliance is critical for organisations to protect sensitive data, maintain customer trust and avoid legal penalties. Preparing for a compliance audit can be daunting, requiring comprehensive documentation, risk assessments and evidence of control implementations. Enterprise Architecture and Process Modelling provide systematic approaches to managing these complexities, ensuring that organisations are not only compliant, but also agile in responding to evolving security requirements.

What is Enterprise Architecture (EA)?

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a strategic methodology aimed at defining and standardising the structure, operations and governance of an organisation. EA offers a comprehensive perspective on an organisation’s processes, information systems, technologies, and their interrelationships. This holistic view is instrumental in aligning IT strategies with business objectives, ensuring that technological initiatives support and enhance the overall goals of the organisation.

What is Process Modelling (PM)?

Process Modelling entails the creation of detailed representations of an organisation’s processes. These models are utilised to visualise, analyse, and optimise business processes, thereby facilitating the identification of inefficiencies, bottlenecks and risks. Within the realm of information security, process models are invaluable for understanding how data flows through an organisation, pinpointing potential vulnerabilities, and determining how security controls are implemented.

Conclusion

The integration of Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Process Modelling (PM) is essential for organisations looking to meet stringent information security compliance standards. As the regulatory landscape continues to evolve, these frameworks not only facilitate a thorough understanding of an organisation’s processes and systems but also enhance agility in adapting to new security requirements.

By leveraging EA and PM, organisations can streamline their compliance efforts, ensuring comprehensive documentation and effective risk management. Ultimately, this proactive approach not only safeguards sensitive data and maintains customer trust but also positions organisations to thrive in a complex regulatory environment. Embracing these methodologies will empower organisations to navigate compliance audits with confidence and resilience, paving the way for sustainable success in the digital age.

If you would like to find out about Enterprise Architecture and Process Modelling, you can do so here in my latest whitepaper. You can also reach out to our experts at moodenquiries@caci.co.uk if you would like to discuss how Mood can help your organisation’s requirements.

How Mood is guiding organisational transformation

Posted on: 23 September 2024

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organisations nowadays are increasingly tasked with balancing agility with strategic foresight. As digital transformation accelerates, aligning operational processes with overarching business strategies while simultaneously maintaining governance, compliance and scalability is becoming a prevalent challenge. This delicate balancing act requires not only clear visibility, but also an integrated approach that unifies process modelling, digitisation and enterprise architecture.

So, how is Mood enabling businesses to achieve this?

Mood BPMN modelling & process digitisation: bridging the gap between design & execution

At the heart of any successful transformation initiative is a clear understanding of the processes that drive the organisation. Mood offers robust BPMN (Business Process Modelling Notation) 2.0 modelling capabilities that empower business analysts and architects to map, manage, analyse, optimise and communicate business processes. Through interactive models, even the most complex workflows can be broken down into manageable stages and tailored for different stakeholders. This dynamic visualisation ensures that processes are both transparent and adaptable, leading to improved conformance, powerful collaboration, and seamless management across the enterprise.

Where our modelling capabilities ensure no gaps exist between process design and implementation, our drag-and-drop, no-code process digitisation tools take things a step further. Mood enables users across the organisation to digitise complex business processes from end to end, accelerating digital transformation programmes. This approach not only empowers non-technical users to take ownership of their workflows, but also ensures scalability and flexibility, allowing the organisation to remain agile and grow without the overhead of constant change management.

By integrating multiple data sources and enabling rich interaction with real-time insights, Mood reduces the reliance on disparate tools like spreadsheets and manual processes. Instead, data is aggregated in a shared context, enabling it to be interrogated and analysed with precision. The result is streamlined operations, significant efficiency gains, and reduced operational costs,; all while maintaining consistency and governance.

Enterprise and business architecture modelling: aligning strategy with execution

The foundation of any resilient and scalable organisation lies in its architecture. Mood offers powerful enterprise and business architecture capabilities that allow organisations to strategically align business objectives with operational processes and IT infrastructure. By providing comprehensive tools and blueprints to design and optimise current and future state architectures, Mood ensures that enterprise decisions are not only grounded in clear insights, but are also executed with precision and consistency.

Our platform supports the creation of layered, dynamic models that break down complex organisational structures into navigable and digestible components. These models empower enterprise architects, business strategists and decision-makers to visualise the impact of change initiatives, mitigate risks and maintain alignment with regulatory standards. By integrating architecture with BPMN process models and process digitisation, organisations can bridge the gap between strategic planning and operational success. This end-to-end traceability ensures that there are no gaps from vision to execution, providing a holistic view of enterprise performance that supports continuous improvement.

Businesses can adapt and evolve their architecture in tandem with market changes or organisational growth by leveraging Mood. Our platform’s comprehensive integration options, coupled with robust data management, creates a unified environment that drives optimised decision-making, reduces silos and fosters cross-functional collaboration.

Empowering stakeholders across the business through virtualisation

In an increasingly complex business environment, organisations need more than just isolated solutions; they need a cohesive, living representation of their operations and strategy. Mood offers exactly that. By combining the strengths of BPMN modelling, process digitisation and enterprise architecture, Mood enables businesses to create a living virtualisation of their organisation, empowering stakeholders across the enterprise to access, update and interrogate data through their unique perspectives while maintaining consistency and robust governance.

Whether it’s a business analyst optimising day-to-day workflows, an enterprise architect planning for future growth or an IT leader driving digital transformation, Mood offers tailored insights and tools for each role. The platform’s integrated approach ensures that everyone, from the C-suite to the front line, is aligned around a single, consistent version of the truth. This not only fosters collaboration, but also drives better decision-making and more agile responses to change.

How Mood can safeguard the future of integrated business and enterprise modelling

As businesses face mounting pressures to stay competitive while maintaining operational excellence, the need for a fully integrated approach to process management and enterprise architecture has never been greater. Mood is uniquely positioned to deliver this by offering a comprehensive, flexible, and scalable platform that aligns strategy with execution, drives efficiency, and supports long-term growth. By enabling organisations to create a living virtualisation of their operations, Mood transforms the way businesses plan, manage, and evolve,; empowering stakeholders at every level to succeed.

To learn more about how we can help you adopt Mood to enhance your business and safeguard it for the future, contact moodenquiries@caci.co.uk

Hybrid Cloud Solutions – Flexible, scalable or risky?

Posted on: 22 March 2023

In today’s digital landscape, businesses are transforming to cloud computing to increase efficiency, reduce costs and scale up their operations for the future. While many companies opt for one type of cloud solution, either a full public or private cloud solution, some opt for a hybrid one to meet their business goals.

The benefits of a hybrid cloud solution are obvious:

Flexibility – You can choose where to run a workload based on the specific needs of each application. Therefore, this enables you to respond quickly to your business’s dynamic changes.
Scalability – This enables you to scale up your business without the need for a massive investment in cloud infrastructure.
Improved security – You can keep sensitive data on a private cloud, but it can be sent to the public cloud used by the application, enhancing security and compliance. Regulated industries find this especially useful.

But what about other complexities and security challenges?

According to CSO Online, “The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), an organisation that defines standards, certifications and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, cited misconfiguration and inadequate change control, as well as limited cloud usage visibility as being among the top three threats to cloud computing in 2020.” How much more so 3 years on!

Here are some concerns about adopting a hybrid cloud solution:

Complex security

When a company uses a hybrid model, the approach to security and management can become complex. Without a proper procedure tracking the use of services, the ability to access data will gradually reduce over time. A complicated system can create many loopholes and security issues which means the probability of a data leakage caused by an error or misconfiguration will increase.

Lack of appropriate skill set

There is also a knowledge gap. Yours will be one of many companies that have seen its cloud initiative proliferate beyond initial expectations. This will cause a drastic shortage of cybersecurity resources. Finding the right personnel to manage the existing environment and develop a new one is challenging.

Network connectivity breaks

What about the foundation of any company’s IT solution – the network? Connectivity between public and private clouds in a hybrid cloud framework is essential. Even one mistake in the overall network architecture could lead to the disruption of cloud services.

Why do banks opt for a hybrid cloud solution?

The hybrid cloud solution has become increasingly popular in the banking industry. A survey from IDC reported that 83% of banks surveyed use public and private cloud platforms. Bank of America has collaborated with IBM Cloud to develop a hybrid cloud solution offering the same level of security and economics as their private cloud with enhanced scalability, and Banco Santander has partnered with Microsoft Azure to extend their cloud capabilities, driving the creation of new cloud applications and developing innovative banking solutions. By adopting a reliable hybrid cloud solution, they can host some applications and workloads on the public cloud while securing sensitive data.

Conclusion

A hybrid cloud solution incorporates the advantages of public and private cloud solutions. Companies can manage costs with more flexibility and quickly scale up their business. Despite concerns about adopting a hybrid cloud solution, an increasing number of banks are trying to overcome these hurdles, developing innovative solutions and enhancing customer experience in the new digital era.

How CACI can help

We have highly skilled specialists with over 25 years of experience delivering a wide range of cloud strategies aligned with our client’s business goals. We are trusted by some of the world’s most successful companies in financial services, telecommunications, utilities and government.

In order to offer the best-fit solution for you, we partner with a group of top-tier technology and service providers rather than being tied to just one. So, if you want impartial, professional advice on hybrid cloud solutions, we’re happy to help.

Get in touch with us today.

Notes:
[1] IDC Perspective: Banking on the Cloud: Results from the 2022 CloudPath Survey
[2] Santander partners with Microsoft as a preferred strategic cloud provider to enable the bank’s digital transformation
[3] IBM and Bank of America Advance IBM Cloud for Financial Services, BNP Paribas Joins as Anchor Client in Europe – Jul 22, 2020

How to find the right IT outsourcing partner

Posted on: 17 March 2023

Looking to work with an IT outsourcing provider? Finding the right partner to deliver your requirements can be a tricky and time-consuming process. But, done right, a successful outsourcing relationship can bring long-term strategic benefits to your business. We asked our experts to share their top tips on how to find the right IT outsourcing partner.

Evaluate capabilities

Having the right expertise is the obvious and most essential criterion, so defining your requirements and expectations is the best way to start your search.

When it comes to narrowing down your vendor choices, it’s important to consider the maturity of an organisation as well as technical capabilities. “The risk of working with a small, specialised provider is that they may struggle to keep a handle on your project,” warns Brian Robertson, Resource Manager at CACI. Inversely, a larger organisation may have the expertise, but not the personal approach you’re looking for in a partner. “Always look for a provider that demonstrates a desire to get to the root of your business’s challenges and can outline potential solutions,” Brian advises.

Find evidence of experience

Typically, working with an outsourcing provider that has accumulated experience over many years is a safe bet; however, Daniel Oosthuizen, Senior Vice President of CACI Network Services, recommends ensuring that your prospective outsourcing provider has experience that is relevant to your business, “When you bring in an outsourcing partner, you want them to hit the ground running, not spending weeks and months onboarding them into your world.” Daniel adds, “This becomes more apparent if you work in a regulated industry, such as banking or financial services, where it’s essential that your provider can guarantee compliance with regulatory obligations as well as your internal policies.”

So, how can you trust a provider has the experience you’re looking for? Of course the provider’s website, case studies, and testimonials are a good place to start, but Daniel recommends interrogating a vendor’s credentials directly, “A successful outsourcing relationship hinges on trust, so it’s important to get a sense of a vendor’s credibility early on. For example, can they demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of your sector? Can they share any details about whom they currently partner with? And can they confidently talk you through projects they’ve completed that are similar to yours?”

Consider cultural compatibility

“When it comes to building a strong, strategic and successful outsourcing partnership, there’s no greater foundation than mutual respect and understanding,” says Brian. Evaluating a potential provider’s approach and attitudes against your business’s culture and core values is another critical step in your vetting process. As Daniel says, “If you share the same values, it will be much easier to implement a seamless relationship between your business and your outsourcing partner, making day-to-day management, communication and even conflict resolution more effective and efficient”.

While checking a company’s website can give you some insight into your prospective provider’s values, it’s also worth finding out how long they’ve held partnerships with other clients, as that can indicate whether they can maintain partnerships for the long-term.

However, Daniel says, “The best way to test if a provider has partnership potential is to go and meet them. Get a feel for the team atmosphere, how they approach conversations about your challenges, and how their values translate in their outsourcing relationships.” Brian adds, “Your vision and values are what drive your business forward, so it’s essential that these components are aligned with your outsourcing provider to gain maximum value from the relationship.”

Assess process and tools

Once you’ve determined a potential outsourcing provider’s level of experience and expertise, it’s important to gain an understanding of how they will design and deliver a solution to meet your business’s needs. “It’s always worth investigating what tech and tools an outsourcing provider has at their disposal and whether they are limited by manufacturer agreements. For example, at CACI, our vendor-agnostic approach means we’re not tied to a particular manufacturer, giving us the flexibility to find the right solution to meet our clients’ needs,” Daniel explains

Speaking of flexibility, determining the agility of your potential outsourcing provider’s approach should play a role in your selection process. “There’s always potential for things to change, particularly when delivering a transformation project over several years,” says Brian, adding “that’s why it’s so important to find a partner that can easily scale their solutions up or down, ensuring that you’ve always got the support you need to succeed.”

Determine quality standards

Determining the quality of a new outsourcing partner’s work before you’ve worked with them can be difficult, but there are some clues that can indicate whether a vendor’s quality standards are in line with your expectations, says Daniel, “A good outsourcing partner will be committed to adding value at every step of your project, so get details on their method and frequency of capturing feedback, whether the goals they set are realistic and achievable, and how they manage resource allocation on projects.”

Brian also recommends quizzing outsourcing providers about their recruitment and hiring process to ensure that you’ll be gaining access to reliable and skilled experts, “It’s easy for an outsourcing provider to say they have the best people, so it’s important to probe a little deeper. How experienced are their experts? How are they ensuring their talent is keeping up to date? What is their process for vetting new candidates? All these questions will help to gain an insight into an outsourcing provider’s quality bar – and whether it’s up to your standard.”

Assess value for money

For most IT leaders, cost is one of the most decisive factors when engaging any service; however,
when looking for an IT outsourcing partner, it’s critical to consider more than just a provider’s pricing model. “Contractual comprehensiveness and flexibility should always be taken into account,” says, Brian. “A contract that is vague can result in ‘scope creep’ and unexpected costs, while a rigid contract can tie businesses into a partnership that’s not adding value.” He adds, “Ultimately, it comes down to attitude, a good outsourcing provider can quickly become a great business partner when they go the extra mile.”

Daniel agrees and advises that IT leaders take a holistic view when weighing up potential outsourcing partners, “Look beyond your initial project, or resource requirements and consider where your business is heading and whether your shortlisted providers can bring in the skills and services you need. After all, a truly successful outsourcing partnership is one that can be relied on for the long haul.”

Looking for an outsourcing partner to help with your network operations? Contact our expert team today.

7 Steps to Strong Cloud Security

Posted on: 13 October 2022

Demand for cloud-based offerings has accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the importance of flexibility and agility now being realised. Without adapting, businesses risk being left behind, but what are the benefits and how do you know if it’s the right solution for you?

We shared the key advantages of cloud adoption and challenges in cloud security in our previous blogs.

In our final article in this series of blogs, we share the key steps to strengthen your organisations cloud security.

As more businesses adopt cloud technology, primarily to support hybrid working, cybercriminals are focusing their tactics on exploiting vulnerable cloud environments. Last year, a report found that 98% of companies experienced at least one cloud data breach in the past 18 months up from 79% in 2020. Of those surveyed, a shocking 67% reported three or more incidents.

This issue has been exacerbated by soaring global demand for tech talent. According to a recent survey, over 40% of IT decision-makers admitted to their business having a cyber security skills gap.
It’s a vulnerable time for enterprise organisations, and cloud security is the top priority for IT leaders. Here we consider the critical steps you can take now to make your business safer.

1. Understand your shared responsibility model

Defining and establishing the split of security responsibilities between an organisation and its CSP is one of the first steps in creating a successful cloud security strategy. Taking this action will provide more precise direction for your teams and mean that your apps, security, network, and compliance teams all have a say in your security approach. This helps to ensure that your security approach considers all angles.

2. Create a data governance framework

Once you’ve defined responsibilities, it’s time to set the rules. Establishing a clear data governance framework that defines who controls data assets and how data is used will provide a streamlined approach to managing and protecting information. However, setting the rules is one thing; ensuring they’re carefully followed is another – employing content control tools and role-based access controls to enforce this framework will help safeguard company data. Ensure your framework is built on a solid foundation by engaging your senior management early in your policy planning. With their input, influence, and understanding of the importance of cloud security, you’ll be better equipped to ensure compliance across your business.

3. Opt to automate

In an increasingly hostile threat environment, in-house IT teams are under pressure to manage high numbers of security alerts. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Automating security processes such as cybersecurity monitoring, threat intelligence collection, and vendor risk assessments means your team can spend less time analysing every potential threat, reducing admin errors and more time on innovation and growth activities.

4. Assess and address your knowledge gaps

Your users can either provide a strong line of defence or open the door to cyber-attacks. Make sure it’s the former by equipping the staff and stakeholders that access your cloud systems with the knowledge and tools they need to conduct safe practices, for example, by providing training on identifying malware and phishing emails.
For more advanced users of your cloud systems, take the time to review capability and experience gaps and consider where upskilling or outsourcing is required to keep your cloud environments safe.

5. Consider adopting a zero-trust model

Based on the principle of ‘Never Trust, Always Verify’, a zero-trust approach removes the assumption of trust from the security architecture by requiring authentication for every action, user, and device. Adopting a zero-trust model means always assuming that there’s a breach and securing all access to systems using multi-factor authentication and least privilege.
In addition to improving resilience and security posture, a zero-trust approach can also benefit businesses by enhancing user experiences via Single Sign-On (SSO) enablement, allowing better collaboration between organisations, and increased visibility of your user devices and services. However, not all organisations can accommodate a zero-trust approach. Incompatibility with legacy systems, cost, disruption, and vendor-lock-in must be balanced with the security advantages of zero-trust adoption.

6. Perform an in-depth cloud security assessment

Ultimately, the best way to bolster your cloud security is to perform a thorough cloud security audit. Having a clear view of your cloud environments, users, security capabilities, and inadequacies will allow you to take the best course of action to protect your business.

7. Bolster your defences

The most crucial principle of cloud security is that it’s an ongoing process and continuous monitoring is key to keeping your cloud secure. However, in an ever-evolving threat environment, IT and infosec professionals are under increasing pressure to stay ahead of cybercriminals’ sophisticated tactics.

A robust threat monitoring solution can help ease this pressure and bolster your security defence. Threat monitoring works by continuously collecting, collating, and evaluating security data from your network sensors, appliances, and endpoint agents to identify patterns indicative of threats. Threat alerts are more accurate with threat monitoring analysing data alongside contextual factors such as IP addresses and URLs. Additionally, traditionally hard-to-detect threats such as unauthorised internal accounts can be identified.

Businesses can employ myriad options for threat monitoring, from data protection platforms with threat monitoring capabilities to a dedicated threat monitoring solution. However, while implementing threat monitoring is a crucial and necessary step to securing your cloud environments, IT leaders must recognise that a robust security program comprises a multi-layered approach utilising technology, tools, people, and processes.

Get your cloud security assessment checklist and the best cloud security strategies in our comprehensive guide to cloud security.

The 9 Biggest Challenges in Cloud Security

Posted on: 10 October 2022

We shared the key advantages of cloud adoption in our previous blog. This time around, we identify the biggest challenges of cloud security.

Cloud adoption has become increasingly important in the last two years, as businesses responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, a 2020 survey reported that cloud security was the biggest challenge to cloud adoption for 83% of businesses. [1]

As cybercriminals increasingly target cloud environments, the pressure is on for IT leaders to protect their businesses. Here, we explore the most pressing threats to cloud security you should take note of.

1. Limited visibility

The traditionally used tools for gaining complete network visibility are ineffective for cloud environments as cloud-based resources are located outside the corporate network and run on infrastructure the company doesn’t own. Further, most organisations lack a complete view of their cloud footprint. You can’t protect what you can’t see, so having a handle on the entirety of your cloud estate is crucial.

2. Lack of cloud security architecture and strategy

The rush to migrate data and systems to the cloud meant that organisations were operational before thoroughly assessing and mitigating the new threats they’d been exposed to. The result is that robust security systems and strategies are not in place to protect infrastructure.

3. Unclear accountability

Pre-cloud, security was firmly in the hands of security teams. But in public and hybrid cloud settings, responsibility for cloud security is split between cloud service providers and users, with responsibility for security tasks differing depending on the cloud service model and provider. Without a standard shared responsibility model, addressing vulnerabilities effectively is challenging as businesses struggle to grapple with their responsibilities.

In a recent survey of IT leaders, 84% of UK respondents admitted that their organisation struggles to draw a clear line between their responsibility for cloud security and their cloud service provider’s responsibility for security. [2]

4. Misconfigured cloud services

Misconfiguration of cloud services can cause data to be publicly exposed, manipulated, or even deleted. It occurs when a user or admin fails to set up a cloud platform’s security setting properly. For example, keeping default security and access management settings for sensitive data, giving unauthorised individuals access, or leaving confidential data accessible without authorisation are all common misconfigurations. Human error is always a risk, but it can be easily mitigated with the right processes.

5. Data loss

Data loss is one of the most complex risks to predict, so taking steps to protect against it is vital. The most common types of data loss are:

Data alteration – when data is changed and cannot be reverted to the previous state.

Storage outage – access to data is lost due to issues with your cloud service provider.

Loss of authorisation – when information is inaccessible due to a lack of encryption keys or other credentials.

Data deletion – data is accidentally or purposefully erased, and no backups are available to restore information.

While regular back-ups will help avoid data loss, backing up large amounts of company data can be costly and complicated. Nonetheless, 304.7 million ransomware attacks were conducted globally in the first half of 2021, a 151% increase from the previous year.[3] With ransomware attacks surging, businesses can ill afford to avoid the need for regular data backups.

6. Malware

Malware can take many forms, including DoS (denial of service) attacks, hyperjacking, hypervisor infections, and exploiting live migration. Left undetected, malware can rapidly spread through your system and open doors to even more serious threats. That’s why multiple security layers are required to protect your environment.

7. Insider threats

While images of disgruntled employees may spring to mind, malicious intent is not the most common cause of insider threat security incidents. According to a report published in 2021, 56% of incidents were caused by negligent employees. [4]

Worryingly, the frequency of insider-led incidents is on the rise. The number of threats has jumped by 44% since 2020.[5] It’s also getting more expensive to tackle insider threat issues. Costs have risen from $11.45 million in 2020 to $15.38 million in 2022, a 34% increase. [6]

8. Compliance concerns

While some industries are more regulated, you’ll likely need to know where your data is stored, who has access to it, how it’s being processed, and what you’re doing to protect it. This can become more complicated in the cloud. Further, your cloud provider may be required to hold specific compliance credentials.

Failure to follow the regulations can result in substantial legal, financial and reputational repercussions. Therefore, it’s critical to handle your regulatory requirements, ensure good governance is in place, and keep your business compliant.

9. API Vulnerabilities

Cloud applications typically interact via APIs (application programming interfaces). However, insecure external APIs can provide a gateway, allowing threat actors to launch DoS attacks and code injections to access company data.

In 2020, Gartner predicted API attacks would become the most frequent attack vector by 2022. With a reported 681% growth of API attack traffic in 2021,[7] this prediction has already become a reality. Addressing API vulnerabilities will therefore be a chief priority for IT leaders in 2022 and beyond.

Check out our comprehensive guide to cloud security for more

Notes:
[1] 64 Significant Cloud Computing Statistics for 2022: Usage, Adoption & Challenges
[2] Majority of UK firms say cyber threats are outpacing cloud security
[3] Ransomware attacks in 2021 have already surpassed last year
[4] – [6] Insider Threats Are (Still) on the Rise: 2022 Ponemon Report
[7] Attacks abusing programming APIs grew over 600% in 2021

The Top 6 Business Benefits of Cloud Adoption

Posted on: 4 October 2022

In the first blog of our Cloud Security series, we explore the key advantages of cloud adoption.

1. Flexibility

Cloud infrastructure is the key to operational agility, allowing you to scale up or down to suit your bandwidth needs. The pay-as-you-go model offered by most cloud service providers (CSPs) also means that you pay for usage rather than a set monthly fee.

2. Reduced cost

Kind to your cash flow, cloud computing cuts out the high hardware cost. Not to mention the cost-savings of reduced resources, lower energy consumption, and fewer delays.

3. Disaster Recovery

From natural disasters to power outages and software bugs, if your data is backed up in the cloud, it is at a reduced risk of system failure as the servers are typically far from your office locations. You can recover data anywhere to minimise downtime by logging into the internet’s cloud storage portal.

4. Accessibility

We’ve all heard that the office is dead. Workers want the ability to work anytime, anywhere. With cloud (and an internet connection), they can.

5. Greater collaboration

Cloud infrastructure makes collaboration a simple process. The cloud can drastically improve workplace productivity, from online video calls to sharing files and co-authoring documents in real-time. These cloud-native applications are designed to make our lives more efficient through greater collaboration.

6. Strategic value

Ultimately, businesses that have adopted the cloud typically experience greater cost efficiencies, faster speed to market, and enhanced service levels. Adopting the cloud not only reimagines business models and builds resilience but also enables organisations to be agile and innovative, for example, adopt to DevOps methodologies which can prove to be an essential element for businesses looking to get ahead of their competitors.

But what about security? A 2020 survey reported that cloud security was the biggest challenge to cloud adoption for 83% of the business.[1] While the pandemic accelerated cloud adoption, rushed application and the resulting lacklustre security have only intensified security concerns as cybercriminals increasingly target cloud environments.

Check out our comprehensive guide to cloud security for more information.

Note:
[1] 64 Significant Cloud Computing Statistics for 2022: Usage, Adoption & Challenges

How to create a successful M&A IT integration strategy

Posted on: 11 March 2022

From entering new markets to growing market share, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) can bring big business benefits. However, making the decision to acquire or merge is the easy part of the process. What comes next is likely to bring disruption and difficulty. In research reported by the Harvard Business Review, the failure rate of acquisitions is astonishingly high – between 70 and 90 per cent – with integration issues often highlighted as the most likely cause.

While the impact of M&A affects every element of an organisation, the blending of technical assets and resulting patchwork of IT systems can present significant technical challenges for IT leaders. Here, we explore the most common problems and how to navigate them to achieve a smooth and successful IT transition.

Get the full picture

Mapping the route of your IT transition is crucial to keeping your team focused throughout the process. But you need to be clear about your starting point. That’s why conducting a census of the entire IT infrastructure – from hardware and software to network systems, as well as enterprise and corporate platforms – should be the first step in your IT transition.

Gather requirements & identify gaps

Knowing what you’ve got is the first step, knowing what you haven’t is the next. Technology underpins every element of your business, so you should examine each corporate function and business unit through an IT lens. What services impact each function? How will an integration impact them? What opportunities are there to optimise? Finding the answers to these questions will help you to identify and address your most glaring gaps.

Seize opportunities to modernise

M&A provide the opportunity for IT leaders to re-evaluate and update their environments, so it’s important to look at where you can modernise rather than merge. This will ensure you gain maximum value from the process. For example, shifting to cloud infrastructure can enable your in-house team to focus on performance optimisation whilst also achieving cost savings and enhanced security. Similarly, automating routine or manual tasks using AI or machine learning can ease the burden on overwhelmed IT teams.

Implement strong governance

If you’re fusing two IT departments, you need to embed good governance early on. Start by assessing your current GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) maturity. A holistic view will enable you to target gaps effectively and ensure greater transparency of your processes. In addition to bringing certainty and consistency across your team, taking this crucial step will also help you to tackle any compliance and security shortfalls that may result from merging with the acquired business.

Clean up your data

Managing data migration can be a complex process during a merger and acquisition. It’s likely that data will be scattered across various systems, services, and applications. Duplicate data may also be an issue. This makes it difficult to gain an updated single customer view, limiting your ability to track sales and marketing effectiveness. The lack of visibility can also have a negative impact on customer experience. For example, having two disparate CRM systems may result in two sales representatives contacting a single customer, causing frustration and portraying your organisation as disorganised. There’s also a significant financial and reputational risk if data from the merged business isn’t managed securely. With all this in mind, it’s clear that developing an effective strategy and management process should be a key step in planning your IT transition.

Lead with communication

Change can be scary, and uncertainty is the enemy of productivity. That’s why communication is key to a successful merger and acquisition. Ensuring a frequent flow of information can help to combat this. However, IT leaders should also be mindful of creating opportunities for employees to share ideas and concerns.

If you are merging two IT departments, it is important to understand the cultural differences of the two businesses and where issues may arise. This will help you to develop an effective strategy for bringing the two teams together. While championing collaboration and knowledge sharing will go a long way to helping you achieve the goal of the M&A process – a better, stronger, more cohesive business.

How we can help

From assessing your existing IT infrastructure to cloud migration, data management and driving efficiencies through automation, we can support you at every step of your IT transition.

Transitioning your IT following M&A? Contact our expert team today.

Eight crucial steps for Telcos to get TSR ready

Posted on: 1 February 2022

Following the introduction of the Telecommunications (Security) Act into UK law in late 2021, all telecommunications providers will soon need to comply with ‘one of the toughest telecoms security regimes in the world’ or risk financial penalties up to £10m.

With the clock counting down for Telcos to enter a new era of security, we consider the critical steps for providers to prepare for the regulatory road ahead.

1. Identify your gaps

Understanding your current state is the first step in achieving a successful transformation. A full audit of your security strategies, plans, policies, and effectiveness will expose your weaknesses and gaps, enabling you to take the right actions to protect your business and ensure compliance.

2. Prioritise your most pressing threats

While gathering data can provide better visibility of your network, taking reactive action to lower your risk isn’t the most efficient approach. Establishing levels of prioritisation will ensure your resources are being used to reduce risk in the right areas.

3. Get the right people in place

From gap analysis to operating model design, programme delivery, and reshoring, it’s likely you’ll need more people in place and new competencies developed. Getting the right partnerships and people now is key to getting ahead.

4. Incorporate legacy issues into your planning

Today’s telecommunications industry is built on multi-generational networks, and legacy systems continue to underpin critical infrastructure. While extracting these systems is not going to happen overnight, dealing with your legacy infrastructure should be an integral part of planning your implementation of the new Telecoms Security Framework.

5. Implement transparent designs

Failing to disclose evidence of a breach could result in a £10m fine, so built in transparency and traceability are key to your programme. Consider the likely information requests that are to come to ensure your design changes enable clear tracking and reporting.

6. Embed a security-first focus

Mitigating the risks facing the UK’s critical national infrastructure is the driving force behind the TSRs, and telecommunications providers will need to ensure that this mindset is embedded in the everyday. Buy-in from the business is core to any cultural shift, so align your leadership with a shared, cross-functional vision and get some early delivery going to build gradual momentum.

7. Prepare for more legislation

In November 2021, the Government announced The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill (the PSTI) to ensure consumers’ connected and connectable devices comply with tougher cybersecurity standards. As cybersecurity evolves, so will the threats to organisations, and telecommunications providers must be prepared for more regulatory oversight.

8. Embrace the benefits of built-in security

Ultimately, security that is built in rather than bolted on will enable providers to offer better protection and performance for customers, as well as foster trust with greater transparency. While the industry may not have been seeking the Telecoms Security Act, its passing prompt action to remove the constraints of old and reimagine and reshape to seize the opportunities of a new era.

For more information about TSR, download The impact and opportunities of the Telecoms Security Requirements report.

7 key things you need to know about the Telecoms (Security) Act

Posted on: 27 January 2022

The introduction of The Telecommunications (Security) Act into UK law late last year marked the arrival of a new era of security for the telecommunications sector, where everyone – from executive to employee – is responsible for protecting the UK’s critical network infrastructure against cyber attacks.

However, embedding a security conscious culture from top to bottom requires significant resource and expertise to steer towards success. With the clock already counting down, telecommunications providers are under pressure to begin their TSR compliance journey whilst ensuring that existing change programmes stay on track. Here, we consider the key considerations for communications leaders to ensure successful navigation and utilisation of the obstacles and opportunities that lie ahead.

Clear visibility is critical

Protecting your network, applications and data has never been more critical. However, blind spots, missing data, and the risk of dropped packets make management and protection of these challenging, not to mention the scale and complexity of many providers’ hybrid network infrastructure. Nonetheless, providers must ensure they are able to monitor security across the entirety of their network and can act quickly when issues arise.

Security and service quality will need to be carefully balanced

Whilst enhancing security is the ultimate goal of the Act, this cannot be at the cost of network performance. Outages themselves can put providers in breach of the regulations.

Security scanners are a key line of defence for network security, helping to identify known vulnerabilities which can be exploited if the correct mitigation steps aren’t followed, so ensuring you have a robust vulnerability management process is critical. Incorporating the right vulnerability scanning tools and following the required change management processes to correctly implement tools will help to secure your network whilst minimising any potential performance impact to your existing infrastructure or service outages.

Auditing abilities are a new superpower

Demonstrating compliance with the new legislation may pose a significant challenge to providers, particularly as they attempt to flow down security standards and audit requirements into the supply chain. However, implementation of robust auditing processes to identify and eliminate weaknesses and vulnerabilities are a must for keeping providers on the right side of the regulations.

Knowledge is power

With any significant legislature change comes a period of uncertainty as businesses adapt to change, so getting to grips with the new regulation changes ahead of the game is key. Many providers have already begun the search for talent with the technical skills and experience to deliver their TSR programmes; however, with the jobs market at boiling point, some providers may find utilising external partnerships provides a more practical route to successful delivery as well as a means to upskill and educate internal teams.

You’ll be tested

In 2019, OFCOM took over TBEST – the intelligence-led penetration testing scheme – from DCMS and has been working with select providers on implementation of the scheme. Whether through TBEST or not, providers will be expected to carry out tests that are as close to ‘real life’ attacks as possible. The difficulty will be in satisfying the requirement that “the manner in which the tests are to be carried out is not made known to the persons involved in identifying and responding to security compromises.”[1] Providers may need to work with an independent vendor to ensure compliant testing.

Costs are still unclear

While the costs for complying with the new regulations are still undermined, an earlier impact assessment of the proposed legislation carried out by the government indicated that initial costs are likely to be hefty: “Feedback from bilateral discussions with Tier 1 operators have indicated that the costs of implementing the NCSC TSR would be significant. The scale of these costs is likely to differ by size of operator and could be of the scale of over £10 million in one off costs.”[2].

Culture may challenge change

Technology will, of course, be at the forefront of communications leaders’ minds, yet the cultural changes required to successfully embed a security-first mindset are of equal importance and must be considered in equal measure. Change is never easy, particularly when there is a fixed deadline in place; however, delivery that is well-designed and meticulously planned is key. Ultimately, the onus will be on leaders to craft a clear vision – achieving network security that is intrinsic by design – as well as mapping out the road to get there.

Looking for more information about TSR? Download The impact and opportunities of the Telecoms Security Requirements report.

[1] The Electronic Communications (Security Measures) Regulations 2021 [draft]

[2] The Telecommunications Security Bill 2020: The Telecoms Security legislation