Building Better Security

Fun Fact: In 2009 there were slightly over 5500 bank robberies in the US. Who would have guessed that so many people still robbed banks? Didn’t that mostly end with stage-coach hijackings and Tommy guns? Most surprisingly though is this is a 20% reduction from the year before. Add onto this the recent high profile art thefts, and the thefts of other secure assets and we begin to see how insecure some of our assets may be.

As businesses we have our own secure assets. Of course money is included, but so are intangible assets such as trade secrets, competitive intelligence, and all sorts of consumer and business data. While bank accounts and physical assets may be insured, it is hard to put a price on the intangible assets that make a business so successful.

Information allows us to make informed decisions, outperform our competition, and better reach our target audiences. As a result, data and information security is becoming increasingly vital to businesses of all sizes and in all industries. In 2009, the 5500 bank robberies only accounted for about $30 million in losses. By comparison, known thefts of data and digital property (not including copyrighted materials such as music and movies) exceeded over $1 trillion last year.

Some of these data thefts have been well targeted attacks against very well equipped and well managed data security systems. Others have been due to individuals blatantly breaking security policies, or the digital equivalent of leaving the bank vault open, doors unlocked and carrying all the money out to the curb.

Although data theft is one "worst case" scenario, it is actually only one of three major factors that can reduce the value of data, and threaten a company:

1. Data Theft

The loss of data to a third party who will use it for your detriment, or for its own benefit

2. Data Loss

The loss of data or information due to failing or faulty systems, such as a hard drive crash, database error, or system malfunction

3. Data Neglect

Failing to use your data to its full potential. This could be from inadequate or antiquated analysis systems, or just collecting the wrong kinds of information

Fortunately there are many things that can be done which can protect a business against any of these scenarios.

Data Policies

Crafting an internal data protection policy is one of the most important steps to protecting critical information. While properly secured networks are also important, these networks are most often unintentionally compromised by employees who are unaware of proper security practices or who underestimate the risks.

A strong and enforced data security policy can help deflect a large portion of security threats. An experienced consultant can help evaluate policies and practices that include everything from Internet use policies, to ensuring that data storage hardware systems are kept in a properly (physically) secured location and free from direct sunlight and excessive heat.

Data Storage Systems

Data storage comes in many shapes and sizes and should fit your business, but also provide plenty of room to grow and expand. Most databases are relational databases, which organizes data based on characteristics of that data. For example, an employee’s information could be stored by his or her name, hire date, salary, etc. This is the main storage method for SQL, a database computer language designed for managing data in relational database management systems (RDBMS).

SQL relational data storage is the most common method of storing data for business systems. It features high performance data retrieval and reporting and is good for storing large amounts of data as well as providing tools to maintain data integrity.

However, SQL Server data storage is only as good as the logical and physical database design - all of the advantages of relational databases can be negated by a bad design. It can be difficult to map relational data into an object-oriented software design (which helps you interpret the data) and so it is important to find a developer who is experienced in both fields.

Although no system is invincible against attack or damage, properly designed and built data systems provide huge protections against data loss and data theft.

Data Gathering Software

Data gathering falls under the category of Data Neglect. Not only is it important to use and protect the data that you have, but you may also benefit by optimizing the systems that you have for collecting the data in the first place. This ensures that you are effectively capturing the data that you need, and that you are capturing the data that you want.

There are plenty of ways to gather data. The main focus here is on XML-type data exchanges between systems. This means a software system that can gather information as it is processed through another system.

For example, a supermarket might have an automatic checkout system. This checkout system scans the barcode of each item and displays its price. Integrating a data gathering system into it would allow you to track which items are sold (for inventory tracking), when they are sold, how long it takes to sell them, who buys them, what items are frequently purchased together, and so on. This lets you make smarter decisions about how you place, price and purchase your inventory, and how you manage your employees.

Data gathering systems can work in any number of ways, and can be subject to rules or regulations. Data systems can track everything from machine use to the time people spend on your website. These systems are frequently custom-built and specifically tailored to an organization to provide a competitive benefit over out-of-the-box analysis systems.

Data Analysis

SQL systems help store data in a way that provides easy access, security, and reliability. However, it does not provide data analytics and information processing outside of helping you sort through your own database.

Analytical processing, and more recently, online analytical processing (known as OLAP), is a quick way to sort through vast arrays of complex data. It is commonly used in reporting analytics in marketing, sales, management, financials, budgeting and forecasting. The benefit of OLAP is that it allows for rapid execution of complex analytical and ad-hoc queries. It puts the power of data in the hands of the business user. In other words, OLAP systems can analyze historical data and get answers to many questions without users having to ask IT departments to help produce reports.

Many people are surprised to find that an OLAP system can replace an overgrown Excel application and create a much easier, more efficient way to access and analyze data. OLAP applications are also much more secure than Excel applications, can automate the analytic process, and can be easily expanded as your business grows.

Finding the Right Solution

Finding the right data storage solution depends on your company, as each system should be tailored to fit your needs and goals. A good place to start may be a qualified data storage expert, or data storage consultant that can help you understand the options, costs and benefits.

Find someone you can trust that can give you advice on what your business needs and what will help you grow in the future. An experienced consultant will help look at your business goals and long-term objectives and help you understand the various options and alternatives. The most valuable element of data management is understanding what you have. This will help you protect it, secure it, and use it to its full potential.

Of course, at Amadeus Consulting we offer consulting and evaluation, as well as custom built data solutions, and are a Microsoft® Gold Certified Data Management and Business Intelligence Solutions partner. We would be happy to work with you to build a data storage solution that helps you get the most out of your business data.