The challenge of digitizing the company

Digitizing small and medium-sized companies, in a real and global way, was a need that we all knew had to be faced, but that had not yet started due to the lethargy caused by the comfort that what works is better not to change it and the lack of analysis of the need and importance of increasing information security and the cost savings that would result from implementing a global digitization.

But necessity accelerates everything and the global pandemic we are suffering from has been the great trigger of digital transformation, which has meant and means a great challenge for any company. Especially if the transformation is to be carried out correctly.

But unless you are in the technology sector, have qualified personnel or are supported by expert suppliers, digitization can become a big problem for any company.

Any company wishing to boost its economic growth, will have as a key point, to promote digital transformation, either in improvements of its current system or the implementation of a new one.

In this article we will try to provide a basic overview of how to digitize a company.

Telework

Teleworking can offer benefits for both the employee (saving travel and time) and the employer (saving physical infrastructure, higher productivity) and although the performance of each worker will have to be analyzed, in general terms it can be said that Teleworking is an option to be taken into account.

However, although it is an important factor in digitizing a company, essential aspects must be taken into account in terms of security in teleworking.

Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing has facilitated and expedited meetings with clients, which has led to an increase in business agreements, since, unlike videoconferencing, face-to-face visits are more complicated to arrange, which resulted in lost business opportunities.

Strategic meetings with in-house teams are also streamlined with videoconferencing, which optimizes resources.

And what about punctuality, dead times in waiting rooms disappear and those summoned to a videoconference are on time, and that time saving is also money. This is a key benefit factor to digitize the company.

Any organization should be well advised on Videoconferencing security videoconferencing securityThe risks are significant if the risks are unknown.

Collaborative platforms

Platforms that allow companies to share projects with different departments of the same business, with suppliers and customers, has been a real revolution for its high performance and agility, as well as a key point to digitize the company.

These platforms make it possible to share documents, chat in instant messaging mode, meet telematically, make calls, etc. A good example is Microsoft’s Teams application, integrated into the Office suite.

It is true that there is a large use of other instant messaging applications, which derived from the large number of users in a particular environment, derives to professional use and although the performance does not even resemble that of the collaborative platform, it is widely used by those companies that have not yet made the real leap to digitization. A good example is WhatsApp, which is not recommended for a professional environment.

Networks

Another aspect that cannot be ignored when digitizing the company are the communication networks. If we want to digitize the company, networks are essential and no effort should be spared in achieving a secure network that supports the flow of information as well as the number of users.

There is a wide range of options, but there are security measures to be taken that do not come as standard, such as making sure that at least the WPA2 protocol is activated, as well as changing the default identifier and passwords.

For a secure network, it is recommended to purchase a high security router or switch.

For those entities where information security is an absolute priority, there are networks called Dedicated Fiber (DIA)This is a private fiber network, installed exclusively for the user company, which prevents access by third parties, resulting in total security.

Lodging

It is common knowledge that physical servers located in the company’s own facilities are less secure than external servers, which allow off-site hosting with all the necessary security measures (private surveillance, video surveillance, temperature and humidity control, fire detection and extinguishing systems, anti-natural disaster structures, mirror copy, etc.), which minimizes risk and translates into increased security in case of malware, theft, breakdowns, intentional or accidental manipulation, disasters (e.g. fire).

Cloud servers are excellent options to digitize the company. In addition, these services include copy management and document recovery, for a limited time, in case of accidental deletion.

Backup copies

Conventional backup systems on physical media (hard disk, tapes, USB sticks, etc.) are not as secure as one might expect. If one of these media is lost or stolen, our information would be exposed.

There is also the possibility of unauthorized personnel accessing the information on these media, as well as the usual failures in data recovery, with numerous unplanned outages also occurring on servers.

All this means neglecting the necessary measures and putting confidential corporate information and personal data at risk, with the consequent risk of sanctions.

These situations are causing a great interest in cloud backup services. Cloud BackupHowever, what is worrying is the lack of professionalism in the management of backups. It is no good to have a free cloud service for private users (e.g. Google Drive), because it is not designed for a company, therefore, the requirements of the RGPD do not apply, which will cause the user company to be in breach of the Data Protection Regulation and the risk of sanction that this would imply.

Security

Cyber-attacks have grown exponentially in recent months and there are many cases of companies affected. All security is little and it is advisable to apply those measures that minimize the risk and we do not say avoid risks, because hackers evolve at an astonishing pace and the cybersecurity must keep pace with them.

It is not enough to pretend, you have to be secure, because as happened in the case of Air Europa, a cyber-attack caused significant economic and reputational damage, coupled with having to assume a sanction from the AEPD, for not having implemented all the necessary security measures to safeguard the personal data it handled.

Nothing and no one is infallible, that is why the Data Protection Regulation establishes procedures to follow in case of security breaches and what to do in case of security breaches, is something that both a Data Protection Officer (DPD), as an expert consultant in data protection will help you to comply.

In the computers and computing devices where the processing of personal data is carried out, there will be an Antivirus and Firewall system of guarantee, with original license from the manufacturer, which will always be updated according to the manufacturer’s demand, to ensure that the security patches that contemplate the latest news about attacks are always installed.

Interesting for some businesses, Firewall devices, which monitor incoming connections to the corporate network, blocking those that are not legitimate.

The use of encryption or cryptographic techniques is a basic element in security, being a fundamental aspect in the data processing policy of an entity and, likewise, it is another guarantee to reduce the risk in the processing of personal data.

Since there are different options with specific characteristics, it is necessary to analyze and select the most appropriate system for the service or business area in which it is to be incorporated.

Encryption, which was born with the vocation of obtaining maximum security in communications with data content, is, according to cryptography, the procedure by which encryption algorithms are used with a key (encryption key) to transform the message, without respecting any linguistic structure or meaning, which would be called encrypting a message. For it must become incomprehensible or very difficult to understand for anyone who does not have the secret password/key.

Training

According to different entities specialized in information security and cybersecurity, the main source of suffering a cyberattack is through the company’s own employees.

In other words, the decision that an employee may take when faced with a cyberattack, usually camouflaged in legitimate communications, can mean the total loss of a company’s information. That is why training in data protection and information security for workers involved in the processing of personal data is mandatory and vital for the digital transformation of the company.

Obstacles

The main obstacles a company faces when digitizing the company are:

Lack of technical capacity or actual experience of IT personnel
Current dependence on traditional systems.
Lack of time and budget to invest in new projects.
The risks that any change can pose to the business and its customers because at the beginning the processes do not work the same.

And it’s all true, but if you’ve made it this far, you already know that the benefits of making the leap to digitization far outweigh these obstacles.

Reliable suppliers

There are smoke peddlers everywhere, but only your company is the one that decides who to put in your house and here more than ever applies the saying “cheap is expensive”. Choose suppliers of guarantees, analyze the services offered, the specialization and the references of the clients with whom you work, will be some of the factors that will help you make the best decision.

In the process of digitization of the company will have to rely on suppliers that provide technology services to help you implement what is described in this article and additional recommendations that surely can make depending on their activity.

You will also have to rely on providers of regulatory compliance services(RGPD + LOPD-GDD), which will facilitate the adaptation of your company to the Data Protection Regulation, such as advice on digital rights of workers, which have so much to do with the digitization of a company. Not to mention the development of numerous documentation, but in particular on this issue would be the following:

– Security Breach Policy

– Network usage policy for portable devices

– Software download and maintenance policy

– Backup policy

– Password Policy

– Telework Policy

– Personnel Policies

– Etc.

Business Adapter® can help you

Recall that the penalties both those who digitize their company and those who have not, and that the penalties are enormous. Therefore, if you are going to digitize your company, do it right, because the peace of mind is priceless.

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