In the recent article Ebola Shows It Is Process–Not Technology–That Will Protect Us on wired.com, Jeanne Roue-Taylor discusses how the disease will be best controlled by mundane process. That idea rings true with us at Snap Forward in regard to network management.
Almost daily, businesses are faced with issues including security risks, mechanical failure, user error and malicious behavior. And seemingly almost as frequent, is a new technology arriving that promises to solve all a company’s worries. More likely than not, that product or service will need much more management than anticipated.
Looking at virus protection specifically, over the years we have seen almost every anti-virus product beaten by a new and cunning piece of malicious software. Later, we would be forced to explain the situation to the customer as to how purchasing anti-virus software is even worth the money. As we refined our process toward security, we found that there was a way to stop businesses from falling victim to threats… process. We developed a multi-layered approach to security that all but eliminated viruses from our clients’ list of concerns. It took time, effort and some investment by us and our clients but it works.
This week, we are seeing that the mandatory twenty-one day quarantine is too high a cost for the system to bear for the arguable limited benefit of stopping the spread of the disease. The same can be said for technology. An extreme, and usually costly, approach will most likely never completely remove risk and only lead to a false sense of security.
No single software program or hardware device can completely remove risk of downtime, data loss or theft. What we find is that there is some common ground where tools and process maximize a company’s investment and allow for a minimal, acceptable risk. Properly discussing the potential remaining risk and setting proper expectations ensures that all parties are properly prepared no matter the situation.