Why Is Robotic Process Automation a Good Fit for Your Organization?

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Using robotic process automation can reduce errors and costs related to staffing.

Business process automation is constantly evolving, which has led to the innovative robotic process automation sector taking off in recent years. If you’re burdened with repetitive tasks, you can benefit by looking into this technology and saving valuable time for your organization.

The technology has advanced to a point where some are calling the latest solutions robotic process automation 2.0. This involves improvements around artificial intelligence (AI), which is making it less difficult for organizations to enjoy the benefits of robotic process automation (RPA) without having to worry about a large price tag with regard to development work.

If your goal is to streamline enterprise operations while reducing cost, RPA could bring key additions to your organization’s workflow processes. For example, if you have numerous rules-based processes that are best described as “mundane,” RPA can automate some of those tasks to free up your time to focus on other crucial aspects within your organization. Furthermore, with artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, your solutions essentially train themselves to make judgments regarding future outputs.

Weighing the Benefits

One of the first key benefits organizations see when they implement RPA is a reduction in errors related to humans. Deloitte LLP published research from the banking industry on this topic, which found that because RPA automates tasks that are typically done by office workers using computers, error rates were lower, improving service and increasing the scalability of operations by utilizing this technology.

One commercial bank deployed 85 software robots running 13 processes, handling around 1.5 million requests per year. This allowed the bank to add capacity equal to nearly 230 full-time employees, but at around 30 percent of the cost of recruiting actual staff.

Versions of RPA

Different streams of RPA have been identified by a professor at the London School of Economics as leaders in the business sector. They include highly customized software that is targeted for very specific processes; screen scraping RPA, which synthesizes data to a document; self-development RPA, where a template is used for programmers to design their unique robot; and enterprise-safe RPA, which is scalable and reusable.

At Truth Comm, we’re dedicated to helping our clients get in touch with the technology that will help them reach their goals. Contact us and let’s discuss how RPA can streamline your workflow and help you gain valuable time. Furthermore, we’ll make sure you get the type of RPA that is the best match for your personalized situation.

How AI and Machine Learning Impact Cloud Security

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Customize your approach to cloud security by utilizing the latest technology to monitor abnormalities.

A recent report from the Ponemon Institute regarding how much it costs to contain a data breach sheds light on the high cost involved for organizations. The report makes it clear that combating cybercriminals requires a serious approach to cloud security.

Every organization will need to customize its approach to a cloud security strategy, but across the board for all industries, artificial intelligence (AI) can play an effective role in your strategy. AI is a type of software that enhances traditional cloud security technology.

Related to AI is machine learning, which is often described as a “subset” of AI. Machine learning utilizes various algorithms on your data, allowing it to “learn” from it. For example, your data patterns are like a fingerprint — it’s different from any other pattern. Your machine learning technology analyzes these patterns and can learn from it and make adjustments as needed.

Catching Abnormalities

When you utilize AI and machine learning, you can improve your processes for finding anomalies. Typically, the system is set up so that when an abnormality is discovered, an IT manager is alerted, or the system can be configured to automatically shut down a user where the abnormality is suspected of originating from.

It’s this fast response that can keep a potential threat from escalating to the point where it does damage or protects you from further damage than it has already caused. If some dangerous code has already begun to infiltrate your network, the AI and machine learning technology will respond, locking it out and preventing a data leak.

Choosing Technology That Works for You

For organizations that have brought AI and machine learning into the cloud security mix, they’ve found rather than toiling with mundane yet important tasks, their technology is working on those things and at a much more efficient rate. This gives IT teams more time to deal with other situations that can further their business goals.

While nobody is saying technology can replace humans, it definitely adds value when used in a comprehensive strategy. To get the best technology for your situation, you need someone who can assist you in weeding out the solutions that might look intriguing but ultimately won’t serve you well.

At Truth Comm, we can connect you with some of the best cloud security services on the market. Our approach is to get to know what your business does, how it operates, and what technologies we can put in place to match exactly what your system requires. Contact us, and let’s discuss our methods.

The Importance of Native SD-WAN Security

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There is no substitution to an effective database security program.

Digital transformation is about more than simply shifting workloads into the cloud or issuing Internet of Things (IoT) devices to your staff; it’s about disrupting business processes for innovation, better productivity, and elevated customer experiences. Enterprises should expect their traditional hub-and-spoke networking approach won’t support this new digital existence. Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) is offering the necessary network upgrades, and with this new technology comes a need to address SD-WAN security.

In many situations, the network team gets excited about the range of benefits they can expect with SD-WAN: the ability to segment network traffic according to the critical nature of the transmission, improved visibility, and control, scalability, agility, and flexibility. Some enterprises report lower WAN costs as they shift traffic from more costly multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) pathways to public internet for applications that don’t require real-time connectivity, such as email or social media messaging.

What’s often forgotten in the push to implement SD-WAN and gain these benefits is a close look at SD-WAN security. Once the solution is in the process of being deployed, gaps begin to become evident in the security side of the implementation. Part of the issue is that many of the providers supplying SD-WAN don’t offer adequate security for this level of networking. They may only support stateful security and internet protocol security virtual private networks (VPNs).

To address the limited SD-WAN security, enterprises are adding security tools post-deployment. Actions such as adding on an additional firewall or networking gear with IPS isn’t adequate for the level of security necessary across the network. For instance, SD-WAN is often limited to Layer 3 controls, while more advanced controls are not provided, such as Layer 4 and 7 for URL filtering and application inspection.

Enterprises may consider adding a security overlay, but this can be challenging because they may not have adequate resources to launch and fine-tune this type of technology, particularly if it needs to be added at a branch location. In addition, legacy security features may not have the ability to adapt to SD-WAN’s dynamic flexibility and elastic architecture.

The elements of native SD-WAN security: When evaluating SD-WAN solutions, there are a few items you need to ensure are included in the option you select.

  • Next-generation firewall functions, with intrusion prevention system (IPS) inspection, flexible VPN, web filtering, anti-malware and sandboxing.
  • A centralized method for collecting and analyzing threats.
  • An interconnected security deployment across systems.
  • Integration between security tools for advanced monitoring and detection.
  • Continuous assessment of threats.
  • Ability to leverage all security technology to address threats at digital speeds with a dynamic approach.

All SD-WAN solutions are not created equal, which becomes more evident as you examine SD-WAN security. Don’t make the mistake of being forced to patch together adequate security when you’re already well into deployment and implementation. Contact us at Truth Comm for more information about SD-WAN security.

Cyber Attacks Go to the Next Level With Automation

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From strengthening passwords to partnering with a security service provider, developing a plan against cyber attacks is critical.

If you thought cyber attacks were already unavoidable, learning that cybercriminals are now automating their attacks probably doesn’t give you much hope for the future of cyber security.

Cybercriminals are taking attacks to the next level by having machines do their bidding. The damage to critical systems, businesses, and the individuals within them could be devastating, which is why configuring your systems for heightened security is on the short list for many IT professionals.

While notable companies, including Dunkin Donuts, have already been hit by automated cyber attacks, they aren’t confined to big businesses. Even small- to medium-sized businesses are being exploited, you’re just not reading headlines about it.

The biggest companies within the antivirus protection industry have taken note, saying 2019 will be the breakout year for artificial intelligence-based attacks, and it’s a scare tactic to generate more business — it’s already happening.

Password Weakness

The most obvious and frequently exploited weakness in any organization is the passwords employees use to gain access to your system. The tools hackers develop to guess passwords have become increasingly more effective.

You can think of every possible avenue through which hackers can get into your system and develop layers of security solutions, but if password hygiene isn’t part of your education program for your employees, it won’t protect you.

Attack of the Chatbots

Chatbots are saving companies a lot of money, but they can also fall victim to input manipulation where the hacker infects it with malware and makes it work for them, gathering your information and taking it places you don’t want it to go.

Furthermore, cybercriminals have developed chatbots of their own, through which they can inflict great damage as they impersonate legitimate chatbots.

Protecting Your System

Don’t risk losing your data — take steps to limit your exposure to these attacks. Begin by utilizing secure cloud platforms to house and access your critical assets. Partner with a managed security service provider to assist you in safeguarding your information. Boost your password hygiene efforts with two-factor authentication, and frequently visit your cyber security plan, because a stagnant one is vulnerable as hackers continue to evolve.

If you’re looking for an agent that has a line on the latest cyber attack solutions, contact us at Truth Comm. We help our clients stay ahead of the technology curve and clarify the latest in business technology. If it’s a cost-effective, strategic decision about technology that you need, we’re your agent.

SD-WAN Offerings and Functions Improve With Maturity

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In 2019, the role of SD-WAN in security strategies will be expanded to take advantage of segmentation capabilities.

As software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) continues to be adopted by enterprises to address an increasingly complex network infrastructure, there are changes occurring in SD-WAN solutions themselves and in the SD-WAN market. Take a look at a few of the changes influencing how SD-WAN is used and marketed:

Thinning the pack: With enterprises investing in SD-WAN as an upgrade to network infrastructure to support security efforts, cloud solutions and Internet of Things (IoT), the need for an intuitive solution is pushing out those providers that tagged SD-WAN onto other offerings. A provider that simply offers basic SD-WAN will soon find that enterprises aren’t interested in SD-WAN without optimization capabilities or sophisticated segmentation available. Providers that specialize in SD-WAN as a way to drive business initiatives will eclipse those that offer it as a sideshow.

Security focus: Once security teams recognized the potential for segmentation in SD-WAN offerings, they began to expand how it was being applied to protect systems from a breach. For instance, if an IoT device is compromised, SD-WAN makes it easier to isolate network traffic by device or user to limit the exposure of the company to a threat. Many enterprises are creating new security frameworks around SD-WAN’s capability to segment traffic.

Previously, a broadly utilized WAN allowed every application to communicate with all others, introducing vulnerability when a threat was present. SD-WAN makes it much simpler to isolate a threat.

Business drive: One reason that enterprises are interested in implementing SD-WAN is its role in pushing business objectives forward. From optimizing network traffic to prioritizing a video conference call over employees browsing Facebook, the network technology makes it possible to reduce costs, improve the customer experience and equip real-time decision-making.

Consider a company that introduces a new Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solution that offers shared workspaces. SD-WAN allows automated policies to be set up so that a virtual team sharing information in that shared workspace is prioritized over other types of non-critical transmissions. This empowers real-time decision-making that speeds up productivity and pushes the customer experience to new levels of satisfaction.

Early adopters: Those who implemented SD-WAN in its early stages may be contemplating an additional investment in a more mature solution. While these tools offered some improvement over traditional hub-and-spoke network infrastructure, they need more features to get the level of visibility and control that experienced WAN providers offer.

To learn more about changes occurring in SD-WAN offerings, contact us at Truth Comm. We can help you identify the main goals you need to address with an SD-WAN solution and guide you through the process of choosing the right option for your implementation.

Four Reasons You Should Prioritize Business Continuity Planning

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The cost of downtime alone often spurs companies to begin business continuity planning.

If a natural disaster were to hit your area, preventing your employees from making it into your physical location, how would you keep business processes moving? At the same time, what if key systems in your office are impacted by the natural disaster? Business continuity planning helps you think through scenarios like these and create a plan so that your company can continue uninterrupted, even in the event of a widespread disaster.

Many companies don’t prioritize business continuity planning, but it would be hard to identify an organization that is shielded completely from the possibility of any natural disaster. The biggest threat to your business doesn’t even come from hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes; much more likely than a flood or a fire are the possibilities of data deletion or failure to password protect a mobile device.

Here are four reasons your company should invest in business continuity planning:

Downtime will cost you. If you’ve never calculated the cost per hour of having your systems down and employees idle, that may be why you haven’t prioritized business continuity. Once you do a quick analysis of your downtime costs, you’ll find that it’s a good investment to set up a plan.

Traditional back-up is not enough. If you’re still running backup on tapes and storing them in a vault, it’s time to upgrade your backup efforts. Backing up your data in the cloud is a smart strategy because it offers geographical diversity and the provider will offer you clear information about how long it will take to restore your data. Using a cloud server means the interruption to your business will be minimal.

Most disasters aren’t natural. From cyber threats to an employee that bypasses a data backup because the process is cumbersome, there are dangers to your business that you will never see reported on the news. A business continuity plan helps you identify all the potential areas of risk and develop action plans that can be quickly executed once the problem is identified.

Business continuity planning impacts your customers. You may have considered the cost of downtime, but what about the cost to your reputation? The lost sales are one aspect of business continuity, but you should also consider the cost of replacing lost customers and the damage to your reputation and credibility. A good plan will ensure your customers never detect any interruption in service. When you conduct an initial risk assessment, be sure to include all costs, including the cost of a frustrated customer.

If you’ve been putting off business continuity planning, contact us at Truth Comm. We can help you identify the right cloud backup provider for your disaster recovery needs and guide you through the process of developing a reliable plan for handling any threat to your business.

Planning for Multi-cloud Innovation

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These steps will help you prepare for a multi-cloud environment that captures opportunities for innovation.

The push to cloud migration is only expanding, and for many organizations the initial motivation of reduced costs or a better customer experience is making way for strategies focused on innovation. The fast pace of change will continue, but enterprises who value agility in pursuit of innovation will be looking for a strategy to adopt a multi-cloud environment.

In many cases, this journey to multi-cloud begins with enterprises coming to the realization that it’s impossible to succeed without dedicating more of their time, effort and budget to innovation. This is generally approached with a combination of strategies to cut costs and an effort to migrate more workloads to the cloud, with multi-cloud increasingly a common solution.

This focus on innovation is often a later priority as enterprises embrace multi-cloud solutions. What begins as a pursuit of redundancy for security purposes or the avoidance of provider lock-in eventually emerges as an innovation strategy and it becomes a key benefit of a multi-cloud environment.

From infrastructure to innovation: In the early days of cloud computing, the focus was infrastructure, with providers keeping pace with one another in terms of network connections, solutions for storage and instance types. Platform-level services gave enterprises the ability to add database instances and other applications.

As the cloud market is maturing, innovation is shifting to more complex innovation, from big data to the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence. This new level of innovation is causing enterprises to look at multi-cloud a bit differently. They realize that the rapid pace of technology innovation requires them to access more than one cloud solution to keep pace with their competitors.

How enterprises can plan for a multi-cloud environment:

Create a data management plan: Data management remains one of the biggest challenges for IT. From collecting and securely storing it, to processing it for useful application and then eventually retiring it, the complexity can be a lot to manage. Enterprises need a comprehensive approach to data, with location, accessibility, security, privacy and durability all requiring attention.

Your strategy should be ready for multi-cloud. If you’re pursuing cloud migration, you should assume that one cloud will not be enough. The pace of innovation requires you to incorporate more than one cloud into your strategy.

Look at applications holistically: Your application is complex and requires a variety of support structures for successful hosting in the cloud or across multiple clouds. Whether it’s run in your data center or at the edge, think more broadly about what you need to support a flexible application in the cloud.

Don’t let multi-cloud “happen” without a strategy: If you don’t work on a strategy for multi-cloud, shadow IT will gradually make it your reality without your input. Don’t force your enterprise into a do-it-yourself setting, where developers create fragmented solutions to cover what your enterprise needs.

To learn more about how multi-cloud environments foster innovation for your enterprise, or to discuss leveraging multi-cloud solutions for your needs, contact us at Truth Comm.

Cloud Security Strategies Should Include a Stable Agent Partner

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Technology alone can’t create a full-fledged cloud security strategy — employee training is also important.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) deserve the headlines they’ve generated over the last few years, and these technologies have been used to shore up cloud security for many organizations. However, technology alone can’t solve all the issues that IT teams encounter where security is concerned.

The Machine Learning Method

When you want to collect data and then analyze specific features of it to set up and train models, machine learning is your friend. You can augment your models to accomplish various outcomes, and this is something that is of great use to enterprises that have massive amounts of data.

But machine learning isn’t specifically for large companies — it can also be leveraged in small- to medium-sized businesses that want more automation in their business model.

The Cloud and AI

What was once a rarity in the cloud environment is now the norm for cloud providers. They’re embracing AI for more enhanced security services. For example, providers have adopted Amazon’s AWS (Amazon Web Services), which is a mix of Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service, for continuously monitoring their systems for added protection against actions that are not authorized.

For organizations that want added layers of protection running in the background, AI and AWS can be of great interest, especially for hyperscale cloud providers due in part to the massive amounts of data that move across their networks.

Other Methods for Protection

Despite all of the advancements of AI and machine learning, there are a number of third-party security providers who are not willing to say it’s a fix-all for organizations looking for more protections. Rather, they would like to see the technology more in tune with various binary decisions, because many malware detection solutions offer exceptional scanning tools that can protect the most sensitive information.

While a robust method of adding more layers of cloud security is never a bad idea, the cost can be considerable, which is why some organizations have found a reliable and sensible method of running simple statistical analysis on a regular basis rather than rely on AI and machine learning for everything.

Employee Training

The latest technologies can provide a great amount of assurance for enhanced cloud security, but without the right employee training, the time, effort and cost put toward hi-tech tools can be thwarted.

Educating the workforce on how they become the weak link in a system can protect against unforeseen insider issues. Education, technology and a third-party provider of managed services can combine for a more comprehensive cloud security solution.

At Truth Comm, we are the agent that can put your organization in touch with the cloud security solutions you need to maintain the integrity of your data and your reputation. Contact us and let’s get started on a safer, more efficient way of protecting your system.

Data Analysis Is Fueling Digital Transformation

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Digital transformation is often driven by a pursuit of insights from data analysis.

Enterprises are increasingly engaging in digital transformation strategies. These plans are generally driven by several trends in technology including cloud solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and the management of the wealth of data that comes from these new tools. There are three basic types of data analytics that enterprises are accessing:

Descriptive analytics: This reporting tells the story of what’s been happening, such as how much inventory was sold of a certain product, or how many calls came into the contact center between noon and the end of the day.

Prescriptive analytics: These reports tell what should be done. Prescriptive analytics tell a company that they need to stock more of a particular product in late summer because it is increasingly in demand by school teachers.

Predictive analytics: This reporting anticipates what will happen based on descriptive data. If a customer has called your customer service line four times over four months to complain about an invoicing problem, predictive analytics recognizes the call number and anticipates what the customer will be calling to address.

Generally, any department within an enterprise could have a demand for various types of data analytics, but much of what is driving digital transformation is the desire to harness insights for a better customer or end-user experience. For instance, a company’s sales team using a customer relationship management solution can use the data analytics from that system to better understand potential customers. They can identify the problems a potential customer may be trying to solve, based on data gathered about why current customers use a certain product.

All types of enterprises across any industry benefit from data analytics and the introduction of a digital transformation plan. From determining the amount of ingredients to purchase for an assembly line at a bakery to anticipating when a piece of machinery may fail, data analytics save time, resources and costs.

It’s important to note that while many benefits stem from utilizing data analytics, there are risks as well. Many enterprises have invested heavily in data collection and storage, and even take the step of analyzing the data. Some fall short when it’s time to put the data to action and improve productivity or create cost-saving innovations. Data is only valuable when it is mobilized for the enterprise.

Real-time data can be particularly helpful in situations like assembly lines, where it can be used to improve quality control and address efficiency issues.

If you’re initiating a digital transformation strategy, contact us at Truth Comm. We can help you prioritize your decisions related to cloud migration and IoT investments, as well as create the right framework for data analysis that better informs your decision makers.

SD-WAN’s Next Optimization Step Is User-Based Routing

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User-based routing capabilities will allow SD-WAN to further optimize network management.

Network management is becoming more complex as it adjusts to increased traffic and demands from cloud technology. The ability of software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) to offer centralized visibility and control on a virtualized plane, as well as the option to route traffic to new pathways when there are performance issues or congestion, make it possible for SD-WAN to solve many network challenges.

SD-WAN has the capability to be application aware, allowing network managers to designate certain applications to be prioritized over others. For instance, a video conference for the sales team can be designated as a priority over email transmissions, which do not require real-time connectivity.

While application awareness does improve the enterprise’s ability to optimize network pathways, a further step could be taken to optimize performance. Identity awareness is set up so that routing is based on the source and destination identity, and it abstracts the policies governing the network away from the physical network. In order to initiate identity awareness, the following steps are necessary:

  • Build an identity listing or use an existing source
  • Incorporate a policy engine that can use identity information
  • Packet flows must be labeled with identity details

Creating an identity repository can add complexity to deploying SD-WAN, but enterprises may be able to use an existing Active Directory to minimize the time and resources needed to develop identity awareness.

While in place as a security tool for years, the introduction of identity awareness to routing is quite different. It significantly changes how SD-WAN routes and prioritizes traffic, determines last-mile services and calculates what would be the optimum path for any given data transmission.

Identity awareness provides the following:

Prioritization of network traffic: Preferred access to the last mile can be granted to a high-priority voice call over low-priority calls, and a user-based identity awareness strategy automatically routes the call. In addition, in a setting where more than one person shares a computer, such as between employees entering orders at a restaurant, the network can differentiate between a floor manager and a server.

User awareness regardless of device or location: Identity awareness means that the CEO’s video conference call gets prioritized whether they’re managing the call from the desktop in their office, or they’re out of town and conducting the call on a tablet.

Better consumption information: By utilizing identity awareness, enterprises have a more detailed analysis of how network resources are being consumed. They can more easily determine if users are accessing the network inside the office versus on a mobile device, and whether they are using the cloud, the WAN or the internet.

To learn more about how identity awareness will transform networking, contact usat Truth Comm. We help you leverage the best network solutions to minimize downtime and optimize performance.

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