From Neil Clark, Managing director, Business Markets Direct, Easynet.
Sir – Protecting vast amounts of financial and personal data, integrating disparate sites, facilitating remote access and managing employees’ use of applications are all serious concerns for a housing provider.
Addressing these concerns while reducing cost and improving operational efficiency are part and parcel of a CIO’s job, but reducing risk as well? It’s no mean feat, especially with operations and systems access spread across many sites and device types.
Housing IT leaders are constantly having to balance risks vs. benefits; the benefits of flexible access to systems vs. the risks to the organisation’s data and networks. Data protection must be at the heart of the decision-making process; in recent years, there have been many high profile data privacy breaches as systems are hacked, laptops left unlocked and tablets left in the back of taxis.
Housing providers need to make sure technology is part of the risk management strategy, and doesn’t become the risk itself.
