From serious breaches of customer data at Target, Home Depot and other major retailers to leaked private celebrity photos, data security issues seem to be everywhere in the news.
The circumstances and causes behind each intrusion vary. But the costs to business are substantial and nearly always include lost sales, legal expenses, and reduced customer confidence.
As the malicious exploits become more sophisticated, enterprises must constantly reassess their tools, policies and processes to keep sensitive information secure. In some instances, security improvements require significant new investments. But often, access—both digital and physical—can be made more secure while efficiency is simultaneously improved.
Frequently, organizations optimize security based on best practices within each functional area. This may (or may not) be effective, but from the perspective of the enterprise, it’s clearly not efficient.
A new white paper explains how enterprise request management (ERM) provides a a better approach to securing access, both to facilities and systems. An ERM strategy combines a single, centralized web portal for requesting any type of enterprise service with a workflow automation engine that orchestrates approvals, scheduling and fulfillment by communicating with and between in-place enterprise and department management and control systems.
In the ERM approach, all of information needed to arrange for specific security clearances for a new employee, contractor, or project team, is entered (and validated) only once. All back-end tasks (e.g., conducting background checks, setting up a corporate email account, printing a security badge) are automated per pre-defined rules and workflows.
The result is more accurate information, reduction or elimination of manual tasks, and reduced risk of any aspect of the secure access process being missed. Security and efficiency are both enhanced.
Download the new white paper, Safe and Sound: How Enterprise Request Management Improves Process Efficiency While Reducing Security Risks, to get the complete story.
Cassy Lueneburg