Even with IT vendors having exceptional security, it’s essential for organizations to know that it’s up to them to take the full brunt of responsibility for their own security approach. And just as importantly, it also must still be functional.
In this post, we’re going to take a look at the four most significant challenges businesses deal with today, along with a few tips for how to navigate them without compromising security. This is where access management— which is the process of ensuring that your team is able to reliably use the tool in a safe but still effective way— comes into play.
1. Finding a solution that allows for flexibility & productivity while still complying with all security regulations
We’ve seen many businesses who understand that their protocols are only as strong as their weakest link who then slash rights left and right in the name of security. This can derail both productivity and efficiency at a lightning-fast rate, leading to more problems.
Desperately concerned about digital security, some businesses adopt rigid systems that don’t allow for any flexibility. This, in turn, can quickly and very negatively impact productivity.
If your access management solutions are so focused on limiting access and not finding secure ways to allow for necessary and flexible access, they may help protect you— but they’ll also deeply restrict how your team works.
When core team members need to get supervisor or cross-departmental help when it comes to accessing core features or information they need for their jobs on an even semi-regular basis, everything slows down.
This can actually cause extremely high levels of employee frustration throughout the entire team. And that, in turn, can lead to companies losing employees with today’s record-breaking turnover. No one wants to work at an organization where they’re constantly hitting roadblocks day after day, unable to do their job.
This extreme rigidity— and the subsequent loss of productivity— is one of the most common reasons our clients come to us here at Columbus. Their standard approach isn’t working for them.
Our team — which is all made up of experts in their perspective specialties— can help you build a stronger, more effective, and more flexible access management approach that won’t sacrifice any security. We can work with your team to look at how your business works, creating a custom solution based on your exact workflow. With experience across a wide range of industries, there’s nothing we haven’t seen before.
2. Granting user access for remote work
An increasing number of businesses today use predominantly Cloud-based tools. The Cloud-based tools and a significant push for remote work options following for the pandemic have led to a major change in how many employees are working from home.
While Cloud-based tools provide the flexibility for work-from-home options, they can also come with the risk of potential security breaches. Users are accessing vital company data and software remotely, and they may even be doing so on personal laptops or mobile devices at their local Starbucks.
Organizations are struggling with knowing how to grant employees access for remote work without sacrificing security protocols.
A flexible branch of zero trust access management is often a solid approach here. You can keep an eye on who has access to what while still allowing a wider roll out of user access.
“Zero trust” is the practice of maintaining constant visibility into who is doing what— and who has access to what— in your online tools.
Identity access management (IAM) is a good approach in these cases where you have high amounts of remote workers. It’s a type of zero trust security approach that utilizes features like single sign-on or privileged access management.
Ultimately, the right approach must be based on the structure of your particular organization and the tasks each user needs to complete. One user shouldn’t have the ability to create and approve invoices, for example— understanding different roles will be crucial to ensuring you have a system that makes sense.
3. A complicated IT landscape with multi-cloud systems
Many companies have a wide range of multiple cloud systems in a diverse and sometimes complicated tech stack. You need to work with a variety of SaaS providers, which means not only knowing how to navigate different tools, but also how to understand their licensing.
It’s easy to end up paying too much for either too many tools or too many features or access that your team doesn’t actually really need. This can easily add up to tens of thousands of dollars being wasted before you know it.
A good access management solution will help you understand how to leverage the tools you’re already working with to get the most out of them. This includes getting access to employees who need it while avoiding losing funds where it’s not needed.
4. An IT talent shortage means a lack of proper support
The reality is that there’s a major IT talent shortage right now.
Many companies don’t have strong IT resources internally that have the knowledge needed for access management issues; competence in this particular area is extremely low.
It’s a technical field, but it’s also strategic— you must understand what the business needs, even if lead executives aren’t entirely sure. The IT tech must know how to implement IT solutions, understand the requirements of both your business’s regulations and external regulations, and know how to utilize cloud ERP.
For many of our customers, it’s like walking around blind, and there’s a very real and significant struggle when they try to develop these solutions in-house.
Working with a team with qualified IT techs knowledgeable and experienced in access management is going to be key.
Not only will you get the skills and the solutions you need quickly, but it’s also going to be much more cost-effective than hiring, training, and retaining an employee to develop and maintain an internal system.
Need help with your access management solutions?
Here at Columbus, we have an in-house capability to deliver access management services across a massive technology landscape.
Our customers don’t need to worry about hiring techs or trying to come up with a solution on their own. Our advisors can handle all of this for you, providing a flexible and customized approach based on your business, the tools you use, and how you choose to operate.
We’ll bring knowledge of emerging trends, regulations specific to your sector, and latest technology to the table so that you’ll always have compliant and up-to-date solutions.
We can start with an assessment to see what you need, providing visibility on your current situation while double checking your current processes. Then we’ll give you advice on how to build and design your access management solutions, and we can manage both execution, monitoring, and maintenance moving forward.
