Telework Security Concerns Linger
September 20, 2007 on 5:31 am | In Uncategorized | No CommentsPosted by Carl Weinschenk on September 13, 2007 at 9:55 am
This SonicWall survey says that while managers are growing more comfortable with remote workers, three areas of concern remain. Managers worry about how productive the workers will be while outside the office; how their absence will impact team building; and, of course, how their data will be secured.
The survey — which was conducted by InsightExpress — perhaps is a bit too broad, since it covers anyone working outside the office. The concerns about itinerant business travelers are different than sedentary home workers. Thus, it may have been better to narrow the survey or perhaps conduct two. The company addresses this issue by assessing managers’ favorite and most frowned-upon places from where they would like to see folks work. For the record, 22 percent think workers not in the office are best off at home, while fewer than 2 percent want to see business done from the beach, a pool or a stadium.
The survey points to shortcomings in preparedness. For instance, only 23 percent of off-site workers have anti-virus software on their machines, only 16 percent have SSL VPNs and only 14 percent have IPSec VPNs. A startling 9 percent of those charged with security don’t know what measures are in place for their remote staffs. The survey offered comparable anemic statistics for the related area of disaster preparedness.
Two recent posts offer suggestions on telecommuter security that, to some degree, mirror each other. One, at MX Logic, suggests use of access control settings that allow only company-authorized PCs onto the network; implementation of “defense in depth”; disabling of PC ports that allow external storage devices; and turning off of wireless devices when PCs are wired into the network. The writer notes that user education is vital.
Other ideas are offered by AndyIT Guy. He says remote workers should only have user-level access, that they should be required to run a wide array of security software (including anti virus, host-based intrusion protections and others), and that the path to the network should go through network access control (NAC) gear. The blogger offers a handful of other suggestions, including turning off autorun for CD/DVD drives and disabling Bluetooth.
His final idea is perhaps the best: Enough security should be in place to protect the IT person when the user finds a way to cause a problem.
For those who want to tie telecommuting security to a truly depressing topic, read this piece at bMighty. Flu disables and kills a certain amount of people annually; the story points out that we are due for a catastrophic pandemic that will greatly raise those figures. In such an atmosphere, it is logical that folks will want to stay home. The writer posses a number of questions, most of which are applicable to all telecommuting scenarios. The question is whether IT is ready for a scenario in which the number of telecommuters mushrooms in a short amount of time.
The view from within the government is mixed. A survey of 35 of the 117 federal chief information security officers reveal concern about telework security. More than half, FCW reports, say that securing data on mobile devices is their top priority. They are worrried that teleworkers lack the right training and technology — especially those who work at home informally (in the evening and weekends, for instance) and therefore aren’t put through their agency’s telework.
Most apparently think it is a human problem: More than 80 percent responded that the technology their agency has in place is sufficient to meet the government’s guidelines. Seventy-four percent said all employees should get mobile data security training — even if they do not telework.
Comments:
Therefore, hiring an outsourced professional has the same set of risks as hiring an intenal employee with teleworking priviliges. Additionally, outsourced professionals outside of the US do not have to comply with any US government regulations. Finally, one can monitor all communication of the outsourced professional through a dedicated VPN line while the outsourced professional’s chances of using the provided info in other ways is tiny compared to the employee who is has personal connections and professional interest networks in the US etc.
Staff Shortages Especially Hard on SMBs
September 20, 2007 on 5:22 am | In Uncategorized | No CommentsPosted by Ann All on September 13, 2007 at 3:46 pm
In today’s tight labor market, finding skilled employees must be especially tough for big companies since they have lots of positions to fill, right?
Several experts interviewed in a Seattle Post-Intelligencer story say staffing shortages actually hit SMBs especially hard because they often lack the resources to match the salaries and other employment incentives offered by their larger competitors.
“It has a lot to do with what they can afford. They have less revenue. They don’t have as much to work with. They can’t put together a benefits package,” says the president of a human resources company.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, private businesses overall with fewer than 49 employees paid an average hourly wage of $16.18, $7.32 less than the average hourly wage of $23.50 at companies with more than 500 employees. And businesses with more than 100 employees are more than twice as likely as SMBs to offer retirement benefits.
One expert in the article says that SMBs can counter this effect by offering non-monetary perks such as flextime. High-tech companies, including giants such as Google and Microsoft, offer a bevy of unusual benefits, ranging from free transportation to gourmet food.
Comments :
BPO can easily solve this problem due to the fact that IT specialists in outsourced countries are cheaper and readily available through various working schemes. SMBs in the US can easily rely on various providers, including the ones from Ukraine with highly skilled IT and admin workforce in English available at a time zone EST+07, so that your employees can start interacting with outsourced IT providers starting 8am until 12am EST, which is normally enough time for specification definition or issue conference calls/video calls.
LogicaCMG wins outsourcing contract from KPN for undisclosed sum
September 13, 2007 on 6:20 am | In Uncategorized | No CommentsAMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - Anglo-Dutch IT services group LogicaCMG plc has signed a declaration of intent with Royal KPN NV to take over responsibility for all human resources and payroll activities for all KPN workers in the Netherlands, the company said in a press release. Financial details were not disclosed.
The company said roughly 60 KPN employees will be transferred to LogicaCMG.
LogicaCMG said that both parties expect negotiations on the deal to wrap up by November 1 and the service is expected to be up and running from January 1.
Luring Customers with Local Call Centers
September 5, 2007 on 6:01 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments
Now some British companies are taking it even further. To woo consumers frustrated with overseas customer service The strategy makes some sense. According to a recent survey by pollster YouGov, a mere 4% of people have a favorable experience dealing with call centers of all sorts and 44% say their biggest gripe is contacting offshore call centers. Such low satisfaction rates can hurt business: Call center advisory Merchants Consulting, based in Milton Keynes, England, says one in five Brits has changed suppliers due to a bad call center experience, costing companies an estimated $4.5 billion each year in lost business. Round-Trip Ticket A growing number of British companies are warming to the idea that paying higher wages to local call center employees pays off. “Foreign call centers feed into the perception that companies aren’t interested in their customers,” says Rita Clifton, chairman of London-based brand consultancy Interbrand. “Firms will have to spend more money on U.K. centers so customers feel taken care of.” That’s what motivated Powergen, a subsidiary of German energy utility E.on, to rethink its call center policy. After offshoring almost 10% of its customer service work to India, the power company saw a decline in customer satisfaction rates, and by June, 2006, had returned all of its call centers to Britain. A company spokesperson declined to say how much business was lost due to Powergen’s offshoring adventure. But after Powergen began bringing the work home, complaints to regulators fell 75% year-over-year as of April, 2006. The marketing value of the trend toward Britain-based call centers shouldn’t be underestimated. According to Martin Dove, managing director at Merchants Consulting, it costs companies almost five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to retain an existing one. British call centers can thus be cost-effective if taken as part of a company’s overall business strategy. For instance, total global spending on call centers last year amounted to $34 billion, compared to $454 billion spent on advertising worldwide, according to media consultants Zenith Optimedia. Yet money shifted from advertising to improved call center operations can be a more efficient way of attracting and holding on to customers, thanks in part to word of mouth. |
It’s no secret that there’s something of a consumer backlash against offshore call centers. Some companies, including Dell and US Airways Group, have even pulled some of their call center work back to the U.S. after complaints from customers about everything from foreign accents to the quality of support.
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