Southwest Airlines, one of the largest and most respected airlines in the US, was forced to cancel around 45 percent of its scheduled flights during the winter holidays. It is probably due to outdated IT infrastructure and IT systems. Other airlines have also struggled with inclement weather and holiday traffic, but have not faced the same level of disruption.
These few examples show that when companies are using an outdated, inefficient IT infrastructure, it will eventually buckle under the pressure of unexpected changes. Some companies hold on to their legacy systems because they see no point in changing something that is working well. However, a single change is enough to cause a major collapse, not just from bad weather or high customer demand. Major stresses can also include security-related events such as a security breach or even new regulatory and compliance requirements.
Security as part of modernization efforts
The good news is that many companies have proactively modernized their operations by moving processes to the cloud. One of the most common mistakes, however, is that IT security often falls by the wayside, as Lookout says. Sascha Spangenberg, Global MSSP Solutions Architect at Lookout, explains, “The reality is that with digital transformation comes new end-user expectations and security requirements. Employees will likely want to use their own personal devices when working remotely. With cloud-native applications, data can now be accessed from anywhere and on any device. This means businesses no longer have the visibility and control they were accustomed to when everything was on-premises.
Cloud-native security solutions
In an effort to support hybrid working, organizations can enable their users to access corporate resources from anywhere. However, without cloud-native security solutions that can keep pace with these changes, they are unprepared for major security incidents. Security breaches are one aspect of this, where a single account takeover can result in the loss of sensitive data. Added to this is compliance with regulations. Regulated data can be protected when there is no visibility and control over cloud operations. By modernizing IT security, organizations are able to:
- Simplifying the complex IT security architectures that route all IT traffic to physical data centers.
- Freeing overburdened and understaffed IT security teams from the day-to-day management of appliance-based web proxies, virtual private networks (VPNs), and data loss protection (DLP) controls.
- Better security efficiency with adaptive and inline security controls.
- Better user experience and higher end-user productivity.
Reduce the complexity of IT security
In order to benefit from the advantages of a modernized IT system, companies must adapt their security strategy accordingly. The answer lies in a unified, cloud-delivered security platform that combines endpoint security with secure access to applications and data. With all security controls in one place, businesses gain more visibility and control with fewer potential complications.”
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About Lookout Lookout co-founders John Hering, Kevin Mahaffey, and James Burgess came together in 2007 with the goal of protecting people from the security and privacy risks posed by an increasingly connected world. Even before smartphones were in everyone's pocket, they realized that mobility would have a profound impact on the way we work and live.