Computing virtualization or virtualisation is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer network resources. In more practical terms, imagine you have 3 physical servers with individual dedicated purposes. One is a mail server, another is a web server, and the last one runs internal legacy applications. Each server is being used at about 30% capacity—just a fraction of their running potential. But since the legacy apps remain important to your internal operations, you have to keep them and the third server that hosts them, right?
IT compliance refers to businesses meeting all legal requirements, standards and regulations for the all the technology their company uses. Achieving these standards means following all industry regulations, government policies, security frameworks and customer terms of agreement to ensure the security and appropriate usage of software in business. In addition to protecting the security of businesses and customers, compliance standards promote the availability and reliability of services, and it ensures businesses use technology as per the industry standard
Zero Trust is a security framework requiring all users, whether in or outside the organization’s network, to be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated for security configuration and posture before being granted or keeping access to applications and data.
Execution of this framework combines advanced technologies such as risk based multi-factor authentication, identity protection, next-generation endpoint security, and robust cloud workload technology to verify a user or systems identity, consideration of access at that moment in time, and the maintenance of system security. Zero Trust also requires consideration of encryption of data, securing email, and verifying the hygiene of assets and endpoints before they connect to applications.
ISO 27001 is the international standard that describes best practices for an Information Security Management Systems(ISMS). It’s based on a set of controls and measures, which organizations can use to achieve information security.
The ISO 27001 standard requires that you have procedures in place to cover aspects of the ISMS, including:
Information security risk management (What are the risks you face and how do you treat those risks?)
Monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation (How is the effectiveness of the information security management system evaluated?)
Improvement (How are nonconformities evaluated and corrected?)
IPsec is a group of protocols that are used together to set up encrypted connections between devices. It helps keep data sent over public networks secure. IPsec is often used to set up VPNs, and it works by encrypting IP packets, along with authenticating the source where the packets come from.
Within the term “IPsec,” “IP” stands for “Internet Protocol” and “sec” for “secure.” The Internet Protocol is the main routing protocol used on the Internet; it designates where data will go using IP addresses. IPsec is secure because it adds encryption* and authentication to this process.
IT lifecycle management is a holistic approach to managing the entire useful life of IT assets from acquisition, installation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning and replacement. It allows for planning, examining your business needs, budget, and timing to acquire, use and phase out various technologies strategically.
Some assets to consider in your IT lifecycle management plan:
Effective IT lifecycle management can help your business plan for the future. Some of the benefits of employing IT lifecycle management services include:
Forecast Your IT Needs for Better Budgeting
Planning for future expenditures is a crucial part of running a successful business. Understanding the cost of IT resources throughout their lifecycle is part of making informed purchasing decisions for your business
Reduce Unexpected Downtime
When IT infrastructure fails, it can quickly grind your business to a halt. Slowed productivity caused by outdated systems can affect job quality and morale for your employees and cost your company time and money.
Improved Security
Businesses face constant threats from cyberattacks, and failing IT infrastructure leaves you vulnerable to bad actors and malware. Security breaches can mean lost data, lost revenue, damaged customer relations, and even legal consequences if the business is shown to have failed compliance regulations.
IT lifecycle management can be broken down into four phases:
Procurement: The initial step in any IT lifecycle is the purchase of the technology itself. Before moving forward with any purchases, it’s best to have a plan in place. It includes a complete evaluation of your existing IT infrastructure, identifying and addressing any deficiencies or opportunities to extend the infrastructure, and creating short and long-term plans to maximize the budget and leverage existing IT infrastructure. It also involves planning for asset disposal at the end of the lifecycle, negotiating with vendors to find the best possible solutions for your company within budget, procuring new IT assets, reviewing purchase logistics, and finalizing any financing options.
Deployment: After the assets are procured, they will need to be installed and integrated with existing systems. The deployment phase of IT lifecycle management includes scheduling, testing, set up, and inventory management. This phase is vital because a poorly optimized deployment can severely impact both performance and lifecycle.
Management: This is perhaps the most critical step in hardware lifecycle management. A good management strategy is vital in extending the lifespan of your IT and keeping it performing as optimally as possible. This ranges from monitoring, compliance, maintenance, backup, and financial management. Management lasts throughout the tenure of the equipment, as it requires monitoring and tech support throughout its lifecycle.
Decommissioning: The final stage of the management cycle involves the responsible removal of technological assets once your company replaces them. It includes sanitization, asset removal, and disposal/lease management returns.
If you don’t currently have an IT lifecycle management plan, look at when your technology was purchased and its life expectancy so you can plan around that end date, your business needs and examine replacement options. It’s crucial to have a plan for a replacement before your current asset reaches its end of life, thereby staggering and overlapping lifecycles.
Bots are software programs that perform automated, repetitive, pre-defined tasks. These tasks can include almost any interaction with software that has an API.These tasks can range from making dinner reservations, to getting an update on a support request, to checking competitors’ prices on their websites.
Organizations or individuals who use bots can also use bot management software, which helps manage bots and protect against malicious bots. Bot managers may also be included as part of a web app security platform. A bot manager can allow the use of some bots and block the use of others that might cause harm to a system. To do this, a bot manager classifies any incoming requests by humans and good bots, as well as known malicious and unknown bots. Any suspect bot traffic is then directed away from a site by the bot manager. Some basic bot management feature sets include IP rate limiting and CAPTCHAs. IP rate limiting restricts the number of same address requests, while CAPTCHAs provide challenges that help differentiate bots from humans.
VPNs or Virtual private networks are essential additions to organizational networks that allow companies of any size to easily and safely access their resources, whether they’re hosted locally or in the cloud. The primary purpose of an enterprise VPN is to fortify these sensitive assets and resources – which might include internal customer and sales systems, SaaS applications, and local file storage for employees who are now accessing them from many different devices and on unfamiliar (and potentially unsafe) Wi-Fi connections.
Unified endpoint management is the method of centrally managing endpoint devices from a single location. These endpoints include mobile devices, desktops, laptops, tablets, wearables and other smart devices used for accessing networks or resources within an organization.
With a UEM solution, organizations are able to unify the applications of data protection, device configuration, and usage policies. It provides a single view of users who use multiple devices and also helps in gathering workplace analytics regarding them. UEM also acts as the apex endpoint management solution in an organization by orchestrating related endpoint technologies such as identity services, client management tools, etc.
Data loss prevention (DLP), as per Gartner, may be defined as technologies which perform both content inspection and contextual analysis of data sent via messaging applications such as email and instant messaging, in motion over the network, in use on a managed endpoint device, and at rest in on-premises file servers or in cloud applications and cloud storage. These solutions execute responses based on policy and rules defined to address the risk of inadvertent or accidental leaks or exposure of sensitive data outside authorized channels.
