Half a decade ago, in the wake of the rise of cloud computing, some IT evangelists, CIOs, and large tech research firms foretold the imminent death of the data center as we know it. My co-columnist at CIO.com Mark Settle at the time advised caution in writing off data centers and envisaged how they  would continue to grow based on the evolution of – you guessed it – data. Today, data centers continue to not just survive but thrive alongside hybrid and multicloud systems in new avatars such as on-prem as a service. Not just that, data centers are poised to meet the emerging demand for serv ..read more

From a CISO’s point of view, 2021 was not a very good year. It started with a scramble to address the SolarWinds cyberattack and is ending with record-breaking highs in ransomware attacks. CISOs have had to deal with juggling a hybrid workforce with continuing security issues caused by COVID-19 and a skills shortage, cyberattacks on the critical infrastructure, understanding what the growth in cryptocurrency means for cybersecurity, and handling the usual everyday issues in the life of a CISO. With 2021 approaching the rearview mirror, we can expect more of the same with some added twists in t ..read more

Working from home used to be a perk. Now it’s a way of life. The way we shop changed so quickly, so thoroughly, that many retailers were caught off guard, and technology in many cases wasn’t ready for the surge. Instead of a company-issued device hooked into a LAN, the network ecosystem became instead a diverse ecosystem of end points, corporate networks, home routers, and VPNs. For security pros, this had the makings of a nightmare. “I think the biggest source of breach is on the user side and it comes in the form of password management and a lot of those things,” says Zeus Kerravala, securit ..read more

While corporate data centers supported by managed infrastructure services were once in the background supporting business operations, they have now moved to the forefront of strategic planning and targeted investment decisions.  Infrastructure and operations (I&O) models must change to empower businesses to embrace the digital age, innovate, and integrate their cloud-first strategies. To read this article in full, please click here (Insider Story ..read more

First established in 1852, The Hanover Insurance Group is one of the oldest property and casualty insurance holding companies in existence. These days, the company is applying digital tools to streamline every aspect of the property and casualty (P&C) insurance value chain, from underwriting to claims. They’re even exploring the use of drones for risk management. Recently, I spoke with Hanover’s CIO Will Lee about how he and his team are driving these cutting-edge initiatives. What follows is an edited version of our interview. [ Be sure to learn the secrets of highly effective digital tra ..read more

Thinking strategically is key for success in IT. In 2021, IDG saw a significant jump in the number of CIOs calling themselves “strategic.” These are the CIOs who spend the majority of their time driving business innovation and identifying opportunities for competitive differentiation.[1] And this trajectory is expected to continue throughout the next three years as almost 6 in 10 say they want their focus to be even more strategic.  It’s not just IT: 91% of network pros say that their relationship is highly or somewhat collaborative with their line of business peers.[2] To read this artic ..read more

Getty Your employees are your biggest vulnerability. Often, these are genuine mistakes: people accidentally falling for phishing attacks or mistakenly leaking data. Occasionally, employees also intentionally break the rules. To read this article in full, please click here ..read more

It’s no surprise, but the security threat landscape is rapidly becoming more sophisticated, as evidenced by the Colonial Pipeline, Kaseya, and SolarWinds attacks earlier this year. Considering the pace of digital transformation in today’s business, a single cyberattack can bring a company’s operations to a standstill. In June, FBI Christopher Wray commented that the cyber threat is increasing “almost exponentially” and the FBI was looking into more than 100 different ransomware variants, a three-fold increase from the previous year. To read this article in full, please click here ..read more

Security pros are used to uncertainty. They don’t like it, but it’s part of the job. But one thing is certain: They’re going to be asked: What are we doing to prevent a ransomware attack? That’s because ransomware attacks have increased by nearly 500 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.   “You know I think any security conversation that doesn't bring up and really address ransomware would be making a mistake, certainly,” says Wayne Anderson, Security Architect, in the Office of CTO for Modern Work at Microsoft.   To read this article in ..read more

Over the course of a few short weeks in early 2020, business as we know it changed. As lockdowns caused by COVID-19 spread worldwide, organizations scrambled to keep the lights on.  Working from home was the only way to keep business rolling.  The thing is, connecting and supporting employees from home meant that the traditional perimeter for security  — Which had already been eroding under pressure from the work-at-home trend — was now obsolete. “I think when the pandemic hit, focus was on making the remote workforce as productive as possible and as fast as possible,” says Comc ..read more