Biz Tech Report August

Threat landscape

Page 6

Sam Curry advises on how to arm yourself against the business baddies

Congestion moan

Page 11

How firms can successfully avoid travel chaos

A close call

Page 12

Which phone wins the battle for business?

biztechreport.co.uk

The power behind decisions

AUGUST 2012

Adapt to survive How is the evolution of technology impacting on your workplace?

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Business Technology

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

August 2012

Foreword

Find us online: biztechreport.co.uk

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Switching on to stay ahead Publisher Bradley Scheffer info@biztechreport.co.uk

Project Managers Marc Morrow marc@biztechreport.co.uk

Editor Jonathan Watson editor@biztechreport.co.uk

Justin Payne justin@biztechreport.co.uk

Production Editor Amy Dickson amy@biztechreport.co.uk Sub Editor Juliet Conway juliet@biztechreport.co.uk Production Assistant Fleur Hollett production@biztechreport.co.uk

Matt Nathan matt@biztechreport.co.uk Danny Dunn danny@biztechreport.co.uk

For more information on any of our supplements please contact us: Telephone 020 8349 4363 Email info@lyonsdown.co.uk

Contributors Jonathan Watson regularly edits Business Technology reports for Lyonsdown. He is a journalist specialising in law, business, telecoms and technology.

Before going freelance in 2004, he worked for Euromoney and Screen Digest.

Michael Newlands has written for titles including The New York Times, South African Sunday Times and the Times. Now settled in the UK, he freelances for telecoms and IT publications.

Sue Tabbitt is a business technology journalist with over 20 years’ experience. Sue has written for The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and Guardian as well as specialist technology and industry publications.

Paul Bray has written about almost every topic from business and technology to travel and education, for titles such as The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, Britain’s Top Employers and Computing.

The mutable landscape of today’s technology means bosses have to up their game if they want to master the latest media at work Poor old Research In Motion. Just a few years ago, when the company’s ubiquitous BlackBerry ruled the corporate handset roost, it seemed unthinkable that it could ever be dislodged from executive affections.

Fast-forward to today, and RIM seems to be fighting fires on every front, not least against the challenge of the iPhone and smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system (p12-13).

The lesson for businesses is clear: if you switch off, even for a minute, then you are handing your competitors the chance to move ahead. This seems a particularly relevant point during the summer months – if one can believe that

The lesson for businesses is clear: if you switch off, you’re handing competitors the chance to move ahead

EMC2, EMC, RSA, the RSA logo, and the EMC logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. © Copyright 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

the UK actually has such things – when many minds are on matters other than work. As well as staying aware of the threats posed by competitors, businesses need to make sure their networks and data are as secure as possible (p6-7). The recent flurry of data breaches at companies like LinkedIn, eHarmony and Last.fm has served to highlight the need for constant vigilance (p5).

Although shares in Facebook fell after the company’s first set of results since flotation in May revealed a loss of $157m, social media are still proving popular in the workplace. So popular, in fact, that many businesses are being forced to consider whether they should start laying down the law about how much time employees should be spending with their social networks (p8).

This is an issue that will arise more and more frequently as younger workers, who see social media as a vital part of their everyday lives, embark on their chosen careers.

It’s hardly surprising that some executives feel that technology can be a curse as well as a blessing.

Jonathan Watson Editor

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

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August 2012

Business Technology

3

Briefing

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fdg

CONTENTS

In figures

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Percentage of Ocado orders placed via mobile devices during the six months to 13 May 2012

37%

Reduction in overall power consumption at specialist pensions provider Suffolk Life since it migrated most of its server and storage infrastructure to a virtualised environment

News bytes Wi-Fi gets streetwise O2 will provide free Wi-Fi across several of the busiest areas in London, including Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. The deal will stretch across seven squares and streets in the capital, and will even be available to those not

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existing legacy systems, according to research from business consultancy Accenture. More than half (66 per cent) of technology and business executives questioned expect to allocate up to 30 per cent of their IT budget to legacy systems over the next two years.

Technology helps to get things moo-ving Dairy products specialist Dairy Crest has deployed a new business continuity and disaster recovery system from Avaya which it says has reduced data back-up times for business-critical systems by 50 per cent.

Not banking on risk

currently on O2. Accessing the service will involve signing up to log in, which will then happen automatically in the future.

I spy a paperless future

The Bank of England is planning to implement an IT system by the end of this year that will be able to assess the risk of firms operating in the financial sector. The system, which could cost up to £2.5m, would be designed to allow the bank to record firms’ risk scores, while also providing

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council has given 57 councillors and senior council staff iPads in a bid to save on printing costs. The council, which aims to become paperless in future, claims the move could save about £10,000 a year. the capability to analyse and report on risk assessments.

New way to charge your phone Telefónica, which owns UK

Amount of information BT claims will be carried at peak times during the Olympic Games by the network it has developed for the event – the equivalent of 3,000 photographs a second

gigabits

mobile operator O2, has agreed global framework deals with Facebook, Google, Microsoft and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion to enable customers to purchase digital goods using their mobile phones. Customers can buy apps and make in-app purchases using their phones, and charge the payments directly to their phone bill or prepaid credit account, removing the need for a credit card.

High security can pay off Improving Europe’s cyber insurance market could encourage firms to provide better protection for their information systems and data, according to a report from the European Network and Information Security Agency.

Insurers could offer reduced insurance premiums to companies that implement stronger IT security standards or use industrytested IT security products, the report says.

Living in a virtual world Together Housing, a housing association based in the north of England, claims its new data back-up system is saving the business £70,000 a year.

The association says recovery times have been cut by more than 80 per cent and that it is moving towards a 100 per cent virtual environment.

Lumbered by legacy More than a quarter (27 per cent) of UK businesses cannot take advantage of new “agile” infrastructure that can scale to their needs because of the restrictions imposed by

Percentage of overall IT spending that cloud computing will account for by 2016, according to research firm Gartner. It currently accounts for 2 per cent

Stamping down their innocence The Post Office has hired a firm of independent forensic accountants to conduct an

Evolution theory page 8 Home comforts

5

You shall not pass

5

Keep your enemies close

6

Workers’ response to a BYOD pilot

Toughen up your password to keep hackers at bay

We explore solutions to data security threats

Re-routed 11 Sub Tabbitt looks at how firms are adapting this summer

Pick of the crop

12

System update

16

Apple and BlackBerry in the mix to become business choice

BBC broadcaster John Linwood on how times are changing

investigation into its Fujitsubuilt Horizon computer systems. The Horizon point of sale system has generated a great deal of controversy over allegedly problematic accounting, resulting in a bitter legal battle with sub-postmasters who say they have been wrongly accused of fraud.

With thanks to the following organisations:

Driving efficiencies Luxury carmaker Aston Martin has deployed a Microsoft Dynamics AX system to improve accounting and customer relationship management. The system, which is being flexibly used across all accounting ledgers, , has made its operations “flow more easily and efficiently than before”.

IT spend takes a nosedive Airlines expect to cut their IT spending as a percentage of their overall revenues in 2013, according to SITA, a company that specialises in IT and telecommunication services for the airline industry. SITA’s annual Airline IT Trends survey found that only 49 per cent of airlines expect to increase IT spending next year.

Engineer your future...

Professional Home for Life® for Engineers and Technicians n Professional services and support for engineers and technicians

n Education programmes to inspire the next generation of engineers and technicians

n Global knowledge sharing through our world-class publications, events and networks

n Policy advice to Government and Parliament.

To find out more visit

www.theiet.org The Institution of Engineering and Technology is registered as a Charity in England & Wales (no 211014) and Scotland (no SC038698), Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, SG1 2AY, United Kingdom.

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Business Technology

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

August 2012

Industry view

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Ringing in the future As wireless technology advances, mobile phones will bring better security, portability and convenience to your business INDUSTRY VIEW

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Hotel room keys could be a thing of the past thanks to NFC

e never go anywhere without our mobile phones and they’re no longer just for calling to say the train is late; we rely on them for all our business needs. But could the mobile phone signal the end of a pocketful of keys and cards?

The advent of secure smartcards has reduced the importance of the mechanical key. These cards have become increasingly capable and intelligent and now, a quantum leap in access control technology has the potential to do away with both mechanical keys and even cards, by ushering in a new era of portable identity credentials embedded into smartphones.

Near field communications, or NFC, the term used to refer to a collection of short-range wireless technologies for exchanging data between devices, is a prime technology for this. It is quick, easy and secure. A mobile phone equipped with NFC technology can be used to carry a portable identity credential and then wirelessly present it to a reader or lock. The phone is simply waved in front of the lock or reader and the user opens the door. The ultimate

goal is to bring about a convergence of services at the heart of your daily routine, such as banking and payments, transport and secure access.

“The simplest model for NFC digital keys is to replicate existing card-based access control principles,” explains Dr Tam Hulusi, senior vice president of strategy and innovation at HID Global, a secure identity solutions company and a pioneer in mobile access technology.

“The phone communicates identity information to a reader, which passes the identity to the existing access control system, which then opens the door.”

Key to checking in The Clarion Hotel in Stockholm piloted such a system in 2011, replacing room keys with digital keys sent to guests’ NFC-enabled mobile phones preinstalled with mobile keys software.

Guests were able to skip the check-in queue and go directly to their room where they presented the phone to the lock to open the door. When checking out, guests simply touched their phones to a kiosk in the lobby.

Sixty per cent of trial respondents said they saved more than ten minutes by

using the digital key solution, and 80 per cent said they would use the system if available. The hotel meanwhile benefitted by re-allocating check-in staff to other customer service areas and having a cheaper and easier option to replacing lost keys.

Flight to efficiency Air travellers have already shown interest in using their phones as boarding passes, (QR codes can be texted to mobiles), and in Japan, NFC payment systems are installed in fast-food restaurants, taxis, and vending machines.

“On university campuses, students will be able to use NFC mobile phones to enter buildings, (as HID Global’s pilot at Arizona State University has proved), make purchases, use transport systems and identify themselves before taking tests. NFC phones could even provide doctors or paramedics with access to your personal health history,” concludes Hulusi.

Industry experts predict that NFC will revolutionise our lives in the near future. thdavies@hidglobal.com www.hidglobal.com

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

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August 2012

Business Technology

5

Trendwatch

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The security solution As an increasing number of employees work remotely using smartphone devices, one council carried out a BYOD pilot to see how people would react…

“Obviously security was the most important consideration,” says Cambridgeshire County Council is Shields. “You only have to read the one of many organisations currently news about local government and testing what life would be like if health authorities and the financial employees were allowed to use their costs they can incur for breaches, so own laptops, tablets and smartphones that’s especially important for us.” for work purposes. It ran an 11-week The council’s preferred solution BYOD (bring your own device) pilot was to create a sandbox – a separate between May and July this year to partition – on employees’ devices. find out what people thought.

This contained all the data relating According to the council’s IT to their work. “We could delete this strategy manager Alan Shields, most segregated area if the device was lost of those who tested the approach without affecting any of the data on responded positively. “We had the device,” says Shields. “This is the comments like ‘it’s totally changed only feasible route, otherwise users my ability to work’ and ‘please please have to accept that they could lose please bring it back’,” he says. personal data.”

However, there are still several The product makes a distinction issues that IT staff have to deal with between work and personal before implementing a full roll-out. information, meaning that an

By Jonathan Watson

employee can’t download an attachment from their work email and save it on to their smartphone or tablet’s memory.

To ensure he could have full confidence in the effectiveness of the sandbox software, Shields only considered using products that complied with CommunicationsElectronics Security Group, the government standard for security.

He settled on Dynamic Mobile Exchange (DME) from Excitor, and says it has worked very well, both in terms of the security it offers and simplicity of use.

DME works by downloading an app on to the device that creates the partitioned area in which work data is stored and utilised. This has allowed the council to pursue “a very

How to… implement a BYOD policy David Matheson and Danvers Baillieu of international law firm Pinsent Masons set out a few tips for CIOs looking to implement a BYOD strategy Drive the right behaviour from the outset. Employees must understand that in using their own devices for work, they have a duty to keep company data secure.

Make the extent of the policy crystal clear. Delineate the extent of the employee’s rights and obligations in a BYOD policy. Any conditions likely to be objected to by the employee must be

brought to their attention to mitigate the risk of them raising a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at a later stage.

The ICO can fine businesses up to £500,000 for breaching the Data Protection Act (DPA).

Include a clear policy on remote wiping. To stay on the right side of the DPA, a business should obtain an

employee’s explicit, fully informed and freely given consent to “process” (ie delete) personal data, or show that it is in the business’s interests and does not cause unwarranted prejudice to the employee.

Ensure the policy advises that employees back up their private data.

Separate company and personal data as far as

possible. There is technology available to prevent crossover between personal and company data.

This ensures that IT administrators can only access the relevant, company content.

Make clear what devices are and aren’t allowed.

Having a BYOD policy doesn’t have to mean a technology free-for-all.

A separate area on employees’ devices can contain all their work data

hands-on voluntary system,” says Shields, thereby avoiding the dangers of spiralling costs that could result from the maintenance and support of employees’ devices.

“We’re aiming to have a very light-touch support system,” he says.

“We produced a one-page document that shows people how to download the app and how to configure the software. Beyond this document, we had a dedicated email that people could contact, and we had a Sharepoint site where they could discuss matters. But we weren’t accepting any telephone support; our attitude was very much, let’s see how you get on it with yourselves.”

Despite this low-cost approach, Shields is still not entirely confident that BYOD will save the council money overall. “That’s really

“Our attitude was very much, let’s see how you get on with this yourselves” – Shields

difficult to predict, because you’ve got to create the infrastructure to support people’s own devices, so there’s a capital and technical cost involved,” he says. “Obviously you are offsetting that by not buying £200 smartphones, as well as by not engaging in £15 data tariffs. I would say that greater efficiency and high user satisfaction make it worthwhile, but the jury’s out on whether you can make a total saving.”

The council also laid down codes of conduct and expectations. “Clear guidance and policy is critical,” Shields says. “For example, we wanted employees to passwordprotect the device. And, while the app didn’t cause any problems, we wanted to make it clear that if it does, we will not be held responsible.

We also wanted to make it clear that they are using their own data tariff and that we won’t be reimbursing them. We didn’t want to impose restrictions, just to lay down the responsibilities on either side so they’re clear and there can’t be any confusion over accountability in the future.”

Find strength in numbers

It’s time to toughen up passwords as online companies get hit by the hackers

It’s been a bad few months for password protection. Earlier in July, Yahoo became the latest high-profile company to suffer a significant security breach when up to 450,000 user accounts and passwords thought to be related to Yahoo Voices were stolen by a hacking group and posted on an internet forum. Yahoo Voices is the company’s voice over internet protocol service.

The breach enabled security specialists to highlight some strange password choices by the users of Yahoo Voices. According to an audit of the stolen information carried out by Swedish security firm Eset, almost 2,000 people were using “123456” as their password.

Other popular choices included

“password”, “welcome” and “abc123”.

The Yahoo hack followed a number of similar attacks carried out against other companies in recent weeks.

Create a strong password Social Q&A website Formspring was targeted just before Yahoo in a security breach that led to about 420,000 passwords being accessed and posted to an internet forum. This prompted the company to disable all passwords and instruct users to set new ones. “This is a good time to create a strong password,” wrote Formspring CEO Ade Olonoh in a blogpost offering advice on how to create passwords that are difficult to crack.

In June, eHarmony, LinkedIn and Last.fm all confirmed password breaches. eHarmony, an online dating company,

did not say how many users had been affected, but estimates suggested that the figure could have been about 1.5m.

This breach was trumped by networking site LinkedIn, which suffered the theft of 6m passwords, and by online music site Last.fm, which lost 6.5m.

Mike Kelly, security analyst at SpiderLabs, analysed the eHarmony passwords and concluded that they offered “further proof that organisations need to not only store passwords in stronger, salted formats than was previously acceptable, but also need to enforce stronger case-sensitive password policies.” Users, as a whole, still do not understand the need for strong passwords, and will continue to set passwords that meet only the minimum requirements, he said.

6

Business Technology

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

August 2012

Q&A

Find us online: biztechreport.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter: @biztechreport

By Jonathan Watson

riminal Cyber c

IP trader

Hacktivist

Line-up: which bad guy is threating your business?

Beating the bad guys Information security is one of the hot topics of 2012. We asked Sam Curry, chief technology officer at security firm RSA, for his assessment of the threat landscape that businesses face

What do you see as the key threats to data security in 2012?

There is definitely something that seems to be heating up, there’s a sort of boiling of the kettle, if you will. The most important thing is that the emphasis should no longer be on the tools and techniques the bad guys use; the bad guys themselves should be the focus. Rather than talk about the worm of the week or the latest virus, it’s much more important to think in terms of who the adversaries are.

The first group consists of cyber-criminals.

Frankly you are quite a stupid criminal if you are still holding up corner stores or banks. The real money to be made is online. Cybercriminals are out for profit. The good news is that we can understand that and use it to anticipate their behaviour. Like financial markets, they behave in predictable ways, based on margins and return on investment.

There is a second group of people often described as “advanced persistent threats”. I prefer the term “advanced persistent adversaries”. If you’re a nation state, a terrorist organisation or a hacktivist, you are probably quite stupid if you’re not investing in hacking as a means to achieve your ends.

Groups like LulzSec and Anonymous, certain nation states and large criminal organisations are all doing this. That was really the hallmark of what was happening last year.

This year, the message is: be aware of who your opponents are. It’s not about the tools they use – there’s no pride of ownership over whether they do phishing or use Trojans – it is the people on the other end that you really have to understand.

Leading students learn about sustainability Top architectural and engineering students from 20 countries have been in London learning about the latest in sustainability and energy efficiency at the heart of the city INDUSTRY VIEW

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ompanies that helped build large-scale venues across the capital are running sessions with the students.

The students have developed their own projects focusing on the energy performance of important facilities, sustainable design and building processes. This work will later be disseminated across a network of European universities.

The students’ work was presented in the last week of July on the closing day of the summer school in central London.

The students are attending the Universities and Students for Energy Efficiency (USE EFF) summer school, held in partnership with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the Italian Ministry for the Environment.

They are working with companies including Buro Happold, Arup Associates, Sutton Van Associates and

Expedition. In addition, further learning sessions are being delivered through the IET and companies such as Laing O’Rourke and AECOM. Dr Daniela Melandri, president of the USE Efficiency Association, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity for students across the world to come together, to work with professional experts, to bring a fresh point of view in the professional debate to improve energy performances in the building sector.

Fundamental passion Dr Mike Short CBE, president of the IET said: “Nurturing and supporting tomorrow’s engineers is a fundamental passion of the IET and we are proud to be the primary partner for the USE Efficiency summer school.

“This partnership was born out of our relationship with the ODA’s Learning Legacy programme and sees the IET underpinning the industrial material for these students during their summer school. This will reinforce the early

stages of their career once they leave university, equipping them for a solid start in engineering. We have been delighted with the student response to the IET’s contribution and look forward to watching their progress.Observing how USE Efficiency had overcome the challenges of organising the school in London over the summer, Bruce McLelland, IET Built Environment sector head, said: “It was quite remarkable how determined the students were to be in London and their dedication to the summer school.

“They have personally had to finance themselves in some cases and resolved accommodation issues by camping in some cases. The school even managed to find a venue to host the school at time when such places are extremely hard to come by at reasonable cost. The IET and its partners are only too delighted to part wisdom to such motivated individuals. www.theiet.org/olympics

Students taking part in the energy-performance project

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

Like us: facebook.com/biztech Do many companies believe their activities couldn’t possibly bother anyone, and therefore they have no opponents?

There is a risk of that sort of thinking, and in some industries, they might be more or less correct. I don’t think it’s time to run to the hills screaming that the barbarians are at the gate – to mix metaphors a little bit – it’s much more important to understand who the actors are out there and that even relatively small companies face a threat.

I’ve dealt with smaller local companies who have perhaps four to five branch offices, and they tell me that even they see hacking activity.

In crime there is something called Locard’s Principle, which says there is an exchange of evidence between a criminal and a crime

Rather than talk about the worm of the week or the latest virus, it’s much more important to think in terms of who the adversaries are scene. That’s why we have all these TV shows based around forensics departments. There are two ways of defeating the authorities if you want to commit a crime. The first is to try to cover up all the evidence and hide it, while the other strategy is the exact opposite – the criminal can try to leave so much evidence that it’s difficult to tell who is the criminal and who is not.

That means that even if you are a relatively small company with a relatively small local business, even if you’re not being targeted, you may see the detritus of other attacks.

That’s the debris left behind by the increased volume of attacks that these people create by encouraging a generally hostile environment.

Having said that, almost every organisation has some online component.

You might have insider information floating around your networks, you might have personally identifiable information such as credit card or healthcare information, or you may even have things like intellectual property.

So you have to imagine that someone from the outside might want to get to you or your partners because they want the data that belongs to your customers or your partners. You might just be a vector to get to someone else.

Are companies more likely to be targeted by hackers if they’re going through a mergers and acquisitions process?

There’s a generally sustained level of hacks happening behind the scenes all the time against any two companies that are about to merge. Firstly, the knowledge that a

Sam Curry: bad guys themselves should be the focus, not the tools they use

August 2012

Business Technology

Q&A

Find us online: biztechreport.co.uk merger is happening means that they might get hacked, and then once it’s gone public, they may see a sustained set of attacks. There are many reasons for that.

The first and most obvious one is when you’re joining two organisations, there are bound to be seams. If company A does their IT one way and company B does it another way, while they harmonise on a new way, there’s a transition period in which neither company is familiar with what the other one is doing. The first organisation doesn’t know the size of the network because it’s twice as large, or the second organisation might not know the processes to follow.

When there are seams, when things are in flux, that’s an opportunity for the bad guys.

Very often, especially when the financial markets are involved, having insider information and being able to manipulate performance by denying the ability to do business helps these guys.

If you know you can shut down a company and predict the impact that will have on revenue, then you in effect have information that other people don’t have. When companies come together, it’s a chance for stocks to go up and down and that naturally attracts organised crime.

If you’re acquiring a company or being acquired by someone else, it’s a very good idea to think about what the threat landscape is for you. Are you worried about hacktivists who might not like the types of businesses you’re involved in?

There are some rather extreme opinions on almost everything out there. Are there nation states that want access to your intellectual property or organised criminals who could take advantage of being able to disrupt business or obtain insider information?

7

Capitalising on consumerisation Firms are increasingly allowing staff to use their mobile devices for work. But this will only be productive with careful management INDUSTRY VIEW

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ring Your Own Device (BYOD) is born out of the consumerisation of mobile technologies and our ‘always on, always connected’ society. With advantages for both the employer and the employee, it is crucial to recognise that this isn’t just a trend, it is a change of behaviour and it is happening at speed. According to Gartner, consumerisation will be the hottest topic for IT managers for the next 10 years.

Whether you allow it or not, your staff are bringing their personal devices into the workplace.

Employees are keen to use legal their own mobile devices at regulations is work because they are more one thing, ensuring users convenient, easy to use and comply with your corporate often the newest technology. policies means they have to Organisations that are be simple, easy to understand embracing consumerisation and an element of selfare delivering operational service will encourage cost savings, better their co-operation. productivity, higher Security: What security employee retention and measures are needed improved customer service. (passcode protection, However, to effectively jailbroken/rooted devices, leverage mobile device anti-malware apps, management encryption, device technology restrictions, iCloud for employeebackup)? owned devices, Acceptable you will need to usage: Define what take a strategic is acceptable usage approach and for employee reach an devices with agreement that both corporate data.

IT and your Data usage and Rob Munro employees can paying for devices: live with.

Should the employee or the Every business has business purchase the device different requirements but and data plan? Is it fairer to BYOD policies stretch far share the costs and how will beyond the realm of IT, so usage be apportioned? considering the following Privacy: What data is factors is advisable: collected from employees’ Devices: Understand and devices? What personal data keep up-to-date with the is never collected? devices that are attempting Usability: Simple to connect to your corporate enrolments for users and IT, network both now and in self-service, over-the-air the future. configuration and automatic Compliance: Adhering to warnings will all help

BYOD is born out of our ‘always on’ society maximise efficiency for both IT and business users alike.

One size never fits all, but a carefully crafted BYOD policy arms you with the direction you need to manage mobile devices effectively and efficiently.

Consumerisation enables workers to stay connected wherever they are, improving their productivity and leading to higher customer satisfaction. It is also a great way to extend mobile working to employees who may not be eligible for corporate devices.

BYOD is an emerging best practice for giving employees the freedom to work on their personal mobile devices while reducing IT costs, but it will never deliver on these promises of streamlined management and cost savings without a wellwritten policy and a robust management platform.

If you think BYOD is right for your business, Arrow Business Communications can advise on policy implementation and the right mobile device management tool for your business.

Rob Munro is operations director at Arrow Business Communications 0800 027 1010 www.arrow communications. co.uk/byod

8

Business Technology

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

August 2012

Viewpoint

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Create a coalition Outsourcing success is more achievable for businesses that view their partnership as a coalition. But how can companies do it?

INDUSTRY VIEW

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espite decades of outsourcing, firms and their service providers still struggle to meet their strategic objectives.

So what’s the problem? “Often outsourcers and service providers fail to establish common objectives from the start,” says Charles Hughes, partner at global consultants A. T. Kearney.

“Even when common goals are set, they are often not strategic, forward thinking or flexible enough to deliver long-term value.”

The solution, says Ramyani Basu, co-author of the coalition concept, is to see outsourcing not as a marriage, or a transactional arrangement, but as a coalition.

A successful coalition outsourcing is founded on clear accountability and has three types of actions: your actions (parties do individually), our actions (parties do collaboratively) and each other’s actions (parties do to each other),” says Basu.

She identifies three stages in creating a coalition.

First, laying the groundwork, so as to understand and align the overall objectives. Then the deal must be formulated and the coalition’s operating model agreed and communicated. Finally the alliance must be managed to ensure the common objectives are still aligned, and changes made as needed.

However, there are risks. A. T. Kearney has identified “Four Cs” that can make or break a coalition. “If one or more of these elements fails, the arrangement is likely to fracture resulting in renegotiations or at worst terminations,” warns Hughes.

The “Four Cs” are: Conditions: a coalition requires the right environment, solid structures and governance models to support it. Commitments: leaders from both parties must be committed to the goal – and deliver on their commitments.

Contributions: contributors who firmly support the coalition concept through the life of the arrangement. Competence: both parties need the right skills, talents and capabilities for the coalition to succeed. Putting together such a coalition is not easy, which is where A. T. Kearney can help. “We know from our experience that the chances of outsourcing success are far greater for companies that view their partnership as a coalition,” says Hughes. “We can show you how to get coalition-ready.” charles.hughes@atkearney.com www.atkearney.com

New technology causing loss of productivity is an ongoing bugbear for businesses, and a cause of controversy every time a new technology hits critical mass

By Michael Newlands

First it was the telephone. Decades ago the debate raged as to whether employees should be allowed to make and receive private calls on the office phone. Now it would be regarded as ridiculous to question employees calling friends or family.

Then with the introduction of the mobile phone, and with messaging on mobiles, the argument was held all over again and email ignited a whole new debate. In the case of email it also brought in the question of IT security and nasty worms and viruses getting onto office systems via private email.

While email is still controversial in some more old-fashioned enterprises, up-to-date IT security measures have generally laid

management’s fears to rest on this score and people have realised productivity is no more likely to suffer from personal email in the office than personal phone calls. Some surveys have found it even helps productivity.

Now the focus has turned to social networking sites such as the ubiquitous Facebook and Twitter, the teen and young adults’ new favourite Tumblr and the working executive’s stay-at-home (or in-the-office) alternative to the cocktail party, LinkedIn. Although social networking is a comparatively new feature of the workplace, a growing number of companies and executives are coming to the conclusion that the pros outweigh the cons and the end result of embracing it will be a boost to the bottom line.

A recent study by consultants Deloitte found that 45 per cent of the executives surveyed thought social media had a positive impact on the workplace because it allows management to be more transparent, helps build and maintain relationships amongst colleagues, helps build company culture and fosters a feeling of connection to the

What should be included in a written policy on the use of social media at work?

Network security: to avoid viruses, most organisations will have controls on the downloading of software. Technical security features, such as firewalls, are usually managed by the IT department.

Acceptable behaviour and use for: • Internet and emails: what limits are there on personal use of internet and email?

• Smartphones: employers need to update their policies to cover new and evolving ways for accessing social networking and to reflect changing employee attitudes.

• Social media sites: remind employees of privacy settings. Research suggests that most employees would change what they have written on their social networking

sites if they thought their employer could read them. Also cross reference to your bullying and harassment policy.

• Blogging and tweeting: if an employee is representing the company, set appropriate rules for what information they may disclose, the range of opinions they may express and reference relevant legislation on copyright and public interest disclosure.

Data protection and monitoring: have you considered alternatives to monitoring and can you justify its use in terms of the negative impact it will have on your business? Make sure you consult with your employees and their representatives.

Business objectives: as well as setting clear

rules on behaviour, many employers are integrating the use of social media tools into their business strategy. Social networking can be used internally to promote levels of employee engagement and externally to promote the brand and reputation.

Disciplinary procedures: try to apply the same standards in virtual and non-virtual settings. To help you respond reasonably, consider the nature of the comments made and their likely impact on the organisation.

Provide examples of what might be classed as “defamation” and the sanctions you will impose. Also, be clear about confidentiality and what constitutes intellectual property.

Source: Acas

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Putting the work into social networking Can social media have a positive impact on your office?

company and its leadership.

However, Deloitte also puts a health warning on the social media box: “Executives may be using social media as a crutch to build culture and seem accessible — but good leadership can’t be dialled-in. Norms for building an exceptional culture and

organisation have not changed.”

One company which frequently has its advice sought on the security aspects of allowing social networking in the office is McAfee, and the company’s CTO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Raj Samani, has some strong views on the subject.

“Management need to be clear on what they and employees can and cannot do while using social media in the workplace” – Raj Samani, McAfee

9

“Social networking blurs the lines between consumer and business,” he says, with the impact of social networking being both quite broad and also beneficial. He notes that several big banks now use social networking and social media as a tool to engage with their customers.

“Some banks provide financial incentives for customers to join their Facebook pages,” he says. “Organisations are finding a huge amount of business benefit in leveraging social networking, but with that comes risks.”

On an individual executive level, he points out, people use social networking as a form of reference for their skills and where they work.

“Most employers and recruitment agencies use LinkedIn for recruitment purposes these days, so there is huge benefit from it,” Samani says. “For many people, LinkedIn is their CV.” But there are those risks. There is the risk somebody might release or talk about things management don’t want in the public domain, and a single individual breaching confidentiality can reach a wide audience.

“Then you have the security risk,” Samani adds. “Instead of email with a malicious link, you might receive that within a social networking message.”

There is the whole subject of loss of productivity, but he feels that should have been put to bed with the initial discussions about telephone use.

To guard against the potential downside, Samani says the most important thing is to implement a digital social media policy.

“Management need to be clear on what they and employees can and cannot do while using social media in the workplace,” says Samani.

“What is allowed and what is not allowed should be clearly spelled out. It should also be borne in mind that the requirements of social media are slightly different from the rest of the company’s information security, and many firms are taking this into account when addressing it.”

Yes there are risks, he concludes, but there are enormous opportunities. “Apple, Facebook and Google are amongst the largest companies in the world today, but they are new companies that have leveraged technology.

Take a lesson from them and do the same while managing risk to a level you are comfortable with, that is acceptable to you as a business.”

In the hotseat We ask Paul Coby, IT director at John Lewis, three burning questions What are the main technology challenges faced by John Lewis?

At John Lewis we have worked hard to Essential: my iPad develop our multichannel offering, so that now we are an approximately 25 per cent online company by sales, with significant year on year growth. Our next challenge is to become a genuinely omni-channel retailer, offering our customers seamless service across and between channels – shops, online, mobile and social media. This will require investment in foundation systems over the next few years.

In other developments we are now set up to take Chinese credit cards at our shops on Oxford Street and in Westfield Stratford City.

Do you find that chief executives generally don’t really “get” the value of technology within their organisations?

This has certainly been true in some areas of the British public and private sectors, but our senior stakeholders absolutely “get” the importance of IT to the delivery of the John Lewis’s future strategy. Our senior leadership team has been a strong supporter in developing the role and capability of the IT function within John Lewis.

What is the one item of technology (hardware or software) you could not live without?

My iPad!

Practice makes perfect As more workers conduct business outside the office, mobile use is higher than ever before. But the key question is: how can you ensure your device is safe and secure?

INDUSTRY VIEW

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his summer has been the perfect practice run for any business considering a BYOD (bring your own device) strategy. With delays on the roads and public transport, around a third of employers have extended flexible working practices and another 13 per cent are actively encouraging staff to work remotely, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

But rather than seeing this as an interim policy, many firms may find that putting in place such practices

now will have longer-term benefits, such as greater flexibility and improved productivity. Mobile working is a way of life – our office has become the train seat or home – and according to research that we conducted recently, 38 per cent of us believe our job would be impossible without mobile access to work email.

With employees increasingly expecting to use their own personal devices for work, companies should embrace it. But, with all the benefits of flexibility, come questions about security and control. IT departments are faced with the challenge of allowing staff to use their own devices, while making

sure these devices are safe.

Locog (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) is a great example of an organisation that’s allowing staff to use their device of choice in order to be more productive. Locog is using our technology to support a broad range of devices while providing enterprise-grade security across multiple platforms. Now its 14,000 personnel can handle any challenge, like organising an extended workforce of 200,000, knowing their device is absolutely secure.

Sainsbury’s, with its 150,000 staff, is also adopting a similar model, and has

already seen productivity go up, costs come down and morale rocket. Using Good Technology to provide enterprisegrade mobile security and ‘containerise’ information, the supermarket chain can keep personal and corporate data separate on the same device, and, if necessary, wipe data if the device gets lost or stolen.

A smart security approach for mobile workers benefits not just the individual, but the employer as well.

Andrew Jacques is GM for EMEA, Good Technology www.good.com gooduk@good.com

10

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August 2012

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Signing in the cloud Living in today’s fast-paced world means time is of the essence – and cloud technology enables people to access, review and sign documents anywhere, at anytime INDUSTRY VIEW

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raditional business processes rely on people being in their offices to receive and ink-sign paper documents. This is a problem when business is threatened by volcanic ash, strikes, sporting events, demonstrations or thefts.

Ascertia changes this paradigm and provides fast, effective document workflow and digital signature approval using its SigningHub service. Business need not be

delayed anymore – documents can be securely reviewed and approved from anywhere.

SigningHub is a cloud service that is perfect for signing sales contracts, legal agreements, board papers, forms, HR and compliance documents; in fact anything requiring an ink signature. Now you can get your documents digitally signed by anyone, at any time, from anywhere using laptops, iPads or other mobile devices.

Beyond its obvious green

credentials, the savings are substantial when compared with the costs of printing, sending, scanning, faxing, courier charges, plus any resends, errors, omissions etc. SigningHub frees people to do more business rather than wasting their time chasing paper.

SigningHub is a high-availability cloud service that enables anyone to upload a document to a secure database, control who can view it and define where their digital signature will be placed. Email

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Web services integration

Upload

Document owner

Business application

SigningHub.com

Review and sign Review and sign

messages alert recipients about the document waiting for their approval.

No local software is needed, just connect using your web browser.

The key features of SigningHub include: being used as a person-toperson solution or as a digital signature front-end for any website or business application; providing current document status and a

Review and sign

detailed history of actions; using legally-binding individual longterm digital signatures valid for 15+ years; and using high security (AES-256 encryption and RSA 2048 signatures) together with effective DLP and date/time based controls. www.SigningHub.com/2012 info@ascertia.com

Near but yet so far There is a lot of hype around near field communication, but is high consumer demand rendering this technology out of reach?

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or a number of years there have been rumours of an all-pervasive smartphone technology, which will transform all our shopping habits. With a simple tap of our phones we will be able to pay for goods, collect loyalty points or download movie trailers. However, due to lack of uptake by manufacturers and complexity and competition around the payments space, the much-hyped NFC (Near Field Communications) technology could remain just that – hype.

Most successes in the mobile space – notably SMS and music downloads – have come from consumers driving mass adoption of technology, rather than the development of solutions from manufacturers. Deloitte has recently conducted a

survey showing that mobile phones will influence the purchasing decision of retail sales fourfold by 2016, accounting for 19 per cent of total sales in the US. In the UK, it is set to be even more influential as adoption of smartphones is higher. So the real question is: can the declining high street wait up to two years for NFC to revolutionise the shopping experience, when consumers want it now?

Not all companies are waiting for this holy grail of connectivity. Some are challenging the vision of an NFC future with technologies that create a smartphone retail experience now. Organisations such as Shopkick, Square and TikTap are creating mobile experiences for consumers without any reliance on NFC. Square now has two million merchants in the US processing credit card sales

on smartphones, while UK firm TikTap has closed the loop on voucher marketing by automating the redemption of coupons directly into any EPOS till with a simple tap of a smartphone.

The decline of traditional high street sales requires engagement with consumers in new and innovative ways. With the economic forecast showing marginal growth at best, consumers and retailers cannot wait for the perfect future to fit neatly together. It seems that near field may be too far off, leaving the path clear for tech-savvy new entrants who can bring speed and instant value.

Nicholas Maguire is head of M-Wallet technologies at 2ergo 0161 874 4222 www.2ergo.com

www.thebusinessleadershipexchange.com

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On the home straight London has many quirks – but unfortunately, transport troubles is one of them. Businesses however are wellequipped thanks to today’s burgeoning technology

By Sue Tabbitt

Many businesses still don’t do enough to prepare themselves for transport problems or other sudden disruptions to their activities, like severe weather or terrorist attacks. Yet there is now so much technology available that organisations can achieve quite a lot in a short space of time.

Consumer goods giant Unilever is one of those companies that seems reasonably well prepared, its focus sharpened by the fact that London, a national hotspot for transport problems and probably the most likely target of any future terrorist attack, is home to one of the group’s two global headquarters.

Fortunately, the company has been championing flexible working rights across the global business for the past three years, seeing it as a means of gaining competitive advantage.

Unilever already promotes home working for anyone who can reasonably carry out their jobs remotely. About 80 per cent of staff take advantage of this on a regular basis, from secretaries to research and development personnel. The majority of the 2,750 employees based at Unilever’s offices in the South East (London, Leatherhead and Kingston) have laptops.

If people are not able to get into work for whatever reason, then according to Unilever’s global change and communications manager Jacobina Plummer, staff

can easily spend more time working from home. She has worked on various campaigns over the past three years to encourage employees to use tools such as Microsoft Communicator to share calendars, update their current status and stay connected with each other

Protect and serve All companies can take a few basic steps to prepare themselves for interruptions Contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP)– check what provisions they’ve made and consider a service upgrade.

Is your technology set up for remote working? – consider a virtual desktop infrastructure(VDI) solution which will run efficiently even over reduced bandwidth.

Security – if employees’ home computers and smartphones are connected to company networks, they should be passwordprotected. Ensure removable media such as USB sticks are encrypted or use software that locks down all ports and stops data leaving the network.

Login details – ensure that everyone can remember their passwords and the procedures to log in from home.

Source: Databarracks

wherever they are.

In a recent survey among all Unilever’s employees based in London (around 1,000 are based at Blackfriars), more than 70 per cent said they were already confident about agile working.

Plummer says: “We’ve been running campaigns around Skype and Live Meeting [the Microsoft Office web conferencing service] to ensure we overcome any remaining barriers around virtual meetings. We’ll also be running workshops to influence behaviour – such as using central document tracking and staying accountable and visible using technology.”

Unilever has chosen to embrace Skype informally, offering support to users as they set it up on their various systems, in recognition of its value in connecting dispersed users quickly and easily without any real investment.

“We’re not an IT company, so we don’t have the fanciest technology,” Plummer explains. “Our view is that we should use what we have.”

Unilever is exploring the possibilities offered by Microsoft Lync Server, of making virtual working more formal, co-ordinated and robust across the business. As for IT support, this is provided remotely via a third party help desk arrangement.

It isn’t just in London that Unilever is prepared for disruption.

“But agile working is in our DNA, so it won’t matter if people aren’t in the

Pods at Interxion mean staff can sleep at work in between shifts

office.” Last year, staff across the business conducted 10,000 telepresence video meetings (hosted by Teliris), in addition to 162,000 Live Meetings – double the number held in 2010. Unilever has

“We’re not an IT company, so we don’t have the fanciest technology” - Plummer sought reassurance from its main service providers that the capacity needed will be there when the time comes, while the company has also stepped up its internal network investment. However, recent

research suggests that three in four company IT decision-makers are not confident that their continuity plans would be effective during a crisis, while few companies have resolved how they would manage incoming telephone calls.

Many companies will be heavily dependent on their IT and communications service providers.

Out of necessity, most have been investing in ensuring their systems, network capacity and security measures are as robust as possible to avoid any significant problems if a major external event disrupts the normal flow of business. Managed services provider InTechnology recently invested in a 600 per cent increase in bandwidth across its two main UK hubs in Manchester and London.

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August 2012

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Making BlackBerry and Apple crumble Senior managers face a tricky decision when choosing mobile platforms for their businesses. Should they stick with a tried and trusted recipe, or take a chance on something fresh?

By Paul Bray

They used to say that nobody ever got sacked for buying IBM. Until recently, much the same could be said of Research in Motion (RIM), the company behind that musthave executive accessory, the BlackBerry.

Secure, reliable and inexpensive, BlackBerry was trusted with keeping mobile workers in the loop and out of trouble, no matter how senior or sensitive their job. Even Barack Obama has one.

But in October 2011, RIM squirmed and customers fumed for three days as its network suffered

major problems. And in June 2012, the company announced a secondquarter loss and savage job cuts, and delayed the launch of its new operating system, BlackBerry 10, until next year.

While the king faltered, rivals ringed the throne. As more executives fall in love with iPads and iPhones running Apple’s operating system, iOS, demands to bring them into the corporate network are getting louder. Google’s Android operating system has some heavyweight backers, including Samsung, while the new version 8 of Microsoft Windows Phone promises a uniform experience from

desktop to palmtop.

According to analyst firm IDC, BlackBerry is now used by 35 per cent of mobile workers, iOS by 29 per cent, Android by 17 per cent, and Windows Phone by 6 per cent.

Within 18 months, iOS will probably draw level with BlackBerry or take the lead, IDC predicts.

Security versus apps BlackBerry does still hold some advantage. “BlackBerry is by far the most secure smartphone operating system in terms of manageability and traditional security,” says Rik Ferguson, research director at security specialist Trend Micro. “It

was designed with management in mind and gives great granularity of control.”

But iOS is catching up, says Ferguson. The latest version offers acceptable security out-of-thebox, and is designed to work with third party security and management add-ons that bring it into the same class as BlackBerry.

Windows Phone is very close behind iOS, adds Ferguson.

Only Android lags behind.

Get smarter, go mobile More people in the UK text than call – but before companies communicate with customers in this way, they must first learn how INDUSTRY VIEW

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oday, people are busier than ever, and want to browse, consume, and communicate on the go. Smart businesses give customers what they want.

For this reason, mobile continues to grow at a rapid pace and marketers are continually implementing mobile messaging, mobile web, QR codes, mobile advertising and applications into their marketing efforts to reach consumers on the move.

Narrowcast channels such as mobile are out-gunning email and other direct response media due to targeting accuracy and cost efficiencies, but it is the incredible open rates and response rates of mobile messaging that wins every time.

Over the past few years, with the continual rise of smartphones, and more people accessing information online via their phones, mobile has become a primary

channel in the overall marketing mix, and nowadays the majority of campaigns out there have a mobile element to them.

There are many ways in which mobile can be used for businesses to boost profits, communicate with customers and run efficient operations, but this year mobile messaging has come out on top. More people in the UK use their phones to text than to make calls these days. Ofcom released a report this month stating that there has been a clear shift away from traditional ways of staying in touch.

Educate businesses That said, Textlocal believe there is still work to be done to educate businesses to communicate with their customers in this way.

In Textlocal’s Great British Mobile Marketing Survey, 600 businesses across the UK were asked how they used, and what they thought about, mobile marketing and

With the continual rise of smartphones, businesses must utilise technology for marketing communications. We found that 86 per cent were not aware of the high response rates of SMS, which can reach up to 28 per cent – impressive when compared with email where the response rate tends to stay around 5 per cent. Similarly, 75 per cent of responders didn’t know that 97.5 per cent of all text messages are usually read within five seconds.

Alastair Shortland, CEO of Textlocal, said: “Our own research indicates that many businesses are aware of mobile messaging, but there are still some who are yet to tap into the full potential of how powerful it can be as a business driver. We know that, whether businesses have a mobile strategy or not, there will always be a place for opt-in bulk SMS within the marketing mix, as a personal

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

Like us: facebook.com/biztech “Android wasn’t designed as an enterprise operating system and has very little mature enterprise management functionality,” says Ferguson. “It’s the focus of active and sustained criminal interest, and the great majority of mobile malware runs on Android.”

Android’s latest incarnation, version 4, has much improved security, and manufacturers such as Samsung offer enhanced security options. But the fragmented nature of Android – an “open source” product that can be implemented and changed by many vendors – remains a worry.

“If it were my enterprise I’d allow Android for employees’ own

“Both BlackBerry and Apple offer an acceptable – very small – level of risk” Robert Cockerill, head of infrastructure, Thames River Capital

August 2012

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Find us online: biztechreport.co.uk devices, but only if they had very little or no access to sensitive information,” says Ferguson.

If BlackBerry is the gold standard for security and manageability, iOS has that accolade when it comes to applications, says Nick McQuire, research director for mobile enterprise strategies at IDC. “The desire to increase employee productivity means firms want a more ‘consumer-grade’ experience on corporate devices,” he says.

“Many are starting to look at iOS as an application platform, retaining BlackBerry for email only.”

Low demand RIM is somewhat peeved by this approach. “The latest BlackBerrys can do everything other products can do – still and video camera, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and so on – but companies turn it all off,” protests RIM’s director of enterprise, Mike Gibson.

The company even has its own tablet, the PlayBook, though it trails far behind the iPad in popularity.

Windows Phone has the attraction of being able to run core Microsoft software such as SharePoint and Office.

“It should be strong for business devices because of its tight application integration and potential as a development environment,” says Jeremy Spencer, head of corporate

communication tool, sales or promotion tool or simply to send alerts and updates. Texting leads the way in fast, low-cost, direct conversations with consumers.”

Twenty-three years on and the humble SMS still has an important role to play in mobile marketing: as a driver for action, response or as a delivery mechanism. The problem for many businesses is understanding what mobile entails, how versatile it can be, and how it can be used to target audiences on mass.

The right tools So the question is, how do you rapidly reach out to a mass audience on the fly? How do you capture their contact details and communicate targeted messages to them in seconds? Mobile messaging gives you the tools to do this.

Using shortcodes, and even QR codes to encourage people to opt-in to receive your communications is powerful. No other marketing tool can do this while customers

The overwhelming advantage that mobile has is its capacity to reach people virtually instantly are on the move, instantly and for little cost. It can be as simple as advertising a shortcode in a prime location, (for example, text EVENT to 60777) inviting people to text to receive more info, discounted offers, confirmations, alerts or promotions. In a short time, you can easily

13

Activations by platform Q2 2012: April - June

In my opinion...

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

APR 2012

MAY 2012

iOS

JUNE 2012

Android

Q2 TOTAL

Windows 7 Source: Good

propositions at Orange. “With Windows Phone 8 I think Microsoft will start winning back market share.”

However, for many companies the key question is not which mobile operating system to standardise on, but how to accommodate several. As if in acknowledgment, the latest version of RIM’s Mobile Fusion device management software can manage iOS and Android devices.

“Most companies acknowledge that the more you say ‘no’, the less secure your organisation becomes, because people find unauthorised alternatives,” says McQuire.

“It’s a consumer-driven market now, and there’s a lot more pressure to stay agnostic and support all platforms as they become popular with users, whether that’s for corporate-owned equipment or employees bringing their own devices.”

build a substantial list of opted-in mobile been developed through years of experience numbers. Allowing customers to opt-in to working with all types of businesses with the receive your marketing, means that your aim of making them more profitable. It follow-up activity becomes more targeted, provides the ability to auto-schedule and in turn increases return on investment; campaigns to reach different recipients at collecting the numbers during a busy period specific times, send shortened links to free gives you the opportunity to build and mobile sites created in the platform, generate maintain those relationships in the QR codes, and location-based functionality. long-term.

The opportunities are endless.

Mobile messaging is If you’re in the restaurant based on permission and trade for example, you can trust, allowing any build a free mobile web page businesses to grow opt-in containing your whole lists of customer data and menu or specials board and intelligence and to send send it to your whole targeted communications database of opted-in directly into the palms of contacts in seconds for customers’ hands. So why pennies. There really is are so many businesses still nothing else like it on the yet to unlock the full market and we feel if every potential of mobile business understood this it of businesses messaging? Do they feel it’s would help change the face have not had its day? Or is it because of British business.” unlocked the they don’t understand how Textlocal provide those potential it can be used alongside businesses with the tools to of mobile other marketing channels? reach thousands of people marketing SMS has moved on: it can instantly from one central now incorporate rich media award-winning platform, like links to websites and managing responses and documents, and the opening up long-term overwhelming advantage conversations and that mobile has is its capacity relationships. After all, isn’t to reach people virtually texting about convenience, instantly, wherever they are, usually within speed and that personal touch? five seconds.

One thing is clear: it is here to stay.

Shortland concludes: “Our award-winning system Messenger 2.0 could be described as a Download the white paper by visiting free bespoke project management tool for www.textlocal.com/telegraph your mobile messaging campaigns. It has Or text: REPORT to 60777

75%

“We got BlackBerrys because they gave us the resilience and security we needed in advance of the Apple offering. Now we’re piloting RIM’s PlayBook tablets. BlackBerry has proved very reliable and there’s still a sense that if you go with RIM you know what you’re getting.

Standardising on one platform thelps achieve economies of scale.

But our security requirements are relatively modest, and as consumerisation and bring your own device (BYOD) become more common I think people will feel secure with Apple, too. Many firefighters have iPhones and want to use them, and there are several iPhone apps that are relevant to their work.

CIOs need to be people who say yes, and we would be straitjacketing ourselves if we didn’t allow nonRIM devices.”

– Neil Moore, head of ICT, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service

The numbers

86%

of respondents were not aware of the high response rate of SMS marketing

97.5% of all text messages are read within five seconds of being received. Source: Ofcom

53% of businesses rank mobile marketing as their number one way to communicate, while 67 per cent feel that both mobile and internet marketing are the most important channels

63% of businesses surveyed said that SMS text marketing was more effective than email Source: Textlocal inside mobile research

14

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August 2012

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Preparation is the key What are the most significant cyber threats facing those in charge of a large-scale IT infrastructure project?

Kate Craig-Wood

Bill McCluggage

Andrew Jacques

Managing director Memset

Chief technologist – Public Sector, EMC Computer Systems (UK) Ltd

GM for EMEA Good Technology

memset.com At high-profile events, millions of cyber attacks are expected per day. Focus can often be on ticket fraud, and while online fraud and “phishing” are certainly increasing in sophistication, I foresee a larger threat from distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

We host 20,000 of Britain’s largest websites and see 20 DDoS attacks every hour,

most of which are deflected and absorbed thanks to our automated defences and multi-gigabit uplinks.

High-profile websites are tempting targets; last year hacker group LulzSec brought down soca.gov.uk and cia.gov with DDoS attacks.

uk.emc.com Securing the IT for this year’s ‘digital events’ in London against cyber attack is a daunting challenge.

Critical infrastructure has been locked, standardisation has been a key cyber defence posture, network capacity has quadrupled and extensive and exhaustive testing has been carried out.

The most significant cyber threats are likely to come from

unexpected places. The highest risk is from human error triggering a perception of a successful attack, then the threat of Trojans exploiting sophisticated social engineering and DDoS attempts. Fraudsters are more likely to target lucrative scams on the unsuspecting public via their smartphones rather than attack a hardened infrastructure.

good.com Bring your own device (BYOD) is part of most large-scale IT infrastructure projects today. With this trend a new world of cyber threats accompanies it, the critical one being data loss.

With BYOD corporate data is used on the same device as personal data, giving ample opportunity for data leakage and critical company information to get

into the wrong hands.

IT organisations are challenged with guarding against data loss, whilst still ensuring full use of mobile devices.

The key to this lies in protecting the data rather than the device itself and separating corporate data from personal.

Emma Morgan

Andrew Farrell

Rob Rachwald

Founder and managing director Business Leadership Exchange

CEO Matchbox Mobile

Director of security strategy Imperva

thebusinessleadershipexchange.com

matchboxmobile.com

imperva.com

Basic phishing scams are long gone; today, a large-scale IT infrastructure faces far more sophisticated threats.

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are well funded, motivated and researched.

Once inside, cyber criminals are undetectable, extracting data or using malware too fresh to be recognised by antivirus software, bringing down the

IT environment. A secure perimeter alone is not enough; you must have rigorous internal defences on the assumption you will be breached. These APTs represent the biggest threat to large IT systems. Only by sharing best practice tips and implementing a complex suite of defences will an organisation prevent being on the growing list of victims.

There are many, from straightforward denial of service attacks through to deliberate attacks using specially crafted exploits.

However, the biggest issue is people as many businesses increase staff and contractors to handle the extra workload.

Without adequate training and procedures, social engineering attacks and the accidental (or intentional)

abuse by staff are likely to be the hardest area to both monitor and secure against.

Social engineering attacks can form part of an Advanced Persistent Threat, or APT, which uses multiple attacks with a single objective.

Stressful environments and poor procedures can lead to poor decision-making.

Staff need training and resources to cope effectively.

Large-scale events are a hotbed for cyber security incidents The UK, London particularly, is at risk this summer as hacking has evolved tremendously in the past four years. There are three types of attacks that are especially threatening at the moment: Data theft - Hackers will try to obtain and expose sensitive data. For-profit

hackers will try to make money while hacktivists will use data for humiliation.

Denial of service Primarily hacktivists will deploy distribute denial-ofservice (DDoS) attacks which attempt to bring down a website. The purpose is to embarrass organisations.

Website defacement – Hackers may try to deface websites.

an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

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August 2012

Business Technology

15

Industry view

Find us online: biztechreport.co.uk

Secure your data in a mobile world The evolution of mobile security poses a risk to valuable data, and while there are many solutions, the three-tiered approach proves highly popular INDUSTRY VIEW

Securing connections

s more people work from home, IT is faced with the increasing challenge of balancing employees’ desire for greater mobility and choice with the need to secure company data.

Whether it’s remote salespeople or high-level executives, smartphone, tablet and at-home log-ins will involve the use and storage of enterprise data, of varied sensitivity.

Those that ignore the inevitable trickle of mobile devices into the enterprise risk suffering significant fines and reputational damage should a data breach occur.

A three-tiered approach to secure mobility is best: offer secure connections, protect the data and monitor devices.

Employees can get encrypted mobile access to company data on the corporate LAN through a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPN clients exist for virtually all of the popular mobile platforms and while applications might be run locally, the data, in theory, remains ‘upstream’, encrypted and protected in the company servers.

However, without an effective mechanism to ensure the data isn’t copied to a local device, VPN solutions don’t necessarily allow CISOs to sleep well at night.

A

Securing data A more sophisticated way to protect data and integrate mobile devices is through

cloud-based multi-tenancy. The term ‘multi-tenancy’ here describes a mobile device that contains both an employee’s personal data and corporate data.

Backend servers deploy services to the device and the virtualisation solution runs in its own space to keep data firmly segmented, copying nothing but the client application to the endpoint.

Securing devices Mobile device management (MDM), for example Absolute Software’s Absolute Manage and Computrace, can remotely monitor smartphones and tablets.

This provides alerts of error conditions as

they happen, so if a tablet is never supposed to leave a factory floor and a geotechnology alerting system indicates it is travelling to an employee’s home, an alert of a potential breach and resultant liability scenario is sent. The same technology can also flag potentially dangerous applications installed on an endpoint – and can lock, wipe, or reset an out-of-control device.

0118 902 2000 www.absolute.com

Brand new behaviour

Weathering a signalling storm

A new image-recognition tool is on a mission to revolutionise traditional media and advertising – as well as becoming a lower-case verb

The surge in smartphone use has triggered a data deluge, threatening wireless networks with collapse – but there’s a solution at hand

INDUSTRY VIEW

B

lippar is a revolution for traditional media and advertising offering the power to turn every single piece of printed collateral or physical branding in the real world into an instantaneous, interactive experience.

Already embraced by the likes of Tesco, Nike, L’Oreal, Budweiser, EMI, Universal Music, Dominos, Unilever, PepsiCo, Waitrose, Cadbury, Sony, Mercedes, Nestle, Samsung, Xbox, Heinz, and more, Blippar is the market leader and projecting rapid, international expansion with a view towards becoming the world’s default smartphone ‘lens’ and eponymous verb ‘to blipp’ for real-world image recognition and augmented reality executions.

How do you know you’ve made it in the world of technology?

1

Download the Blippar app on to your device

That would be when you become a lower-case verb.

Google (to google something), Twitter (to tweet a thought) and Facebook (to facebook somebody) have all done it.

So what about Blippar? Have you ‘blipped’ anything lately?

Probably not - but it’s early days. And there’s a chance that within a few years you might not just ‘blipp’ something - but you’ll know it when you’ve done it.

Blippar has also a rapidlygrowing audience of 1m users who are engaging with their favourite brands motivated by, and interested in, brand engagement.

Campaigns with music superstars like Justin Bieber and The Wanted does take the platform and behaviour to mass market adoption.

2

Point your camera at ‘Blippable’ page

Blippar is an awardwinning start-up, which uses image recognition to bring ads to life. They’ve won best start-up awards at LeWeb, CES, Mobile World Congress, AR Summit and many more.

Ambarish Mitra, CEO and co-founder of Blippar says, “Blippable ads have appeared in print, on walls, on products, on TV and pretty much anywhere you can imagine. We predict the behaviour of blipping and interacting with the real world will become a massconsumer behaviour in next five years.”

Blippar demand across the pond has influenced the start-up to launch in US with a base in New York.

Download Blippar from the app store info@blippar.com

3

Watch as the Watch as the page comes page comes to life to life

INDUSTRY VIEW

M

ore than ever, the surplus of three million visitors in London this summer will share their unique experience with friends through social networks and mobile apps on their smartphone. For them, this is the ultimate use of wireless technology. But for the wireless carriers, it will mean almost crisis levels of wireless signaling traffic and data throughput.

Unfortunately, the problem is broader than this – all across the globe the explosion of smartphones and their chatty

this information is downloaded in the background. That’s why all of the smartphones in the capital, with their constant network requests, could potentially bring down the network.

But there is a solution. SEVEN’s Open Channel is the leading traffic optimisation solution on the market. Open Channel tames mobile app chattiness and eliminates unnecessary traffic by filtering out thousands of extraneous network requests made by every app on a device. No app rewriting is needed, and Open Channel has no impact on performance. A side benefit is that fewer requests mean longer battery life which makes consumers very happy. info@seven.com www.seven.com/openchannel Smartphones could bring down networks

The smartphones in the capital could potentially bring down the network apps generates a data tsunami and a signaling storm that threatens wireless networks with a meltdown.

Why? Many of today’s smartphone apps constantly ping the network to keep their content up to date. In fact, it is estimated that while the average smartphone user only actively interacts with his/her device two hours per day, the device still gets on the network during the other 22 hours of the day. Social messaging, email, chat, news, weather updates, ads – all of

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an independent report from lyonsdown, distributed with the daily telegraph

August 2012

Q&A

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JOHN LINWOOD, BBC CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

Going back to my roots BBC CIO John Linwood reveals a resurgence of technology is taking place at the British broadcaster

By Jonathan Watson

What technology projects is the BBC working on at the moment?

One of the things we’re doing is working on collaboration tools for our journalists. We have journalists all over the world, so when a major news story breaks, we find that a lot of them are all working on different parts of the same story.

Historically it’s been quite difficult for them to share their findings, so we’ve developed JPortal (The Journalism Portal), which is a way for journalists to share background information and sources. It’s based on the Microsoft SharePoint platform.

That’s fundamentally changing the way our journalists work by giving them access to better information and helping them avoid duplication.

We’ve also done a lot of work on the virtualisation of local radio.

Historically, broadcast technology was engineered to be robust and resilient which made it quite expensive. Over the past fiveto six years, more people have started using commodity IT technology with software on top of it to do what they used to do with dedicated broadcast and content production tools.

This has prompted us to ask

ourselves if we could take all the equipment out of the radio studio, put it away somewhere in a data centre and then share it between all BBC radio studios. In England, for example, we have about 80 local radio studios and each one has huge amounts of equipment. Recently we ran a pilot in Northampton where we took all that kit out of the studio and the presenters just had a microphone, a headset and control services.

That makes things significantly cheaper and enables us to provide the latest greatest technology to multiple radio stations all at once. It also offers fantastic resilience in that you can log on from anywhere and become any BBC radio station. So if Northampton’s building was shut for some reason, they could just go to any other BBC studio, log on and provide all their usual programming from there.

What about cloud?

We’re not particularly early adopters.

People are using tools such as Dropbox to access documents from their mobile devices, and we use cloud services from Amazon and IBM for building software development and test environments. We’re taking a slow approach because we want to be sure it makes sense for us, and there are

still some parts of our systems that we can’t put in the cloud because of Patriot Act issues and the BBC’s need to protect confidential information.

Does the licence fee freeze mean you have to do more with less?

The BBC is actually spending slightly more on technology because apart from our people, it’s our biggest area of leverage in terms of how we can make the BBC more nimble and agile.

We have a big Skype trial going on; we’re about to deploy the Microsoft Lync unified communications platform; we’ve upgraded our Wi-Fi in all BBC locations; we’re developing flexible working, allowing people to access BBC systems remotely; and we’re developing a policy for BYOD (bring your own device), allowing people to connect their own mobiles and tablets to Can radio producers work with just a headset and microphone?

BBC systems. None of this is sexy IT but is fundamental to the way people work.

If you look at the overall technology spend of the BBC, it accounts for 12 per cent of our revenue. That’s a healthy spend on technology. The BBC started out as a technology company, building its own transmitters and microphones. The number two role in the BBC for the first 14 to 15 years of its existence was the chief engineer. In the last 4 to 5 years, technology has come back to the fore because it’s a great enabler and differentiator for organisations like ours. There is a resurgence of technology taking place at the BBC.