January 2020
IN THIS ISSUE
Technology Trends
Privacy Laws–The Trend
That’ll Never End
Viewpoint
Leaders’ IT Budget Priorities
for 2020
IT Strategy
Getting the DR Plan Right:
Tips & Traps
The trend toward ever-stricter consumer data-privacy protections continues with the now-in-force California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). Surprisingly, a recent poll of 625 California business leaders reveals that nearly half had never heard of the CCPA, and only 88% didn’t know whether it even applied to them. More than a third were unsure if they needed to change their practices for data collection, storage and handling.
As a reminder, the CCPA only applies to companies doing business in California that: earn more than $25 million in gross revenue; or hold data on more than 50,000 consumers; or make more than half of their revenue selling consumer data. If you are subject to the new law, you must know what data you collect, how it’s handled, where it’s kept, and have processes for deleting records upon consumers’ request. If your business is CCPA-exempt (for now), use it as the impetus to tighten data security and handling processes. Of the nine other states with similar laws forthcoming, six will follow the full CCPA model. In short: the new normal is here.
Viewpoint
Leaders’ IT Budget Priorities for 2020
A company’s IT budget often reflects its strategic goals, ambitions and vision. Here’s what corporate IT decision makers polled by TechRepublic said were their top IT spending priorities for 2020:
#1–Security: Last year, 63% of respondents hailed network and data security as top budget priorities. This year the number fell to just 51%, perhaps reflecting returns from previous security investments or a shift in business focus.
#2–Cloud services: Forty-five percent of IT leaders reported this as their top IT budget priority.
#3–Internal hardware and software purchases placed third, as 37% of respondents ID’d them as top IT budget items. Rounding out the list were: digital transformation (31%), employee training (29%) and at 9%, IoT implementation. About half of those polled want (and expect) more value from technology vendors, including simplified fee and pricing schedules.
Need objective help prioritizing your IT spend? Give us a call.
IT Strategy
Getting the DR Plan Right: Tips & Traps
First, some good news: 95% of 762 IT pros surveyed by Spiceworks report having a disaster recovery (DR) plan in place, 90% of which cover data integrity and backups. The goal of planning, of course, is to help organizations bounce back from hardware failure, power outages, natural disasters and other disruptive events. Other survey findings (the bad news), however, reveal that testing whether DR plans actually work is sporadic, at best, and at worst, non-existent. In fact, one-quarter of those surveyed never test their plan at all. Why? Respondents from those organizations (predictably?) cite the lack of time, and resources. But an astounding 34% say that DR simply isn’t a priority for their employers. Which sets up our first tip: Most small firms (71%) experienced an outage of some kind last year, so when possible, advocate at the top.
“The whole point of DR is to prevent business losses,” reminds the Disaster Recovery Journal (DRJ), adding that “One of the most valuable things [you] can do is convince the C-suite that DR is a financial imperative.” How? Present the case in financial terms. Help leaders understand the dollar amounts at stake. Tie failures to business outcomes. Thirty percent of Spiceworks’ respondents report losing income due to outages–with a third of those estimating their losses between $10K and $100K, while 10% lost $100K or more. Effective DR planning requires collaboration, thoughtful preparation and regular testing.
Leave a Reply