Blog Archive

The importance of security when remotely accessing corporate data

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Posted: Monday 11 March, 2013

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Early in my programming career I experienced how IT management can seriously limit the ability of developers to deliver real benefits to companies. In this particular instance I was writing an application that allowed inspectors to view and edit asset information in the field and then send that data back to the office remotely over the cellular network. Unfortunately, the solution was never deployed with that ability enabled simply because the company’s IT department deemed the security risk and administration requirements too high. This is an argument that I’m sure many around the industry - especially those of us who push technology - have heard before.

When it comes to security, many companies will invest heavily to ensure their data is protected. Unfortunately, what companies sometimes fail to assess is whether or not their security policies are actually degrading the quality of their data. Some people might say, “That doesn’t make sense. The more secure the data, the better quality it will be.” What people fail to realise is that in practise the quality of company data is made up of a number of factors and the number one reason for bad data is human error. Therefore the more restrictive, more complex, more time consuming and more challenging the process is for human input, the greater the chance that errors are being introduced. The answer is to develop solutions where human data entry and especially data transcription, is kept to the absolute minimum.

When I am breaking down business problems and creating software to deliver the optimal solution for a company, at times the ideal solution is simply too uncomfortable for everyone within an organisation to agree on. Even though I am aware that situations like this often arise, the best approach for a developer is design the optimal solution and allow the customer to implement it to the level of their own comfort.

Posted by Jason Churcher

Tags: security, software, database

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