For SMEs, data security is growing concern, Intelligent SME.tech asked for insights into how SMEs can best manage and adhere to data protection regulations. Nathan Gower, Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand at Boomi, tells us how.
Down under, the New South Wales (NSW) Government is directing up to AU$750 million of its annual Information Technology purchasing budget towards SMEs, gearing for the state to become the ‘digital capital.’
Whether in Australia or across Asia-Pacific, SMEs are the engine room of the economy and keeping pace with the digital shift will unravel data as the most important currency available to these organisations.
Unlocking data aims to create a true picture of the business, improving core professional and digital services. Typically, this includes better understanding customers and employees, reducing the risk of operational errors and subsequently applying effective change management strategies. But to execute on these initiatives successfully, businesses can’t just rely on said data alone. It must be connected, protected, analysed and put into context and by nature, this means there are stringent guidelines to adhere to.
But ‘adhering’ to data protection regulations is only a checkbox activity. The real question is: How do companies take control of their data and keep it protected?
It’s not uncommon for SMEs to be unaware of the data silos hiding in their IT environments. More often than not companies have a Jenga tower of different applications and systems, illogically stacked upon each other to meet the varying needs of the business. But unfortunately, this haphazard approach generates pockets of siloed information and a subsequent inability to consistently control and access data.
Where there is a desire to unlock data and use it to deliver better business objectives, SMEs must consider the hand in glove nature of data connectedness and protection. Business heads need cohesive operations and that visibility can’t be achieved on archaic infrastructure.
Ultimately, the goal is to be equipped with a single lens that manages the movement and modification of all data across the organisation, enabling an audit trail.
But before you can protect your data, you need to understand it – where it resides and what it contains – and its strategic value to the business itself. By doing this alone, SMEs will better comprehend the importance to protect this data, curate it, analyse it and govern it.
Then they must unpack the variables involved – human and digital – and deploy a framework that enables them to overcome these challenges and govern their business-critical data. For example, with the ability to control permissions and manage requests, a centralised and synchronised digital foundation will ensure the right people have the right access at the right time.
SMEs can’t wait for Christmas to tackle this topic; they need to unravel the movement and storage of data across their business now.
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