White Paper: Achieving Data Security and Compliance

(4) Mathew Holdt, CISA, CIA, CFE | LinkedIn

Managing Our Ever-Growing Data Requires Empowering Users

 Managing Our Ever-Growing Data Requires Empowering Users (isaca.org)

BlockChain Implementation into Industry

Block Chain and BitCoin have become hot topics as BitCoin hit $19,000 in December 2017. There are multiple articles on the background of BitCoin and its exponential explosion into mainstream trading, what I would like to explore is the application of the technology into industry. 

In October 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a white paper presenting a new idea on how markets could interact and exchange payments through an entirely electronic platform. His proposal was a complete electronic transaction history that would validate the history of the currency and eliminate any double spend issues with a cryptocurrency. 

The transaction log would be validated by all participants in the marketplace and it would operate as an unbroken general ledger throughout the life of the currency. Each person with computing power involved in the marketplace could compute the transaction and validate the transaction to the market, if more than 51% of the market agreed upon the transaction, then it is confirmed and added to the transaction ledger. This is a simplification of a very intricately developed system. 

BitCoin is a cryptocurrency operating on the Block Chain platform, along with many other cryptocurrencies like Ripple or LiteCoin. People associate BitCoin with Block Chain, but they are not the same. BitCoin depends on operating on the Block Chain platform, but any other set of currency or processes can operate on the platform as well.

Block Chain can be implemented in multiple industries, but application and execution has proven challenging to the first explorers who are braving this new frontier. healthcare, real estate and banking are all heavily invested in finding solutions on the new platform. 

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 all healthcare providers were required to implement an electronic medical records (EMR) system to maintain reimbursement levels from Medicare and Medicaid. One of the underpinnings of this legislation is that it would create an national health record for every patient and the last electrocardiogram with your PCP would be shared with the Hospitalist when you had a late night cardiac event. Nine years later and it is difficult to get your Physician to send an electronic prescription to the pharmacy by your house.  

How can a software platform bypass the lags in acceptance and interfacing that EMR and other software's have experienced? How can we create modes of opportunity for an innovative method of transactions? 

The future is bright with so many implementation opportunities, tracking an electronic dollar could eliminate the anti-money laundering due diligence the banking system strives to understand. A home buyer could instantly view the history of the title of a home without a costly process or required title insurance coverage. Could this shift the face of internal and external audit? And how would regulatory groups set up systems to view and monitor real time transactional history? Could this be the end of Audit as we know it today?

Unfortunately, I still have more questions than answers, but will continue to pursue the understanding required to find a purpose for this disruptive innovation.

Big Data and its Impact

Still exploring its infancy, big data has been launched into our world. 

According to IBM, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. In fact 90% of the data created has been created in the past 2 years. What does that mean, how will that impact our society and why should you care?

Machine learning, block chain, net neutrality and data mining are all new hot tech buzzwords that get dropped like we all know what they mean. I want to explore today the movement of big data as it moves its way to the center of our lives. 

For the past 40-50 years as computers and technology has developed, we have started the process of collecting to later analysis and process data. Used in business for forecasting demand of consumers, quarter over quarter comparisons, process efficiency and even money laundering. With so much amassing data every day, what is the point? With several hundred surveys in the mall you could get a sample size representative of a city and what the purchasing trends, behaviors and patterns may be with some degree of certainty. Convert that form of surveying into Pinterest "likes" "send" or "tried it" the collection of data now becomes a different view. 

No one, at this point in time, completely understands the value, potential and access that big data will have on our society. We can create millions of "what if" scenarios that solve world hunger and cure cancer. 

As the field shapes itself, where will it be classified, and will there be departments created around big data? Is the field worthy of a Chief Data Officer, some of the earliest being appointed in 2001 to eliminate some of the ambiguity around data. What competing political, social and ecological agendas will use and shape the data to support self promoting theories? 

My largest issue with news cast polls is the data. "According to the latest poll Americans believe Senator Johnson should not be convicted for murdering his mistress." (this is not a news story, only an example). They do not address who was asked, what part of the country they were from, age group, political beliefs, confidence level...

How will big data impact me, and is it worth caring about? It would seem that IT and data are now so intertwined in our lives and organizations that they are no longer separate, but a framework of our lives. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and others are an extension of our relationships and communication. They have woven themselves into the fabric of our lives, our cars and our homes. It is already impacting you, the choice of whether or not to care is a different discussion. 

With great data comes great responsibility. Will it branch out from targeted marketing ads to something bigger, better and much more useful? This potential has not been fully mounted or realized. With tech giants like IBM, Google, Amazon and others exploring the space with heavy investments it promises to be iMpAcTful to our future.  

Career Changes and Skillset Development

How do you best approach a new career and updating or increasing skills that are now required? Whether it is technology, a new software, coaching or even leadership for a new generation. How one goes about pursuing the necessary skills needed to reach the next level in their career is a challenge that crosses the generation culverts.


Taking a step back in ones career to develop the skills necessary to move up is a challenging predicament. The job or position you accept may not be in line with your experience or meet what you require to experience a challenging and rewarding career. However, this regressive step may promote a new vision and experience that will assist you later as a manager.


The key to any career change or shift in the focus you create in pursuit of self development can be leveraging. How can you build upon the remedial position you hold and siphon in experiences and training to manage upward?


Diversion is great for self diversity of spirit, craft and creativity, but the confluence back to your position of strength is what you must use to build a new path to your success.


Risk surrounds us, it is in our jobs, life, relationships and choices we make daily. If we live in constant fear of change, we will become obsolete. Do not live in that fear, but pursue your path and identify the skills you need to become the value adding SOB that fulfills your purpose on our planet.

   

Utilizing Consultants Effectively

In a rapidly changing and dynamic business environment we have to trust and rely on those who specialize in niche areas. 

When looking at outsourcing a specialty service, you have to question the reasons for bringing in an outside resource. Your management team needs to look deeper than, should we outsource our HR or AP/AR. There are many different circumstances in which a consultant can assist your organization. 

The largest failure in hiring a consultant is not what they were hired to consult on, but how the management team uses them. Many times the team will start seeking ways to reinforce their position and strengthen their choices in front of the management team. 

Many times it is not the answers to the questions you ask, but what questions you are not asking that hold the value. In the book How to think like Einstein, Scott Thorpe explains its not just about the answer you are seeking, but the question you may be unaware of. When you get stuck in a bad pattern, continuing the behavior repeatedly only increases the odds you repeat the same negative behavior in the future. 

Many times people, staff and management are unaware that a pattern is negative, until they get a fresh set of eyes to objectively review their patterns. 

So how do you break the ingrained patterns and change behavior in the future? Hire a consultant. This statement assumes that your team is discerning enough to hire the right consultant. The problem with hiring a consultant is that you are the customer and they are serving you, which means they may not give you direct and candid answers. 

I will leave the vetting and choice of a consultant to another article, and will focus on how to effectively use a consultant.   

The topic of what questions to ask has already been broached, and I would like to pursue it further. I have sat in on many meetings with consultants and management teams where 2 or 3 members of the team ask thinly veiled questions to the consultants about an area. They are not seeking new opportunities or procedures, but reinforcement that what they are doing is the best way. This is one method of a peaceful mutiny, if the leader is lost and taking the organization in a bad direction. 

Many times this is not the case, and the CEO or Board is not in the room. It is upper management disputing how to restructure, what price point to set or what avenues to pursue for additional revenue. 

This is a waste of consultant time and a form of low emotional intelligence. This is not a reason to hire a consultant. 

So how can you use a consultant effectively? Ask questions, some you may think you know the answer to already, but the important thing is to listen and think. Let the conversation develop similar to a brainstorming session, keep a positive atmosphere, don't reject or scoff at any question or point brought up. 

A consultant hired by your company is a new opportunity to grow, develop and understand your business and team better. If your company experienced cutbacks over the past few years, you may have lost the benefits of conferences. This can be an opportunity to learn, don't squander the opportunity.

Learn best practices from these specialized consultants and pursue methods of using them as personal mentors and trainers. Use them for what they are, specialists who understand and know the industry.  

China’s Emerging Economy

China’s Emerging Economy

When China starting opening its borders 25 years ago, no one could forecast with certainty how the market would develop.  Every visionary leader sought a way to infiltrate the Chinese market, and eventually the opportunities started to emerge. Joint ventures were soon the answer to the question so many sought. With the correct positioning, firms had the option to enter under direction of a partnership with a government run partner.

These JV’s were and continue to be a highly stipulated transaction with majority ownership going to the Chinese government run entity. Agreement to the JV by the entering firm has several boilerplate requirements, one of them being the demand for transference of intellectual property. This has been a limiting factor for many firms with highly proprietary recipes or patented processes.

While some firms have resisted entrance due to the entrance stipulations, it has been at the expense of market share and profits. While some firms have rejected the terms, their competitors have not slowed in search of additional market share opportunities. Lack of entrance for these companies has then been nothing but a decrease in potential market share in a growing mega power.   

So if the government run companies have access to the knowledge of their partners and all information is transferred and improved by the locals, what restricts the Chinese government from shutting back down on itself and supporting its own needs, then becoming an exporter competing in the JV’s home markets?

Importing patented ideas and technologies is something that has been forced on the partners of the Chinese government. Whether pushed or pulled into the market, firms that have moved into China have experienced exponential growth in an emerging giant. So how have they been able to stop, slow or limit the transfer of information and intellectual property?

At one of my site visits in China, a company that has requested to remain unnamed has done a Greenfield project outside Beijing in an economic growth zone. Purchasing the land and building a market presence has been their major goal. While the manufacturing at this plant is limited, the footprint of their property shows they are poised for a large growth and expansion as the market develops. A spokesman said that they are building trust and following a long-term strategy of relationship development with the local and regional officials.

So what has China been unable to import over the last 25 years? I will make it simple and clarify: the correct answer would be creativity and customer service. So lets look at these two growth opportunities and the obstacles that will have to be overcome.

·      First what is creativity and what can or cannot be transferred?

·      Second, what is customer service and does it matter if they have it?

Creativity in my mind is the ability to come up with an original thought or way of doing or viewing something that has not been applied to the current situation or process.

While Confucius said there is nothing new under the Sun, I would argue that there are new situations brought on by changes in society, in which previous tools and resources have not yet been applied.  This then gives creative opportunities that have not yet been explored. In an emerging economy like China, there are opportunities that have not yet occurred due to the sheer size of the market. If there were no diversity in the world, there would be no variables that require adjustments and creative thoughts. For example the Art of War by Sun Tzu, he applies methodologies of war and strategy to business. Freakinomics challenges the market formation in different lights. These are creative because they are taking an existing tool and using it to view other possible opportunities in different fields. Looking at management styles in communistic, vs. military environments.    

Customer Service, Conrad Hilton was a pioneer in the Hotel Industry taking to a large scale what was once only available at your parent’s home or an intimate Bed and Breakfast.

Listening to a conversation in Chinese (mandarin) you may think that the sender and receiver are infuriated at each other, only to be told that they were expressing their love for each other.

So what is the international definition of customer service?

Is it proud and haughty to think that customer service should operate at the highest possible level? Should international customer service be treated as separate playing fields? Can we demand separate treatment of front line staff that may not understand the intricacies of international cultures? I think if you were Conrad you would say an emphatic, yes!

Can these soft skills be trained and imported? So far after 25 years I would say that unless you are in a geographically international area you should not expect them... while I am an eternal optimist, I do not know that these skill sets can be taught. A colleague said that we could only hope to embrace differences and nurture an environment conducive to creative behavior.

Can our customer service be exported to a country like India? I think the market gave the answer to this temporary solution. People like to hear someone who sound similar to themselves, it gives a feeling of connection and an instant rapport. Would a country then who speaks little to no English, have an opportunity to give customer service across the world? The opportunity to outsource customer service has expired; those firms who wish to develop long-term client service relationships are insourcing and reaping the rewards. If the US will not give customer service to the Chinese and the Chinese have no way of facilitating customer service this becomes a mute point.

The Chinese government has some creativity. This cannot be argued,  but whether it was purposeful or accidental is yet to be determined when they try to replicate and nationalize it. 

The questions now raised and how they will be approached over the next 30 years may determine their sustainability.