From smart buildings to intelligent production lines, organisations are rapidly adopting Internet connected devices to improve performance, reduce costs and transform customer experience. However, many of these Internet of Everything (IoE) implementations remain outside the corporate network – creating serious security concerns and constraining decision making.

Today there is a massive gap in expectation and language between IT and operational teams deploying IoE, not least that these IP connected devices must be continuously available – in contrast to the five nines break/fix approach to corporate networks. So how can organisations create a single, secure, connected environment that meets evolving business needs?

Taking control

IT is no longer the sole guardian of technology in the business.  While the IT team has been busily migrating into the cloud, going mobile and facilitating new ways of flexible working, other parts of the business have been quietly exploiting the quality of Internet connection to transform operational performance. From IP enabled turnstiles to smart manufacturing systems that continuously monitor and optimise performance and smart buildings with IP connected environmental controls, the Internet of Everything (IoE) is slowly but inexorably expanding across every business environment.

Right now, however, these deployments remain completely separate from the core business network – and IT has little or no visibility of IoE deployments.  While companies are gaining operational benefits, these siloed deployments also represent significant operational risk. Security is the primary concern, due to the ‘deploy and forget’ approach to IoE that completely fails to consider how these devices are connected and the potential security implications.  Just consider the recent escalation in denial of service attacks that could not only take down a company’s web site but also have a disastrous impact on essential production systems…

Read the full article here: http://www.iottechnews.com/news/2016/feb/05/managing-internet-everything-why-failure-not-option/

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