Op-Ed: A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor, but cyber threats are not the only headwind blowing

The significance of a steadfast cyber security posture is, at this point, not up for debate and cannot be overstated. Security remains front of mind as the most important factor to be considered.

Additionally, with the complexity of services expected due to customer needs and increased industry competition, there comes a greater need for an iron-clad security posture.

Security must be a focal point from the very beginning. The entire environment in which an organisation functions must be secured through well-managed skills, policies, and infrastructure.

Organisations confident in the strength of their security posture will be able to expand faster and be more agile.

However, it’s not the only headwind organisations must face, and while security is a chief concern to be addressed, it’s not the only concern. Organisations with a myopic focus on one headwind risk getting blown away by another, from a different direction.

Alongside security, businesses face outside challenges of economic uncertainty and out-of-control spending. Both are equally important factors, yet organisations risk losing sight of them amid the raging fires of high-profile cyber threats.

The goal is to thrive, not just survive. These challenges, as much as security, should be met head-on.

Economic uncertainty

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The ongoing uncertainty of economic conditions is a pinch felt by all, from individuals facing the cost-of-living crisis right up to large organisations working hard to defy macroeconomic forces.

There are two elements at play: what can be done to lessen the negative impact and what can be done to turn the negative into growth potential.

In terms of minimising the impact, complexity of billing is something organisations must be on the lookout for. This is especially important for organisations functioning across multiple cloud environments and with several vendors or third parties.

Navigating billing and provisioning from disparate sources, often with out-of-sync schedules and methods of invoicing, compounds complexity. This can lead to unnecessary expenditure that remains unnoticed and unchecked.

Being able to easily identify alignment between charges and usage through consolidated billing is the most important step to stop money trickling down the drain. Policies need to be put in place to simplify and streamline billing.

That said, economic uncertainty presents significant growth potential for companies prepared to be innovative and proactive in addressing both emerging trends and threats.

Spoken by former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt when he paraphrased the African proverb, “a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”.

One of the key drivers of growth will be the leveraging of new technologies not just to address challenges but also to improve sales and support capabilities, enable more efficient hybrid work, and of course, shore up security.

The integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning is revolutionising almost all industries across Australia. Organisations that embrace these technologies will be able to cement their positions ahead of the competition.

There is even more need now to invest in data analytics. To improve operations and performance, increase profit, make better informed strategic decisions, and, importantly, stay ahead of the ever-evolving cyber threats.

Upskilling is another vital component within organisations. Those prepared to invest in upskilling and furthering the education of employees will be infinitely better equipped to expand their businesses and tackle the challenges of economic uncertainty and cyber threats.

Tech debt

In the race to become the first, we forget to be the best.

In the rush to develop and deliver new products and services – either to combat a threat, meet the challenges of economic hardship, or for any other reason – if not done properly, organisations run the risk of accumulating vast amounts of technical debt.

This results when solutions are expedited by choosing a faster, easier approach with an ill-defined or misunderstood scope to address a problem or deliver a service quickly rather than a stronger approach that may require a greater investment of time and money.

Unfortunately, this leads to a final version that doesn’t perform the way it should, or at least, doesn’t do so as efficiently as possible, thus generating a multitude of issues that need to be revisited and reworked at a later stage.

In some situations, tech debt can get so unwieldy and out of control, organisations are left with no other options than to knock the whole thing down and start all over again. More money trickling, or pouring, down the drain.

However, in many cases, tech debt is unavoidable. So, organisations should look to turn it to their advantage.

Ensuring visibility over tech debt ensures software remains functional and maintainable, helping to avoid snowballing, costly problems that may arise in future by addressing them in a timely fashion.

Further, it can be used as a tool for learning and innovation, delivering a deeper understanding to create better solutions, features, and capabilities perhaps not possible before.

Economic uncertainty is so named for a reason. It’s fickle but permanent. Our reliance on advancing technologies is only going to grow, and so too will security concerns. These problems won’t be eliminated, but they can be fought so organisations can return to the business of getting ahead, not simply trying to catch up.

Chris Sharp is chief executive at Pax8 APAC.