When success becomes the comfortable standard, it's easy to grow nonchalant about things that are important. Just because sales are high and customers are satisfied it doesn't mean there's not a need to assess current operations and plan for the future. Those who make this security mistake find themselves at risk when a new change in the industry rolls out and the business is not prepared.
Business Assurance
The buzz phrase for safe and secure business practices is business assurance. Everyone up to speed recognizes it as being affiliated with cloud service providers and the telecommunications. Put into practice, it prepares a business to plan for and adapt to change rather than to fight it.
Historically, retailers only had to worry about their local competition down the street. The Internet brought not only information and convenience but an entire industry change in sales and marketing. Those retailers who have not utilized the Internet to promote and expand business have become the second choice option for many consumers and for others, nothing more than a showroom to discover new products before searching online for competitive pricing.
Service providers and the telecommunication market are now faced with the same conundrum. Those who have not utilized the best business assurance practices are finding themselves unstable and commoditized.
Adaptation
Over the past decade, statistics show service providers lost up to 10% in revenue because of poor business practices, management and fraud. New technology that audited more efficiently and effectively than former methods provided a new way to cut down on leakage and error. This sustained businesses and helped further growth, but already things are moving ahead and adaption is required. Networks and programs can now find a flaw before it has an effect, turning adaption into a detection race in order to stay ahead. But new technology isn't the only business assurance factor -- far from it.
Adaption in the telecommunications industry formerly followed the customers at all costs. This meant indulgent customer relations, pricing wars with competitors or bundling packages to make billing options more practical. Unfortunately, those who did not adhere to business adaption principles ignored examining internal operations and profligacy. Business assurance extends beyond software. It encompasses the need to look, not just at prevention, but at waste and risk, too. Today's cloud service providers along with others in the industry must continually monitor and defend against gaps that lead to losses.
Fighting Back?
While some consider fighting back another viable business assurance principle, pricing wars seldom yield the long term desired results. Neither has deregulation with its expensive fiber and copper lines. By day's end in most cases, only the customer wins which doesn't help sustain an industry or grow a business. In today's fast moving world, the consensus is that adaption is the key to a secure future.
The right security tactics incorporate a quality business assurance program that establishes the best operational practices, taking into account internal and external influences. While industry specific, every business will find it has different needs and must react to change by adapting in its own way. Sub-categories of business assurance defined by the industry further direct focus on specialty areas in order to increase monitoring and protection. This care in turn prevents and lowers risks and prepares for further changes on the horizon.