In most companies, too many employees have too many privileges. After all, they are quick to speak up when they need access to data or applications, but they tend not to be as quick to speak up when they no longer need that access. As a result, most companies see privilege creep. Employees are collecting access credentials and hoarding them, just in case they need them later. This can have serious consequences for a company. For example, employees who move to different jobs within the company may retain access rights associated with their previous role. This may allow them to bypass the company’s checks-and-balances system. Or an employee might leave the company altogether. It’s hard to turn off all access if you do not have an up-to-date list of things that the … Read more »

There’s nothing worse — well, few things worse — than picking a technology, switching your company over to it at considerable effort and expense, and then discovering you’re locked into a dead end platform. It’s like betting your company on Beta right before VHS went big. Or betting on VHS right before everyone switched to DVDs. Or betting on… anyway, you get the idea. In a perfect world, we’d be able to accurately predict which technology will dominate, and make our investments accordingly. But, in practice, people just wait. They sit and watch other guys place their bets, and they continue to sit and watch until a clear winner emerges. But, what if there is no clear winner? What if you have a technology with multiple — and incompatible — approaches? That’s the … Read more »