2012 Predictions: Security

The second problem is control as organisations fail to understand that there is nearly an absolute lack of control over interactions with members of a social platform. How do you keep a social network compliant and audited when the controls are not in place?

Lastly, is the Lack of trust and proper Identification as there is no real way for enterprises to avoid copy-cats. In today’s social platforms, there is no method of identifying the real owner of a brand from impostors trying to take advantage of the popularity of a specific brand, to abuse or erode it.

“Social media will continue to be a big issue in 2012, as attacks become even more targeted and frequent. Cyber criminals will continue to find new and creative ways of targeting unsuspecting users, and without proper corporate policies in place, businesses will suffer,” agrees Alex Teh, commercial director at Vigil Software.

As social networking becomes more corporate, these security fears offer a valuable opportunity for the channel partners who can get in early with knowledge about sharing, control and identification.

2012 will see the rise of converged security

So with mobility, lots more data traversing private networks, clouds and partner environments; the hard pressed IT manager is going to have a lot more to do. However, budgetary constraints are probably going to heap more woe on the IT team as firms try to consolidate more systems onto a single infrastructure.

Even as businesses bring online new technologies like application firewalls and mobile security, the roles within the organisation and the supporting channel are starting to merge. For anybody who remembers the day when ‘telecom managers’ where a distinct breed, today, the IT department has mostly taken over that responsibility as well.

IT and physical security are also merging as IP-based CCTV, door entry systems and access key-fobs start to integrate with each other. In the last year, traditional IT firms have expanded distribution agreement to get IP-based CCTV into the channel alongside IT equipment. Vendors like Canon and D-Link as well as a host of Far-East brand less rivals are pitching at IT managers who are likely to have an expanded list of things that need to sit on the company network in an effort to rein in costs.

2012 will see that trend continue. Analyst IMS Research believes demand will remain strong through 2012 with growth for network video surveillance equipment sales forecasted to exceed 25 percent.

The skills needed to implement many physical access systems are well within the reach of an IT specialist and in some cases, knowledge of Cisco Call Manager and Active Director actually gives the IT channel a value add over traditional installers.