The Datamax Thinking Blog

Does the IT staff at your school have the time to devote to forward-thinking technologies? Do you have a collaborative, meaningful partnership with your provider? 

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We cannot build the future for our youth—but we can build our youth for the future.”

The 4 “Cs” in education have become a fundamental representation for the National Education Association’s vision for 21st Century Education. Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication are all key components from the NEA to helping students of today – and tomorrow – prepare for college, for work, and for life.

Intertwined within these timeless  4 "Cs” assets today, of course, is the development of and proficiency with technology as students forge ahead in today’s digital era. For example, students must be encouraged to use technology to communicate innovatively and effectively. Additionally, technology plays a key role in effective student collaboration inside the classroom and, in some instances, across the globe.

It cannot be a one-time snapshot, or a one-time risk assessment. It has to be a continuous, ongoing process." -  Navin Balakrishnaraja, National Practice Director, Healthcare IT Services for All Covered (IT Services, Konica Minolta)

All organizations are guilty of just “going through the motions” at times.

A client services specialist leaning too heavily on his company script. The sales representative who meets her quota but fails to concentrate on continued professional development (aka, the learning zone). There are countless scenarios within a work place where crucial tasks are tackled without enthusiasm or a particular level of involvement.

But few, if any, carry the level of risk of a healthcare facility just going through the motions with its cybersecurity plan. The organization must navigate this landscape carefully, and with a trusted map that leads to long-term security and compliance for the unpredictable journey ahead.

Social engineering is really no different than any old-school scam from the past, other than modern technology is the setting (for the modern attack). 

Infamous hacker turned computer security consultant Kevin Mitnick, featured in the Werner Herzog documentary “Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World,” very much embodies the dark art of the Social Engineered Attack.

Mitnick is perhaps best known for breaking into the networks of IBM, Nokia and Motorola (in the case of Motorola, he stole their source code simply by talking an employee there into emailing it to him). He also claims to have compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes that he gained by social engineering.

In other words, the one-time cyber criminal’s most dangerous weapon was his gift of gab, manipulating his victims just as a puppeteer would his marionette.

Build strong roots from within your organization: Continue to empower employees to be proactive about cybersecurity risks and encourage them to report questionable content or activity.

An old Malay proverb states that “A tree with strong roots laughs at storms.”

Today’s workforce continues to grow remotely, with Businesswire estimating that remote workers will account for 72 percent of the US Workforce by 2020.  With more bring-your-own-devices out  in the field, endpoints continue to multiply and extend further beyond a traditional office, just like  branches on a tree.

In the report, 36 percent of enterprises surveyed say they are printing MORE OFTEN than they were 12 months ago, while only 14 percent are printing less often. Similarly, 40 percent are scanning more often and 35 percent are copying more often.

By 2020, Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group predicts that 50 billion physical IoT devices will be connected to the Internet, consuming, generating, and communicating data. The office is no exception.

Crucial documents reside on our desks and file cabinets, but also in cloud servers and mobile devices. With such wide and easy access to the information we need, it’s tempting to think that printing may soon become a function of the past.

As ESPN analyst Lee Corso famously says on College Football Game Day, “Not so fast, my friend!”

Even if your organization is based in the U.S., it could have a significant impact on you and your business. Every organization that processes or controls any data pertaining to EU citizens must be in compliance with the new regulation.

We share private information online today, almost subconsciously.

Downloading Apps. Online transactions. Signing up for that “free whitepaper,” filing out a survey or even hitting the “like” button on Facebook.  Consumer data today is premium fuel for businesses all over the world.

Whether they are complying with HIPAA or attesting to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) under MACRA for positive incentives, healthcare professionals cannot avoid (and certainly cannot AFFORD to avoid) the Security Risk Analysis.

For many health organizations, the elephant in the waiting room is still seated there, anxiously anticipating when it might be acknowledged or tended to.

That elephant is the Security Risk Analysis (SRA). Originally mandated by HIPAA and subsequently further enforced by government programs such as Meaningful Use and now the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the SRA is a vital component to both healthcare facilities’ ultimate livelihood and the confidential information of their clients.

How navigable is your paper trail right now? How well is it aligned with your overall business objectives? It may be time to identify both current inefficiencies and explore cost-effective, fully secure practices moving forward.

Have you ever followed your own paper trail? Where does it lead you?

Regardless of the size of your organization – a small work group up to a large enterprise - it has a unique paper trail based on your existing technology and individual departmental practices. Your routine document workflow, files and paper moving from desk to desk both manually and digitally, dictate the route of your trail. Your path can often be cluttered by manual, paper based processing, damaged by inadequate security measures or completely overgrown from simple negligence.

A successful Vertical Marketing plan requires education, in-depth collaboration and a discovery period of investigating the day-to-day workflow of a specific organization.

In business, sales representatives plant seeds all the time through their interactions with prospects and clients. But how committed they are to acquainting themselves with and nurturing these relations once planted, often determines ultimate long-term growth.

Consider Vertical Marketing the ultimate exercise in studying and tending to individual seeds, learning each nuance and developing growth consistently based on relevant client needs. It’s much more than canned brochures or pre-determined sales pitches. It’s a duel effort of zeroing in on a specific market’s shared challenges and objectives, and finding relative solutions that produce long-term results.

When it comes to managing a printing environment, many organizations find themselves without even a road map. Most companies don't realize how many documents are wasted daily – money literally thrown away. 

It comes up regularly on long car rides with my wife – what did we ever do pre-smartphone GPS? My answer: There was always, of course, the trusted Rand McNally map, along with the refined technique of folding it back adequately enough to fit back into your glove box. The Rand McNally, for me, is a sentimental relic from family vacations past.