Batman Vs Superman / Make IOT Data Security Talent your SuperPower

One of the biggest barriers to IOT success is a dearth of data security talent. Find supermen and –women to get your enterprise to the next level.

This week, Batman vs. Superman opens in theatres. Batman’s got his gadgets and Superman, his alien powers. What out-of-this-world powers will you need to get your IOT data security talent on board– up to speed?

Survey respondents were very clear on where they expected IoT initiatives to impact their business on a long-term basis, factoring a five-year planning horizon. Top impacts expected were:

• 64 percent said creating better user and customer experiences – Here we have the data security expert who is often sourced from Cloud-based technology services that are outward facing, such as sales and CRM systems. A consumer-based data security pro will often help you check off your IOT bases faster than any other.
• 56 percent said sparking innovation – Data security experts who have done time protecting business development functions, start-ups, or tech product launches along the IOT can help you see the big picture. It doesn’t hurt to have an MBA-level degree in IT innovation (especially if they have worked as an IT innovations leader from within an executive committee in one of the industries your company serves.)
• 52 percent said creating new and more efficient working practices and business processes – One of the key differentiators among IT talent is their ability to lead process change and gain buy-in from key players in the company. In the field of IOT data security, make sure your security pros have spent time in the functional trenches of your industry. If they don’t understand the value levers in your particular business, they won’t know to protect them.
  

• 50 percent said creating new revenue streams, including new products and services – This is indeed the superpower to possess! Along with innovations experience, your data security leader should have new product experience—especially during launch, when experts agree, IOT start-up data is at the most risk. Commonly, “white hat hackers” in small- to- medium businesses fit the bill.
• 36 percent said an increased ROI on IT infrastructure – Too often data security is cut into two functions in large IT corporations—infrastructure and external. Your data security leader must be adept at identifying security challenges in both areas, or she won’t be able to calm the fears of your key investors or decision-makers when they ask what to build and how she will make it a safe platform for their IOT springboard.
• 35 percent said substantial cost savings and operational efficiencies—Our data security pro might seem too good to be true by now, but one thing we know he isn’t is a spendthrift. He should also be able to measure the value of what IOT data security leadership can do before any resources go into it—and clearly outline the risk of not spending enough on security to protect the whole shebang. A data security pro who is only concerned with the 1s and Os and not with the dollars and cents will cost more than he or she is worth.

If you want to make sure your IOT initiatives get off the ground, track where they will make the most difference to your business and then find data security professionals with IT experience in those areas

I would argue that “large security service providers (who) integrate their products into a corporate infrastructure on a subscription basis, making security more cost effective to large corporations” will have a difficult time reaching “the ultimate objective of security implementation – “Security at the Core” – even if popular outsourced services like authentication and security event management get the enterprise a few steps closer.