Here's a scary Halloween story for you.
An angry techie and poor password management cost a company $800,000
After the IT staffer and consultant for the large pharmaceuticals company was fired, he rigged his revenge. Since the company had not properly revoked password access to the network,
Jason Cornish was able to jump on and wreak havoc. His revenge was of the angry IT guy type: he deleted 88 servers and completely shut down operations for the entire company, costing it approximately $800,000.
This is really a lesson in hiring people and partners according to values, not to mention having proper processes in place for when employees leave.
As in any industry, the greatest threat to your company is from the inside. It’s appropriate to ask ourselves a few questions before beginning a new employee or vendor relationship:
1. Do you hire employees based on values or technical skill alone? Consider making the un-teachable values the highest priority on your hiring agenda. Many skills can be taught, but values cannot.
2. Do you have employee exit strategy processes in place to ensure all passwords and accesses are revoked and changed appropriately?
3. Do you trust your technology partners? Do they consistently prove their character and integrity in the workplace and community?
Patrick Sullivan is another of a long line of oddball IT guys here at Claris Networks. Sure, his name is as Irish as they come, but hearing this Tennessee boy from Corryton speak leaves no mistakes where he’s from. “My southern drawl is pretty thick, and my wife and I live on 13 acres, but we were never farm people,” Patrick explains. “My Yankee grandmother talks so fast, and I so slow, that we honestly can’t understand each other.”
Spend five minutes with Patrick Sullivan, and he will redefine your definition of the “tech guy.” A common thread among the IT guys here at Claris is that their main passions lie outside technology. Sure, Patrick’s had his hand in network technology for a while. (In fact, he’s even written much of the curriculum for Fountainhead College of Technology’s distance education program). But Patrick says, “IT is interesting, and through IT we can do a lot of cool things. But what I really love is people, fellowship, being a part of a team.”
And Patrick is no stranger to the “team” dynamic. “I’ve always been a sports fan. The things that I’ve learned in sports translate directly to my career. The things you look for in a good football team player, you look for in an employee. I just can’t get sports out of my system. I played football in high school and began to play at Carson Newman.” He played semi-pro football for the Knoxville Knights back in 2006, and has been consistently on the lookout for new opportunities to play. Like the one that came along October 22nd.
“I saw there was a new pro arena football team coming to Knoxville, so I bookmarked the page online. When they announced they were having tryouts for the team, I decided to give it a shot. I don’t have any delusions of being some big-time football star, but I think I can be successful.” (If you’ve met Patrick, you probably don’t think he’s delusional. I for one wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of a tackle from the guy). “Tight end or wide receiver would be my ideal position; I played receiver in the past and really loved it. But I would honestly be happy playing anywhere.”
We should know fairly soon about how Patty’s tryout went and will keep you posted, but I wouldn’t make fun of him if he doesn’t make the cut. Don’t let the genteel southern drawl and charm mislead…he might be tempted to tackle you.
Claris Networks has been named to the Fast Growth 100, a list of the fastest growing members of the IT channel. Among those receiving the award, the average growth rate was nearly 200%, with many growing thousands of percentage points over previous years. Aside from being an honor for Claris Networks for some very hard work, it shows how far advanced much of East Tennessee is in its adoption of technology. Tucked away in the south is a growing region of business owners who see the competitive advantage of cloud computing and managed services. Removing the risk of owning and managing IT, their move to the cloud has freed resources, streamlined IT budgets, shaved capital investments and improved the end-user experience for much of the region’s businesses.
Read more about the
Fast Growth 100 here.
While not exactly the flying car anticipated in the 1950’s, today’s cars are going to the clouds. Along the lines of the
Internet of Things, Ford’s latest concept car communicates back and forth directly with the Cloud. The Ford Evos is embracing cloud computing to deliver unprecedented intelligence, communication and safety to the driving experience.
“An Internet-connected vehicle could provide benefits to its driver by accessing the Web to scan weather and traffic reports in real-time in order to suggest routes, warn of accidents ahead or even alter the suspension and handling to fit the road conditions. A rainy, wet road might require more responsive steering, for example.”
The author notes that “the world seems ready for a cloud car,” and we in the cloud computing industry would have to agree. Car manufacturers’ slogans testify to the fact that the world is ready as well. (Stay with me here.) Let’s take a detour for a second to look at some car manufacturers’ slogans:
· Mercedes: The Ultimate Driving Experience
· Peugeot: Live the pleasure.
· Toyota: Your new experience of motoring.
· Ford: Feel the difference.
So how do these car slogans show that the world is ready for the cloud? They’re about the end-user’s experience. It’s the same way with cloud computing.
Cooled seats. Good gas mileage. Onboard On Star in case of emergencies. Lightning fast and really, really cool looking. Any of these attributes could contribute to a desired end user experience in a car. The reason people use the cloud is the same reason they drive a certain car over another one:
· It’s fast
· It’s more efficient
· Repairs are cheaper, less frequent and less stressful
· No frills or all the frills…your choice
· Etc, etc, etc
The experience of driving a Jeep is why you buy a Jeep. The experience of driving a Mercedes is why you buy a Mercedes. The experience of the cloud (on your peace of mind, your staff and your financials) is why you use the cloud.
Hey, you’re really on top of things! Now that you know one thing a QR code can do, here are some examples of a few really cool ones. Have you seen other examples?
And while you’re here, feel free to check out the rest of our blog. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for Dan Thompson’s Black Friday Hi Tech Lowdown and the Claris Networks Crazy Free Stuff Holiday Giveaway, which should be cranking up soon!