More profit optimization analytics

Assessing an organization's security risk is an important element of an effective enterprise security strategy. It's also a key way to justify future security spending to upper management. In this Dark Reading report, we recommend how to conduct an IT security risk assessment -- and how to translate the results into terms that make sense in dollars.

IT has good reason to demand standardization in SaaS, IaaS and PaaS offerings. But what’s interesting is that vendors themselves are just as interested and, in many cases, are driving standards efforts. In a market this fast-moving, the old top-down model is being turned on its head.

Devices running Apple's latest mobile operating system -- including the iPhone 5 -- are all over your network. Learn how to keep your users safe and productive, and find out about the six features in iOS 6 IT pros will love or hate.

They are out to get you, make no mistake. But there are things you can do to make sure that your organization is unappealing to a cybercriminal bent on finding easy pickings. The key is to understand what cybercriminals are looking for and how they go about the business of infiltrating vulnerable systems and networks.

When it comes to protecting PCs and laptops, IT puts too much emphasis on malware detection. You'll get better results by focusing on performance, management and -- most importantly -- how users and the security software interact. This report tells you how to evaluate endpoint security software based on what really matters.

Exclusive research of 230 IT pros and 68 carriers providing 4G services shows that while customers are pleased with service now, the future looks far less certain.

A managed security service provider should lift at least some cost and resource burden from the IT department's shoulders. But what if it doesn't? What if you aren't any more secure after entering into a contract with an MSSP? And how do you even know if it's doing everything it promised? There is an art to managing the MSSP relationship after the initial deal is done. In this report, Dark Reading provides recommendations for testing the mettle of MSSPs and for dealing with providers if their performance isn't up to snuff.

In this follow-up report to 'Understanding Software-Defined Networks,' we examine IT deployment plans and explore the technology ecosystem around SDN. This report drills into the current and planned efforts of the Open Networking Foundation, which is driving standardization of the OpenFlow protocol, and provides details on SDN strategies from 17 vendors.

When it comes to monitoring, the application space is often forgotten. This leaves a gaping hole because the behavior of applications can reveal a great deal about security events and their causes. The inherent variability of applications can make monitoring a challenge, but enterprises can extend existing tools to include the applications space. In this report, we make the case for the development of an applications monitoring strategy and provide recommendations for implementation that tap into existing products and processes.

Database activity monitoring, or DAM, is an effective compliance and security strategy. However, not every DAM system will work the same in every organization. Indeed, not every organization can even make use of every feature that DAM systems provide. In this report we examine what DAM can and can’t do, and recommend how to evaluate and implement the best system for your organization.

Even as mobility and cloud take off, too many companies still leave data in the clear, spooked by operational and performance concerns. Yes, key management is still a problem. But here are five ways to use encryption without breaking your existing infrastructure, plus a look ahead at the next big thing: identity-based encryption.

If there’s one thing that’s true about security, it’s that an organization can never be completely secure. The trick is to determine what’s most valuable to your organization, and how big the threats to those assets really are. That’s putting risk-based management simply, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. In this report we provide some perspective around risk-based security, as well as recommend some best practices for developing and effectively implementing a program.

The confluence of smartphone-fueled employee mobility and ubiquitous cloud services means it's time to update your data loss prevention strategy. The key: Data protection isn't something you can buy. "DLP 2.0" needs to expand into a smart set of policies backed up by a mix of products.

We hear a lot about controlling devices and data. But there's a third consideration that's just as critical -- and a lot less high profile. Don't let an intense focus on employee mobile devices leave you exposed via insecure apps.

What do concepts like the semantic Web, mashups, Web 3.0 and open data have to do with your enterprise relational databases? Much like consumerization continues to drive innovation in end user computing, these technologies deliver benefits that your business should be exploiting.

Nine in 10 IT pros think mobile will increase in importance, but fewer than half have deployed or are in the process of deploying mobile device management systems. Our review of suites from Good Technology, Symantec and Research In Motion, plus analysis of the most important MDM capabilities, reveals why some companies are holding off.

Today’s 802.11n wireless LANs can reach 450 Mbps to 600 Mbps -- not too shabby. But hold onto your hats because here come next-gen Gigabit Wi-Fi products with 802.11ac enhancements that could deliver nearly 7 Gbps. In this report, we’ll discuss what 11ac brings to the table, which applications benefit, when products are likely to surface, features to look for and guidance on how to get the most from 11ac while protecting past WLAN investments.

Companies of all sizes are embracing data visualization, self-service BI and big data analysis, our survey finds. Advanced analytics is of particular interest to our respondents: 62% say they’re using these technologies to optimize business operations, while 44% aim to identify business risk and another 44% hope to predict promising new business opportunities. This report explores use cases in higher education and insurance, and shows how emerging analytics techniques are achieving breakthrough results.

Got mobile users accustomed to nonstop social networking and sporting multiple devices: PCs, tablets, smartphones, Windows 8 hybrids -- you name it? Then a cloud-based service may be a perfect fit for enterprise collaboration. Plenty of vendors are eager to win your business. Find out what to look for and get profiles of 11 top contenders.

Thirty-one percent of our survey respondents said they anticipate end user support/help desk will be a top area of staffing decrease -- more than for any other category. However, 16% said this area is one of two that would see the biggest increase in staffing at their companies in the next year. BYOD, social media and the general consumerization of IT may be changing the nature of the internal support role at companies -- and in some cases creating new opportunities for support staffers.

Antivirus systems alone cannot fight a growing category of malware whose strength lies in the fact that we have never seen it before. Dark Reading examines the ways in which zero-day malware is being developed and spread, and the strategies and products enterprises can leverage to battle it.

Infrastructure may be cool again thanks to SDN, but network guys aren't having all the fun: 48% of the 543 respondents to our latest State of Servers poll mix and match server vendors, and 40% are intrigued by rack-based designs, like the one being developed by the Open Compute Project. But it's not all fun and games, as 63% say high virtualization/consolidation ratios are stressing their gear.

The next steps in going virtual up and down the stack, from network to desktop: Automation and finally taking hypervisor security seriously. The two go together, because if you're going to trust production systems to run without human intervention -- a must for delivering IT services on demand -- you'd better be darn sure attackers can't gain control.

Avoiding budget surprises is a top priority for IT. Two main keys: Spend smart up front, then tightly manage enterprise software licensing and maintenance.

Apple’s latest smartphone ushers in a new hardware package paired with an updated OS. Here’s what enterprise IT teams charged with supporting employee mobility need to know about Maps, security, Passport vs. NFC, networking and more.