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Contributed by Ian Raine, Director of Product Management, iManage

Security, Cloud and Analytics: Three Predictions for 2017

If April's Panama Papers leak taught us anything, it's that a comprehensive security program is more than a nice-to-have, it's a need-to-have for the protection of both a company's data and its customers'. As the year comes to a close and businesses begin looking to 2017, it will be critical to give security planning its proper due. That means knowing what trends to expect and how to prepare for them. Here are three predictions for the industry to help teams get on the right track.

1.     Security will transcend IT

In 2017 security will continue to grow and evolve into a top business priority - for both large corporations and SMBs alike. Where once it was a line item for IT departments to handle, smart businesses will begin treating it as its own entity completely - with its own program budget, team and seat at the leadership table. This will be especially true for organizations that belong to federally regulated industries such as banking and insurance.

2.     Cloud vendors will become more transparent

2017 will see even more businesses moving operations and private data to the cloud, and because of that, security will remain a top concern and become an essential criterion for vendor selection. Those vendors that wish to stay competitive will have to invest more into security and will need to be more transparent about how they will protect customer data. Vendors that remain less transparent will see a significant decline in business to competitors.

3.     Analytics will shine light on internal threats

As data breaches continue making headlines and challenge businesses to elevate their security measures, we'll see a growing awareness in 2017 around the potential danger of internal threats. Protecting against internal threats will become just as important as protecting against outside attacks. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) will no longer be sufficient to ensure the safety of confidential or proprietary information. Instead more businesses will start employing analytics tools to monitor when data is being accessed, by whom and for what purpose. These tools, combined with educating employees on the proper use of technology, will allow businesses to identify and combat the accidental or malicious misuse of data by employees with unprecedented certainty.

Above all else, it's important to remember to treat security as a living thing. If a particular piece of software or internal policy isn't providing the level of protection needed, it may be time to find a new partner. Malicious actors are always looking for the next best way to exploit a business's confidential information, and once they find it, the business must be agile enough to adjust and counter. Keeping a vigilant watch on data and an ear to the ground are tactics that will most help in mitigating the damage of security breaches in 2017 and beyond.

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About the Author

Ian has over 25 years of experience in the IT industry, building information governance and records management software products for the enterprise.

Ian is currently head of product management for the iManage Govern division, responsible for iManage's suite of information governance products for professional service firms.

Prior to joining iManage, as Senior Vice President of Engineering in HP Autonomy, Ian was responsible for global teams working on a portfolio of governance, document and records management products and led development, QA and Support activity for Meridio, an Enterprise Document and Records product company.  Ian was previously Chief Technical Officer at Unibol.