Larger vendors offer better pricing due to economies of scale and can be attractive due to their expertise. However, over-reliance on one vendor means that any disruption to their service could have a severe impact on the availability of your systems.
Diversification of vendors, while beneficial in reducing risk, must be managed carefully to avoid the complexity and inefficiency of dealing with too many different systems.
As the complexity of your IT systems continues to increase, proper testing before deployment becomes increasingly critical. Instead of blindly implementing updates and patches from your vendors, check whether you can test them before releasing them.
Put robust plans in place to manage crises, including clear communication strategies. In a crisis, it’s crucial to communicate frequently and transparently with your clients. Share what’s happening, the steps you’re taking to resolve the issue, and how you’re supporting your customers/partners. Even if the outage stems from a vendor, you are responsible for your customers’ experience and must avoid appearing helpless or overly dependent on the vendor.
Ensuring system availability is a critical pillar of cybersecurity, and risks to availability do not always come from sources acting with malign intent. Organizations should adopt a holistic approach to cybersecurity, incorporating robust incident-response plans, diversified risk-management strategies, and effective crisis-communication protocols. This will help protect against the multifaceted threats of the digital age and maintain trust with clients and stakeholders
All leaders are driven to succeed. But is your ‘be-perfect driver’ impelling you to chase the unachievable? Answer these eight questions honestly to check whether you need to watch out for potential...
Skills are becoming obsolescent faster than ever, and potential leaders are given little time to achieve mastery. Use this questionnaire to decide whether to prioritize depth of experience in your current role,...
GenAI can deliver substantial benefits, but the list of its high-profile failures is growing – and few organizations understand the risks. Tomoko Yokoi outlines how a deliberate data governance strategy can mitigate the risks and...
Other people react to the ‘ripples’ we send out – speech, words, messages, facial expressions – by feeling energized and inspired, or drained and demotivated accordingly. Francesca Giulia Mereu explains how one...
Explore first person business intelligence from top minds curated for a global executive audience