The modern enterprise is entirely dependent on its connectivity foundation. Largely, this is due to the fact that data, as industry influencers continue to tout, is the currency of the enterprise – and unsurprisingly, businesses are doing all they can to generate as much of it as possible. Nonetheless, as enterprises have become more and more influenced by data-driven insights to develop and execute business strategies, there has been a marked absence of mobile networking advances that aim to make this data more controllable and monitorable by the enterprise. To date, such data remains controlled by a Mobile Network Operator (MNO), who bears the burden of overseeing the enterprise’s data along with countless other customers’ and consumers’ (a virtually impossible task). This has resulted in a rather bizarre moment for enterprises across industries in which their invaluable data is largely inaccessible.
To further complicate things, the increasing use of connected devices to generate data and foster insights creates new opportunities for network infiltration and exploitation. As Leo Simonovich, vice president and global head of industrial cyber and digital security at Siemens Energy, explained in a recent CNBC article, “In the energy sector, 2 billion devices are going to be added over the next couple of years. Every one of those devices could be a potential source of vulnerability that could be exploited by bad actors.”
The Fact of the Matter
This grim truth described by Simonovich applies to every single industry currently undergoing digital transformation. The demand for data-driven insights has resulted in, at times, reckless deployments of IoT devices that can expose enterprises to digital security breaches. Nonetheless, because digital transformation initiatives remain relatively new, the urge to innovate is often prioritized over cybersecurity due diligence. A recent report from Kaspersky, for example, found that while two-thirds of organizations globally use IoT solutions, 43% don’t protect them completely. Oversights like these create countless new points of entry that can be exploited by hackers – often without much difficulty – to achieve illicit ends such as shutting down websites, hijacking cars and infiltrating medical devices.
So how can enterprises secure their digital futures? The key is to equip them with the power of control to manage their networks, devices and data. This is the only way to ensure that the modern enterprise – increasingly global, device-dependent and data-driven – can protect itself. Relying on external service providers to manage, monitor and enforce enterprise digital security is simply archaic and irresponsible in the digital age.
Handing Off Control to the Enterprise
But what does giving enterprises the “power of control” actually entail? It requires ensuring that enterprises have granular control over all of their cellular connected IoT devices from SIM to server. As private mobile networking continues to pick up traction, the market for these data-generating devices is growing. As such, it is imperative that enterprises have the ability to independently perform essential tasks – such as remote SIM provisioning and network policies. Doing so ensures that the confidential information transmitted from those devices remains within the full control and protection of the enterprise at all times. Furthermore, it relieves MNOs of the burden of monitoring – or unknowingly exposing – enterprise data. And with enhanced access to their data, enterprises can leverage insights to rapidly improve decision making and move at the speed of business.
Expeto’s Enterprise First™ platform for enterprise mobile networking provides this vital capability – and more. By equipping enterprise IT/OT teams with the power of control, Expeto gives enterprises unprecedented independence in managing the security of their IoT assets. With the Expeto platform, enterprises can ensure consistent global implementations for both private and public cellular services, and terminate the datapath behind the corporate firewall. Not only does this ensure that enterprises’ invaluable data is secured within a domain of trust, but it effectively remonetizes the millions of dollars already invested into IT security. This is achieved by utilizing the enterprise’s preexisting IT investments as opposed to further investing time and resources to duplicate IT security measures – as is required with APN-based solutions from leading carriers.
Action is Not Optional
As the sophistication and attacks of cyber criminals across the globe escalate, the need for enterprises to realize this type of granular, real-time, on-site control over network security cannot be overstated. And as enterprises continue to heavily invest in their digital futures, any delay in realizing this kind of control puts their entire operations at risk of exposure – and therefore, exploitation. Fiduciary responsibility cannot be outsourced without the risk of significant legal fines, PR nightmares and losing customer trust – meaning the ability to attest and protect data must be top of mind for enterprise leadership. With Expeto’s NeXtworking™ platform, enterprise IT/OT teams have the tools to reap all the benefits of digital transformation with the comfort of knowing that their data is secured and completely within their control.
To learn about Expeto’s solution for enterprises, click here.
