Public Connections? Don’t Follow The Crowd
Written by Todd L. MichaudSeptember 30th, 2009
Public or Private? When it comes to what type of computer network should be implemented within a franchise retail chain, that is the question. Franchisees are challenging their chains to justify the costs, added complexity and reduced reliability of having a private network when there are other chains that operate without one. In today’s retail environment, having a basic, public Internet connection is not a good option. Good or bad, most of business leaders and franchisees disagree, citing the time honored “but everyone else is doing it” argument.
IT security is truly a funny business, writes Franchisee Columnist Todd Michaud. If you ask any business leader about the importance of having a top-notch IT security program, they will almost always tell you that it is paramount. Unless it is a large company that has regulatory requirements, when there is a conflict between a business need and a security concern, the security concerns more often than not are pushed aside or diminished. Such is often the case when determining if the chain should be leveraging a secure network (example: private frame or VPN connections) or going with a standard offering such as DSL, cable, satellite or a FIOS-like product.
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One Comment | Read Public Connections? Don’t Follow The Crowd
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Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
-Ed
October 1st, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Something else to ponder in the VPN vs. Internet debate is in compliance responsibility. With a centrally managed option (such as a VPN) the corporation can control and enforce compliance, whereas without such a setting, each franchisee is provided with the tools to become compliant, however, the ultimate responsibility to follow those practices is up to them.
Managing 1000 security policies 1 by 1 is actually impossible and I’d venture much more expensive than a central option if the corporation takes on that role.