A large automotive client presented Calance with a challenge that needed a quick solution. They received a mandate from executives that all IT requests for service are fully documented, receive proper approvals from business and from finance, and make sure all testing and QA is completed and approved before deploying into production. This was mainly as a response to new compliance directives, but with the added benefit of streamlining the process and increasing efficiency.

Additional requirements included detailed documentation for each IT service request with proper oversight and approvals from the business, finance and IT stakeholders. As each request progressed through workflow, the solution would also enforce and require documentation for testing, QA, implementation and post-implementation verification. From a technical strategy standpoint, Calance was tasked to extend the basic design to connect to the client’s Mainframe legacy data, legacy MS Access applications and a web-based time tracking application.

Following a solutions assessment process, Calance recommended a Business Process Automation platform offered by K2. The K2 platform enabled Calance to implement an architecture that integrated existing tracking systems and connected them to reviewers and approvers involved in the workflow lifecycle. The K2 platform enabled Calance to quickly build and deploy a complete enterprise workflow solution with no or minimal coding, with flexibility to extend and modify workflows with custom development.

For the automotive client, we needed to extend the basic design to connect to Mainframe legacy data, legacy MS Access applications and a web-based time tracking application. The K2 platform also provides reporting and analytics out of the box. Clients are able to track progress of requests, get statistics on performance and detect potential bottlenecks in the business process. Using the platform, we were also able to develop our own web-based search and reporting.

Below is the workflow Calance developed for Requests for IT Services:

The resulting solution implemented by Calance greatly streamlined our client’s workflow process, introducing efficiency through automation of notifications to each participant, increased governance and process control, administrative/audit reporting, and a robust system for storing and accessing all workflow artifacts.

When discussing security risks with clients we tend to use The House Example. Think about your security systems like a house. When you leave your house you might take basic security precautions like locking the doors and closing the windows. Maybe an unseasoned criminal would jiggle a door handle, notice it's locked and leave. A more seasoned criminal, however, may come along jiggle the handle, and then smash in a window. This is precisely why people set up cameras and invest in additional home security.  

Systems security works in the same way. Your house is your systems and your basic securities (your 'locks') are your firewall and antivirus. Most companies stop here. Unlike the house example, cyber criminals are more seasoned and more savvy at slipping in undetected. Once a cyber attack happens, there is likely significant long term damage that could have been avoided. Calance works to detect and respond to these threats around the clock.

See 'Your Guide to Security as a Service (SOCaaS)'

Common Misconceptions

If you've found that your company is at risk, take immediate action before a breach occurs. 

Take a recent case from the news. On March 18, 2017, The North Carolina State Government suffered from two large data breaches. These breaches leaked sensitive information including personal information and the URL of the state's cloud storage provider on the public internet. There was also a ransomware attack that slowed the government to a crawl until they paid a $23,000 ransom to a group of hackers. Instead of giving into demands, the government refused to pay and decided to start from scratch.