Any business should recognize the vital importance of managing information. Many companies need to deal with a variety of sensitive information and they do this on a regular basis. So, whether we are a multinational corporate or a one-man establishment, it is important for us to maintain proper IT management procedure. Here are things that we should do:
- Implement guidelines and policies: The rules of the game should be about implementing guidelines, processes and policies. We should choose the one that’s appropriate for our business. In this case, we may need to choose a top down approach and we could show the organization that we are fully committed. In this case, we should be willing to invest and we need to protect our data. We should be aware that the simplest solution is to keep our IT management rules simple. In this case, our rules should be very easy to follow.
- Always lead by example: This is an essential factor in any leadership style. Leaders who lead by examples will be followed by their subordinates with much higher loyalty. Senior management should be enthusiastic in following the company guidelines and policies. These rules will become pointless if they are not followed by the top management. It is important for us to lead by example and we should show the team that we seriously take issues related to information security.
- Improve staff education and training: This should be very obvious. A company won’t be able to manage information resources if the staffs aren’t properly educated. There are responsibilities and roles that our employees need to adopt. Without proper rules, we can expect people to provide a highly effective protection for our data. The company should be able to teach staff about things that they need to do. Rules must be followed and we should speak to these people if they have any issue or question. The whole training process should be entertaining and exciting enough. It shouldn’t be seen as a dull and very dry topic.
- Maintain reliable business processes: It is essential for us to implement an appropriate business process. In this situation, we should align our information security policies. In any case, we shouldn’t bypass any form of control that we have implemented if we want to achieve business goals.
- Use similar technical solutions: It is important to implement a proper technical solution. IT implementation should be seen as a driving force that protects our data. It should be considered as one of the available tools in our disposal. Therefore, we should have the proper technical IT solutions that can provide our company with the proper protection in line with our data security policies.
- Perform spot checks: It is important to make sure that our staffs are following our IT rules. This will allow us to warn people who fail to follow rules. However, we should make sure that staff genuinely and sincerely follows the spirit of the program, instead of being dragged like sheep. This is also a good way to make sure that staff is encouraged to come up with the best available ideas.