We’re offering a right royal welcome to this month’s newsletter, where we have articles that look at how to best leverage and protect an asset that’s precious to all businesses - its data. First, Thomas LaRock, Head Geek at SolarWinds, explains why production data represents the “Crown Jewels” of any company, even if isn’t always afforded the same high level of security as the real thing: “Just as the accessibility and security of the Crown Jewels is important to the royal family, the same needs to be true for your organisation. In this case, the "crown jewels” are the production data enabling you to conduct your mission-critical business tasks and processes, including the core applications the company needs simply to function on a daily basis.”

So what can be done to increase the security of this data, short of hiring the IT equivalent of Beefeaters? For Thomas it all comes down to two words – and you can discover what they are by reading his article!

We also have an opinion piece from Jonathan Rothwell, CEO & Co-Founder of D55 which explains why 2023 will be a milestone in our journey towards a data-driven future. “Data-driven everything is the process of using actionable data analysis and interpretation to produce more effective strategic business decisions,” according to Jonathan. “A data-driven approach, which utilises a combination of connected technologies including databases, data systems, AI and ML, enables businesses to more accurately optimise the way they serve customers and employees by using the freshest data possible. The benefits of realignment are myriad, with intra-team cohesion and increased day-to-day efficiency advantages gained.” The technology to support a data-first approach to business is out there - will your business be ready to make the move this year?

And speaking of all things 2023, we’re pleased to announce that the finalists of this year’s Network Computing Awards have just been announced as this issue goes out, and voting to determine the winners is now open! For more details and to cast your votes please visit the awards website.

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