The complexity of enterprise information technology (IT) infrastructure is increasing as companies continue to accelerate digitization. This complexity introduces business risks that are most effectively mitigated by IT controls designed to ensure systems are reliable and secure. IT controls are particularly important in communications tools to protect corporate data and intellectual property (IP), support effective regulatory compliance and facilitate secure communication and collaboration in remote and hybrid work environments.

Protecting corporate data and IP

The need for control to lock down the enterprise IT environment has never been greater as cyberthreats continue to rise in tandem with accelerating enterprise digital transformation. Professional services firm PwC noted that “as companies increasingly pivot toward digital business models, exponentially more data is generated and shared among organizations, partners and customers. This digital information has become the lifeblood of the interconnected business ecosystem and is increasingly valuable to organizations—and to skilled threat actors.”

In fact, data breaches are up by a third this year compared to last year with 5,258 confirmed breaches according to the Verizon Business 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report. While enterprise IT teams work to safeguard data and IP, threat actors are relentlessly looking for vulnerabilities in technologies deployed by enterprises to support changing workflows.

Growing in number and sophistication, cyberattacks are increasingly targeting communications platforms that are a vital component of business operations. In this environment of increased cyber risk, securing business communication requires enterprise-level administrative controls that are architected into communications and collaborations platforms.

No compromise built in IT control and security are what enterprises need today and that is exactly what NetSfere delivers. NetSfere’s enterprise-grade secure messaging platform encrypts conversations end-to-end, while giving corporate IT full control over communications relationships. A mobile-first, multi-platform, with end-to-end encryption across every device, NetSfere ensures that all information shared within the platform is safe without sacrificing employee productivity.

Regulatory compliance

Compliance laws and regulations continue to evolve, challenging enterprises to keep pace with an ever-widening landscape of regulatory mandates. Today, these mandates, which are getting tougher and more consistently enforced, require enterprises to take a strategic and measured approach to compliance that includes implementing robust administrative, technical and physical IT controls.

Mobile messaging and collaboration platforms with anemic administrative controls jeopardize an organization’s ability to meet regulatory obligations and increases the likelihood of fines and reputational harm. The threat of risks like these are all too real for enterprises using consumer-grade messaging apps like WhatsApp and collaboration tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams – all of which collect consumer data, putting compliance with data privacy regulations at risk.

NetSfere features the administrative, technical and physical data security practices that make it easy for organizations to meet the most demanding and evolving global compliance and privacy requirements including GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, FINRA, SOX, DFA, and more. The platform’s strict no data collection policy also recently earned it the distinction of being named a leading secure enterprise messaging and collaboration platform in a recent 451 Research report.

With NetSfere, organizations can significantly improve their security posture and eliminate the risks of noncompliance and data leakage.

Hybrid and remote work

While new working models (i.e., hybrid and remote) are reshaping the world of work, NetSfere is providing benefits such as productivity gains, increased employee engagement for enterprises, and end-to-end encryption to combat the increasing number of cyber threats that enterprises are seeing due to these new working models.

Hybrid work models are projected to become the norm for many companies in the aftermath of the pandemic. Research from WeWork and Workplace Intelligence found that post-COVID-19, employees want to split their time between corporate offices, their home, and other environments like co-working spaces or cafes. Companies are open to this approach with the research showing that 79% of the C-suite surveyed will permit their staff to split their time between corporate offices and remote working, if their job allows for it.

Fully remote work is also here to stay. A report released by Upwork found that “growing acceptance of remote work amid the pandemic will create increasingly distributed and flexible teams in 2021 and beyond.” Upwork projects that 22% of the American workforce (36 million Americans) will be remote by 2025.

This transformation of the world of work is elevating risk for enterprises. Gartner noted in its Top Security and Risk Management Trends for 2021 that “for many organizations, this shift requires a total reboot of policies and security tools suitable for the modern remote workspace.”

Organizations can securely adapt communication and collaboration to new working norms with NetSfere. NetSfere gives IT staff control over all aspects of the platform. From centralized management which manages users and devices through an IT administrator’s control panel toremote wipe which destroys sensitive enterprise data on devices no longer authorized to access it to device-to-device encryption, NetSfere is architected with always-on IT security and control that reduces business risk while increasing productivity in hybrid and remote workplaces.

As technology infrastructure and systems become more complex, enterprises must take control of their IT environments with an enterprise-grade mobile messaging platform like NetSfere. NetSfere powers enterprise communication and collaboration while safeguarding critical systems and data, ensuring compliance and facilitating secure communication and collaboration in remote and hybrid working environments.

Don’t let risky communication and collaboration solutions control your enterprise. Gain control with NetSfere.