“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Don’t store unnecessary data, keep an eye on what’s happening and don’t take any unnecessary risks.” – U.S. politician Chris Bell
People walking past the headquarters of Internet content delivery network Akamai Technologies in Cambridge, Mass. can look in and witness a scene straight out of a Tom Clancy novel. I recently toured Akamai’s glassed-in security control room, which features banks of monitors tracking international Internet security and rows of desks where security specialists work to detect and contain threats to Akamai’s network. Whether an attack originates in China, Spain, or Oklahoma, Akamai has made every effort to ensure they are able to deal with it and show the paying public that their data is safe with them.
Not every company needs to publicly demonstrate their defense capabilities as Akamai does, but most would be well-advised to have an internal system of risk mitigation in the form of a comprehensive competitive intelligence strategy – complete with a market intelligence component. Such a plan allows a company to identify ways in which it may be out-of-step with the market and troubleshoot those weak points before they grow to become larger liabilities. It can also help a firm preserve its vision without letting it obscure market realities that present a threat.
Dodging industry dissonance and staying ahead of one’s competitors is no less challenging than tracking hackers, and companies that establish their own CI/MI control room empower themselves to push back against the unpredictability of the markets and address such risks on their own terms.
This article was originally published on ShiftCentral, now part of LAC Group.
Mario Thériault
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