Secure your net or we don’t have a deal

Net security is no longer pertaining to one own corporate network alone. It has to do with securing your transactions with just about anyone you transact. Imagine the chaos a small airline ticketing office across the world - with access rights to the ticketing database of a major US airline - can create if their system inadvertently let in a spy ware or a virus? It could possibly result in the entire database having to be shut down and cleaned.

It is not surprising then that most big companies are ensuring on certain stringent security measures being put in place by the smaller partners they have business dealings with. According to Scott Larsen, IT director of a small online travel site that has business dealings with majors like Travelocity "Honestly, we do not believe it's an option. If we want to do business with companies like Travelocity and the big hotel corporations, it's a requirement for us to meet their security requirements. Otherwise we're just another small company that wants to play with the big boys but really can't"

With so many Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) jobs being outsourced by western nations to countries in Asia owing to their cheaper labor costs, companies have to be extra careful as there is so much of privacy related data and in many cases even highly confidential data including credit card data and equally sensitive data. With a large number of cyber thieves and hacker presence online protecting such data is of paramount importance in the interest of the customer and that of the company’s reputation.

While most organizations probably understand the need for security, not many are willing to invest the huge amounts required to ensure the levels of net security required for online transactions. Besides theft are the nuisances in the form of viruses entering ones network and resulting in a total wipe out of important data or forcing a shut down.

In the future grabbing a deal will not merely be dependant on having a high speed connection but it will require adherence to laid down security standards. After o one wants a downtime for time is money.