SECURING LEADING INDIAN CONGLOMERATE

What’s the best way to reduce cost and complexity of the security infrastructure of a large conglomerate with multiple business verticals? Probably, by implementing a robust, comprehensive Privileged Identity Manager – which is exactly what Iraje PIM did for one of India’s leading conglomerates with operations in sectors as diverse as real estate, consumer products, industrial engineering, appliances, furniture, security and agricultural products.

As large and diverse as their organization may be, the client had centralised infrastructure managed by multiple vendors remotely. Given the scenario, managing and protecting critical information was a challenge, security threats were looming large and the client was unable to get visibility on their IT operations.

Iraje PIM offered them a solution that helps them manage multiple vendors spread across geographies and get visibility and control on their privileged accesses. Across-the-board implementation covering all vendors in multiple locations was done in a quick span of 2 weeks, which enabled the client to manage multiple vendors across multiple locations. What is more, the client showed significant ROI by reducing resources required to manage the infrastructure.

“We are very happy with the quick implementation and rollout of PIM to our entire vendor ecosystem. We were able to successfully enforce PIM in the organization and get better visibility and control on our critical data-center environment. “- CISO

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A common question we receive is: “What is the relationship of software-defined networking (SDN) to intent-based networking?”  In this blog we:

• Compare the model of SDN with intent-based networking: How are they different? What should you know?
• Share our point-of-view about why this differentiation ultimately matters to our customers.

What is SDN?

Software defined networking (SDN) developed out of the need to automate, scale and optimize networking for applications that may be provided either via an enterprise datacenter, a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), or as-a-service (public cloud).

We view SDN as a centralized approach to the management of network infrastructure. SDN provides a number of important benefits for network and IT operators through controller-enabled, network visibility and automation including:

• Ability to programmatically automate network configurations, increasing scalability and reliability
• Increased flexibility and agility for changing the network operation to enable an application or address a task.
• Centralized visibility of the network topology, network elements and their operation across the network infrastructure.

Beyond automation: What are the limits of SDN?

While software-defined networks (SDNs) have largely automated the process of network management, organizations now require even greater capabilities from their networks in order to manage their own digital transformation.

For example, IT teams should expect:

• Automated translation of business polices to IT (security and compliance) policies
• Automated deployment of these policies
• Assurance that if the network is not providing the requested policies, they will receive proactive notification.

These are some of the motivations for moving beyond SDN towards intent-based networking.

How intent-based networking builds on SDN

SDN is a foundational building block of intent-based networking. The good news for SDN practictioners is that intent-based networking addresses SDN’s shortfalls. Intent-based networking adds context, learning and assurance capabilities, by tightly coupling policy with intent.

“Intent” enables the expression of both business purpose and network context through abstractions, which are then translated to achieve the desired outcome for network management.  Whereas, SDN is purposely focused on instantiating change in network functions.

In our previous post we introduced the three foundational elements of intent-based networking: translation, activation and assurance.

• The translation element enables the operator to focus on “what” they want to accomplish, and not “how” they want to accomplish it. The translation element takes the desired intent and translates it to associated network policies and security policies.  Before applying these new policies, the system checks if these policies are consistent with the already deployed policies or if they will cause any inconsistencies.
• Once approved, the new policies are then activated (automatically deployed across the network).
• With assurance, an intent-based network performs continuous verification that the network is operating as intended. Any discrepancies are identified; root-cause analysis can recommend fixes to the network operator. The operator can then “accept” the recommended fixes to be automatically applied, before another cycle of verification.

What’s the outcome?

The expanded capabilities of intent-based networking over SDN provide operators with greater flexibility in how to act:

• Firstly, closed-loop feedback is critical to the operational success of intent-based networking.
• Secondly, assurance does not occur at discrete times in an intent-based network. Continuous verification is essential since the state of the network is constantly changing. Continuous verification assures network performance and reliability.
• Finally, if a problem occurs and a recommended fix has been identified, the operator can choose how recommended fixes are applied (depending on the user’s specified policy for that type of fix and the context of the problem), for example: routed to an administrator for “review and approval”, inserted into a ticketing system, or even automatically applied.

In summary, intent-based networking augments SDN, by delivering the network agility that organizations require to accelerate their digital transformation. By adding important capabilities, such as translation and assurance, a closed loop intent-based networking platform helps IT deliver continuous agility, reliability and security to significantly improve IT and business outcomes.

Source: https://blogs.cisco.com/analytics-automation/why-is-intent-based-networking-good-news-for-software-defined-networking

* CISCO is a trademark of CISCO corporation, USA.

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LEADING INDIAN MANUFACTURING FIRM FUTURE-PROOFS ITS INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAKES AN INVESTMENT IN ITS FUTURE

The customer is a leading manufacturing company in India, ranked among the world’s best regarded firms compiled by Forbes. With its storage & network systems reaching end of life, the client was keen on refreshing the DC Equipment at their Plant in Ganjam, Odisha.

Following were the challenges present:

• Provide a simple and robust solution with reduced IT management & administration effort
• Reduce rack space requirements at Client’s Datacenter
• Have new services up and running while ensuring minimum downtime and maintaining a Business Continuity Plan
• Work on limited timelines to implement the new solution

New Solution Deployment:

Galaxy along with Dell proposed VMware Virtualization solution on Dell VRTX chassis and Blade servers. The proposed solution not only meets the client’s existing storage needs, but will also continue to create value for years to come.

Dell VRTX Solution is a unique offering from Dell for Datacenters of the Client’s ROBOs that create and use Data. Dell VRTX is built of customizable modules of compute, storage & networking while being tightly integrated with VMware vSphere, providing one complete solution in a Box.  Alongside the VRTX, Galaxy also proposed Dell EMC DPS solution for Data Backup.

Senior Technical personnel from Galaxy provided HLD / LLD & Implementation of the solution based on Customer’s requirement within 15 days.

Customer Benefits:

• The new virtual environment has enabled the Client to reduce rack/floor storage space by 70 %
• Considerable cost-reduction benefits through easy maintenance and simple administration
• Reduced complexity of integration with different Hardware / Software components
• Increased productivity as solution is very high in availability
• Remote service capabilities with a single vendor for call logging and breakdown if any.

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BOTS AS EMPLOYEES, BUSTING THE MYTH

Digital technology is the latest buzz in the market… what if we at Galaxy, go one step further and say “if we could provide Digital Employees” for your organization.

Don’t panic, we do not intend to replace human workforce – instead we want to create an eco-system wherein digital employees could work as a helping hand to human employees.

Surprised? How can this be possible? What are the processes/tasks that Digital Employees can perform? So here it goes – any tasks/process that is repetitive in nature, has a sequence/workflow associated with it and is high in volume, can be completely automated using software bots or like we call – Digital employees. This could form as eligibility criteria for any tasks/process

Sounds good, but why should I use Digital Employees ? This is a genuine question and answer is ? Digital Employees can perform almost any task – at a fraction of the cost, at much faster rates with almost zero error rate – needless to say all how this could boost business..

Next obvious question is how can we create these Digital Employees (Bots)? Is this a complex process? Can a business user do it without being dependent on IT Team?

The answer is YES. The platform which we provide is very user friendly and has most of the features in drag and drop manner. All the business user has to do – is apply this drag and drop feature as per the business logic. An example to further clarify – sales user can create a Digital Employee (bot) which could do following activity

• Login to CRM application
• Read an excel file that contains data on leads (say 50 records daily)
• Insert excel file leads into CRM application one by one
• Extract a report from CRM application of all leads entered
• Send an of extracted email to senior manager

Imagine the above use case for field sales in banks – wherein on an average the Sales team size is 2000+ and all the sales resources must do this activity on daily basis and that too manually. Digital

Employee can remove these manual/repetitive tasks/process and save lot of productive hours for these Sales Representatives. All of this, without involving the IT Team.

This was just one use case – you could consider any task/process(basis eligibility criteria defined earlier) in the organization and create a Digital Employee to perform those processes. Thus, we provide a platform which creates Digital Employees. The common terminology used in industry to define this platform is Robotic Process Automation i.e. RPA

I hope you are able to co-relate these three terms now i.e. Digital Employee – Bots – RPA.

RPA has wide range of usage and is industry independent i.e it can be used in Banking, Insurance, Pharma, Telecom, Retail etc. Also, within as industry RPA can be applied to any teams such HR, Sales, Accounts, Operations, Support etc

How to start with RPA ? At first, you can identify all processes across multiple teams which could be considered for RPA. Do a feasibility check with Galaxy to qualify the process for RPA and then start off with project. This would be useful for organization which is large and has a team which can dedicatedly work with multiple teams to evaluate processes for RPA.

Alternatively, for smaller and mid size organization, Galaxy would recommend to start small i.e. identify one or two process and start off with the project. Once the usage of RPA is familiar, other teams would gradually understand the benefits of RPA and other processes could be taken up. Interestingly, this methodology was also used by one large international bank wherein started off with small number of process with 10 bots in the environment and gradually over a period of year they reached upto 2500 bots in the environment.

Blog Credit – Robin George – Sales Specialist – Mobility and Automation, Galaxy Office Automation Pvt Ltd

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LENOVO TRANSFORMS SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS WITH BLOCKCHAIN

Lenovo is a strong believer and developer of innovative solutions, so it is not surprising that the company would adopt emerging technologies internally to optimize its own supply chain. Lenovo has consistently been recognized as a global leader in supply chain, but is always looking for new ways to improve operations. To optimize the movement of raw materials, components and $43 billion in finished products each year between factories, distribution centers and customers, Lenovo has implemented emerging technologies such as blockchain.

Blockchain is a digital, decentralized ledger database that records and stores all transactions between users on a given network. Transaction records (or ‘blocks’) are timestamped and cryptographically secured, locking them in a linear, chronological order. This provides a transparent, immutable collection of every record, safeguarded against tampering.

With blockchain, leaders at Lenovo aim to improve visibility and efficiency, drive revenue growth, and ultimately transform their supply chain from a cost center into a profit center.

“We already have best-in-class systems and processes in place, and have been recognized by Gartner as an industry leader in supply chain excellence,” said Bobby Bernard, Global Procurement and Supply Chain Executive for Lenovo’s Data Center Group. “But we’re always looking for ways to optimize operations even further, and blockchain stood out as the ideal way to increase visibility and transparency across the supply chain.”

Vishnu Kotipalli, Lenovo’s Global Supply Chain Strategist, also saw a clear advantage in using blockchain: “It’s the ideal platform for recording supply chain transactions, as it makes it much easier to track and audit the movement of goods,” he said.

Blockchain Increases Transparency and Efficiency in Inventory Procurement

Inventory procurement was a logical place to test blockchain as a proof of concept. Previously, Lenovo used paper to exchange purchase orders and invoices with original equipment manufacturing partners. Bernard saw a huge downside in this process: “It’s a lot of paperwork, which inevitably leads to inconsistencies due to human error, forms lost in the shuffle and so on,” he said. “We want to put this entire process onto the blockchain to make it completely transparent. So rather than sending paper or electronic documents back and forth, everyone will be able to exchange information securely via a blockchain platform. And there can be no question of when a supplier submitted an invoice, for example, as the transaction record is there for everybody to see.”

Moving the procurement process to blockchain also saves a tremendous amount of time. What used to take weeks and even months with the exchange of paperwork now takes only days or hours on the blockchain platform.

Passing Successful Blockchain Solutions on to Customers

Building upon this success, Lenovo plans to implement blockchain technology in other areas of its supply chain, including asset management, supplier onboarding, business partner compliance, software royalty management and tracing the origin of minerals and metals used in production. And ultimately, the company plans to offer blockchain-based supply chain solutions as services to its customers.

Having experienced the benefits of blockchain firsthand, Bernard is excited to help customers institute this emerging technology in their operations as well: “We know from our own experience how powerful a tool blockchain is and the potential it has to transform supply chain operations for the better – now we want our customers to realize that power too,” he said.

Source: https://www.lenovoxperience.com/newsDetail/283yi044hzgcdv7snkrmmx9ozz3uz94crynr4kxte3ddq5ye

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MULTI-CLOUD STRATEGY IS A KEY TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AIMED AT MODERNIZING PROCESSES

Deploying a multi-cloud strategy can lead to substantial benefits, while avoiding vendor lock-in. Here’s how you can do it right. For a growing number of enterprises, a migration to the cloud is not a simple matter of deploying an application or two onto Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or some other hosted service. It’s a multi-cloud strategy that’s a key part of a digital transformation aimed at modernizing processes.

Benefits of Deploying a multi-cloud
1. Using multiple cloud computing services such as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS) in a single heterogeneous architecture offers the ability to reduce dependency on any single vendor.

2. It can also improve disaster recovery and data-loss resilience, make it easier to exploit pricing programs and consumption/loyalty promotions, help companies comply with data sovereignty and geopolitical barriers, and enable organizations to deliver the best available infrastructure, platform, and software services.

3. Cost optimization is a huge benefit. It’s not so much that you are spending less by going multi-cloud, but rather you can manage risk far better.

4. Flexible & Agile: Having multiple clouds “makes you more flexible and agile, allows for the adoption of best-of-breed technologies, and provides far better disaster recovery. One has the flexibility to run certain applications in a private environment, and others in a public environment, while keeping everything connected. Cloud service providers have the right skill sets to make this all happen so that customers don’t have to maintain this expertise in house.”

Like any other major IT initiative, ensuring an effective multi-cloud strategy involves having the right people and tools in place, and taking the necessary steps to keep the effort aligned with business goals. A multi-cloud deployment adds complexities that require organizations to develop a deep understanding of the services they’re buying and to perform due diligence before plunging ahead, Due diligence includes planning. Use a cloud adoption framework to provide a governing process for identifying applications, selecting cloud providers, and managing the ongoing operational tasks associated with public cloud services, educate all staff on the cloud adoption framework and the details of using selected CSPs [cloud service providers] architecture, services, and tools available to assist in the deployment. Moving to a multi-cloud environment might present risks that were not present in current applications and systems, check for new risks and identify any new security controls needed to mitigate these risks, Use CSP-provided tools to check for proper and secure usage of services. A company’s infrastructure should be treated as source code and change control procedures should be enforced. Procedures will need to address differences in CSPs implementations. Decommissioning of services is also part of due diligence. The most important part of any application or system to the organization is the data stored and processed within. Therefore, it is critical to understand how the data can be extracted from one CSP and moved to another. When relying on multiple cloud services to deliver business applications to customers and internal users, having strong integration between services is vital. Put the right APIs [applications programming interfaces] in place so that systems can work together to create a seamless user experience, with no lags or delays in service.

Manage access and protect data:
Using multiple cloud services, including a mix of public and private clouds, presents a host of security challenges. A key to ensuring strong security is identifying and authenticating users. Use multifactor authentication across the multiple CSPs to reduce the risk of credential compromise.

Organizations should also assign user access rights. That includes creating a collection of roles to fill both shared and user-specific responsibilities across the multiple clouds, Companies will need to investigate the differences in how role-based access control could be implemented with selected CSPs. Another good practice is to create and enforce resource access policies. CSPs over various types of storage services, such as virtual disks and content delivery services. Each of these might have unique access policies that must be assigned to protect the data they store. Protecting data from unauthorized access is vital. This can be achieved by encrypting data at rest to protect it from disclosure due to unauthorized access across all CSPs. Companies need to properly manage the associated encryption keys to ensure effective encryption and the ability to operate across CSPs. It’s also important to ensure that each CSPs data backup and recovery process meets your organization’s needs, Companies might need to augment CSPs processes with additional backup and recovery. Keep an eye on cost: One of the biggest selling points of the cloud is that it can help organizations reduce costs through more efficient use of computing resources. Services are paid for on an on-demand basis, and the cost of buying and maintaining numerous servers is eliminated.

Nevertheless, in a multi-cloud environment it’s easy to lose track of costs that can then get out of control. Carefully consider the cost of managing multi-cloud environments, including human capital costs associated with maintaining multi-cloud competencies and expertise, as well as costs associated with administrative control, integration, performance design, and the sometimes-difficult task of isolating and mitigating issues and defects.

However, leveraging service provider-specific capabilities can lead to Vendor Lock -in, so consider the value and commitment of these choices. Not all applications and compute needs are created equally, and as such, it’s not possible to pick a single cloud platform or strategy that meets all your needs. In general, a multi-cloud strategy provides flexibility and leverage. Having multiple [providers] enables you to not be locked into any one, gives you the benefit of innovation and price negotiation. “To fully realize the benefits of multi-cloud, such as workload portability, you must consider your architecture. For example, deploying applications via containers allows for portability.

Blog Credit – Mukesh Choithani – AVP – DataCenter, Galaxy Office Automation Pvt Ltd

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