Manufacturing And Warehousing IT News For VARs — January 20, 2015
By Trisha Leon, contributing writer
In the news, factory production rate is its fastest in four years, marketing technology can benefit from lean principles, and measures you can take to prevent data loss.
Production Increases At Highest Rate In 4 Years
Manufacturing.net writer Andy Szal reports that factory production increased at the fastest rate in four years in 2014 in the article, “Industrial Production Showed Strong Growth In 2014.” Gains in the job market in addition to falling gas prices across the country boosted consumer spending, especially during the last three months of the year, and analysts predict that this spending will continue. PNC Financial economist Gus Faucher says, “Manufacturing has been a growth driver throughout the U.S. recovery from the Great Recession, and will remain so in the near term.”
How Lean Practices Can Be Applied To Marketing Technology
Dan McDade, president and CEO of PointClear, offers advice on applying lean practices to marketing technology in the third article of the Industrial Distribution series, “3 Painful Lessons Early Adopters of Marketing Technology Learned That You Can Avoid.” He discusses how companies can increase marketing return 300 percent by employing segmentation, nurturing, and closed loop processes. According to McDade, by focusing on lean practices, “where every step in their processes must add value for the customer,” companies can learn from others’ marketing technology mistakes and capture a much greater return on their marketing investments.
Steps You Can Take To Minimize Data Loss In The Cloud
The Cloud Tech guide, “How cloud providers can prevent data loss,” by David Auslander details the many types of data housed in the cloud and measures that can be taken to minimize data loss. Protecting company and customer data can be a challenge. As Auslander says, “Feature Cloud service providers find themselves in a struggle balancing responsibility for maintaining data integrity with delivering cost effective solutions to their customers, all the while protecting their own data assets and bottom line.” This article gives practical solutions cloud providers can use in order to secure customer data while also protecting their own.
Hackers Turn Attention To Mobile Devices
Mobile devices are coming under attack from hackers. The CNet article, “Your computer and smartphone, held hostage,” by Seth Rosenblatt explains “cybercriminals are making their attacks personal, remotely locking your computers and smartphones until you pay a hefty ransom.” Ransomware is big business for hackers. According to the article, “CryptoLocker, which uses email attachments to infect and encrypt computers, harvested nearly $30 million in about 100 days, according to estimates from Keith Jarvis of Dell's SecureWorks counter-threat division.” It’s no surprise, then, that these hackers have taken to attacking mobile devices. Rosenblatt says to combat these crimes, to install an application on the device that blocks ransomware and to notify police in the event of an attack.
Manufacturing And Warehousing IT Talking Points
In the ZDNet article, “Before you dump your servers for the cloud, consider these doomsday scenarios,” David Gewirtz recommends understanding the risks involved with moving to the cloud. He doesn’t warn companies to avoid the cloud altogether, far from it. He advises users to understand the risks and make provisions for if and when things go wrong, if for instance, cloud providers change business models or are the subject of a security breach. As Gewirtz says, “My recommendation is you develop a backup plan, a Plan B, and always keep it in your back pocket, just in case. Because despite promises, despite reputations, despite years of good experiences, I've long learned that ‘just in case’ happens.”
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Manufacturing And Warehousing Tech Center.