More and more of the software used by companies in the ARM industry is based online or in the cloud, instead of being locally hosted on a machine or a server inside of a collection agency. That changing dynamic can create a lot of uncertainty about the safety and soundness of using web-based software, especially in an industry that has not always been quick to adapt to new technologies. A panel of experts spoke on a webinar last week about how companies can and should be mitigating those risks, and how cloud-based software can provide more benefits than locally hosted solutions.
The speakers for the webinar were:
- Kevin Epstein, Chief Architect, Onica
- Matt Kiefer, Chief Information Officer, Preferred Group of Tampa
- Jeremy Mapes, Mapes Consulting
- Keith Barthold, Chief Executive, DKB Innovative
The webinar was sponsored by InterProse. A copy of the webinar recording can be accessed here.
“There is so much data in the ARM industry, it can be a problem to deal with,” Barthold said during the webinar.
When it comes to evaluating software, especially web-based software, Mapes offered three tips: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability.
“If you lose any of those three things, you’re compromised,” Mapes said. A key to making sure that none of those things are ever lost is by making sure that data is encrypted – that includes while being transmitted between a terminal and the web-based server storing the information, as well as while the information is at rest inside the web-based server. Strong encryption is a must in today’s environment, the speakers said.
