Ever since the conception of the Internet, data gathering and transferring reaches high speed, and thus the higher the data security risks are too. With the prevalence of information theft and a large number of hackers, how one does make sure that anything that they share through the web will be secure enough. These days, millions of information and data go through the internet as it becomes a vital medium of communication. Everyone uses the web for most of their day to day transactions as almost everything can be done online such as shopping and online banking to name a few.
Nowadays, no matter what is the scale of the business and whatever industry it is, promoting it online is one of the biggest platforms you can advertise your business. Through social media and maintaining a website, you can direct more traffic to your services and products. The importance of the internet for everyone may vary but none can contest how it actually made things easier for everyone. For students and teachers, research has never been easier, paying and shopping has never been more convenient than before and for entrepreneurs, they utilize the internet to generate more traffic to their business. *Businesses benefits in ways such as:
- profits
- visibility
- customer base
- customer support options
- opening hours (since the internet is ‘on’ 24 hours a day)
- cost savings
- networking opportunities
- research capabilities
- marketing options, including digital communications and automation
- workplace and business efficiency
- operational flexibility and productivity, eg remote working or outsourcing
- data storage and management capabilities, eg through the cloud
- access to a diverse range of business tools and applications
It is the same for the offshoring outsourcing industry. And with the emergence of the BPO industry in the Philippines and how it flourishes to this day, data security risks are on top of the lists that every offshoring outsourcing companies take a lot of time preventing. Data breaches are a pain in the neck. For instance:
*“Data may frequently be shared with third-party professional service providers, such as law firms and accountants, who will often have access to extremely sensitive data. Many organizations outsource key elements of their business (eg insurers and their claims departments), and increasingly, businesses rely on third parties for their IT infrastructure, and many outsource data retention to cloud data suppliers.”
So how does a business such as yourself that are considering outsourcing as a way to support your growth ensure that all the data and information you will be exchanging with your chosen offshoring outsourcing partner is safe? What are the possible ways to prevent data breach and loss? And how do we, at Virtual Colony assure you as your potential outsourcing partner are covering all your bases?
We at Virtual Colony believe in transparency. We can accommodate all the necessary arrangements to prevent any security breach. We believe that constant communication and closely working with your in-house IT security will protect both ends from any cyberattack. Furthermore, according to an article from the Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines’ webpage albeit posted in 2012;
“The newly signed Data Privacy act is expected to strengthen the Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) Industry, by making Philippine legislation in line with International Data Privacy Standards, according to officials from the Information and Communications Technology Office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ICTO).”
The article also stated that what the then Deputy Executive Director for ICT Industry Development, Alejandro Melchor III added that:
“The new law will help us sustain our momentum as an emerging global leader for shared services, one of the fastest-growing segments of the IT-BPO industry. There are indications the market is selecting the Philippines as the preferred destination for this segment.”
Aside from having an existing amendment about data security, Virtual Colony also takes additional steps to protect any information and data that is being exchanged between us and our clients. These steps include but are not limited to CCTV installation, pfSense installation, and Comodo Internet Security for endpoint protection.
In the end, it is all in the matter of trust. Even if we cover all our bases, trust is something that cannot be exploited by both parties. The trust that is being built with each other should be based upon mutual respect and transparency. Both parties shall have to be clear with all their expectations and plans for the company data security.
*Sources
