A suggests cloud spending will exceed $10 billion in Australia this year. But the government’s cloud security guidelines need to go further in overcoming barriers and drive further uptake of cloud technologies. Advancing our digital economy is a central focus of the 2021-22 federal budget, so the government has a huge opportunity to demystify cloud services.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Digital Transformation Agency released last year. Their purpose is to better inform organisations, cloud service providers (CSPs) and Information Security Registered Assessors Program assessors about carrying out comprehensive risk-based assessments of CSPs and services.

The federal government is also piloting cyber hubs to share cyber services and security expertise across Home Affairs, Defence and Services Australia. This is a real step forward and something we need to see more of, as a successful pilot would create a blueprint for wider adoption. It’s pleasing to see from the Australian Signals Directorate and Digital Transformation Agency suggesting an extension to non-corporate Commonwealth entities.

The guidelines and cyber hubs are an important step in improving engagement with cloud services, but there is still much to be done in educating its agencies and the broader community about the advantages of cloud technologies. There are several critical issues with the existing guidelines – assessment is expensive and slow, contractual controls for risk mitigation can be improved, as can overall agency understanding of and consequent adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud solutions.

Change is needed to overcome these issues, including a shift to continuous risk management underpinned by a whole-of-government risk management framework, the management of certifications across agencies, and encouraging government and community take-up of SaaS to improve cybersecurity defences.

Read more from Ramah Sakul in The Mandarin

To explore this topic in more detail download the Cloud Control paper from the Cybersecurity Research Co-Operative Centre and 51ˇçÁ÷.

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The taskforce also urged governments to more favourably evaluate proposals or tender bids from companies that adopt cyber security and other risk standards for telecommunications and the internet of things (IoT). Again, they know that without security being front of mind throughout the supply chain, vulnerabilities can creep in.

The taskforce’s recommendations for federal, state and local government agencies follows in the wake of the government moving to expand the label of “critical infrastructure” and create new security obligations and mandatory reporting for various public and private organisations via the draft legislation on Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Systems of National Significance.

These organisations could face steep penalties if they ťĺ´Ç˛Ô’t answer the call to become deeper partners with Australia’s government in all aspects of security, particularly cyber.

The government is clearly taking a more holistic approach to cyber security – and so are enterprises. But this gets tricky once you factor in cloud solutions (Public and Private), whose agility and scalability are increasingly necessary for organisations to capitalise on the value of rich data, streamline distributed operations, realise cost efficiencies and make better use of contemporary and emerging tech.

However, platforms like 51ˇçÁ÷HANA have evolved over a decade to help reconcile some of these tensions. Let’s take a look at how.

Can cloud solutions complicate security?

Regardless of architecture, security teams have to think carefully about who has access to data and how they’re accessing it.

Most recently, with on-premise architecture, it was a little more like a traditional building with an entrance and an exit. It’s a lot simpler to control security when you’re managing limited entry points. While many or even most cloud providers have robust security measures in place, cloud solutions do come with more entry points.

However, the security of those entry points differs based on public versus private cloud, as well as a wide variety of factors. For instance, within public cloud, there’s simply a greater number of side doors that require the same level of security. With private cloud, you control who has a door and what you let in and out.

That doesn’t mean organisations should sacrifice the benefits of all public cloud solutions – in fact, that might do more harm than good. It just means that security considerations need to govern any decision to bring new cloud extensions or providers into your environment. But ensuring scalable, enterprise-wide solutions is where things can get trickier.

Solutions that marry security with flexibility

In many organisations, elements of information are taken out of core systems and put into other data lakes, repositories or spreadsheets. The same piece of information is not only repeated in multiple areas but also with varying degrees of security applied to each of those different locations. If the weakest link determines the strength of the chain, then this approach means there are far more links whose strength is even harder to control or test.

Solutions like 51ˇçÁ÷HANA, whose 10-year evolution has always been anchored in protecting information and assets, can go a long way to resolving this sort of issue. As an enterprise-scale in-memory database designed to allow end users to have a conversation with their data, HANA caters to large volumes of data and diverse use across a broad user community. The way this can be leveraged for better security is simple: the more information you have in a secure, controlled, unified container, the easier it is to protect that information with centralised security measures.

HANA also enables real-time anonymisation of data displayed in SQL views. This means companies can analyse even the most sensitive and regulated of records – such as those in healthcare – while still protecting data and supporting compliance with privacy standards like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Solutions like Data Warehouse Cloud are the next evolution in further resolving tensions between innovation and security. It allows organisations to extend secure data environments to secure cloud solutions, combining features of HANA with the rigorous security frameworks provided by a range of hyper-scalers. So, even in complex multi-cloud systems, you can achieve a consistent enterprise-wide data management framework and connectivity to other systems, whether that be public, private, on-premise systems or ubiquitous data sources like IoT devices.

Changing how we think about cyber security

Various types of platforms and architectures can help achieve robust, enterprise-wide security frameworks without sacrificing the benefits of cloud. But strengthening your security posture will also depend on shifting mindsets and educating stakeholders about cyber security and management of risk. There are plenty of business imperatives for this already, but 2021 will see additional regulatory control and incentives as the federal government takes a bigger role in cyber security.

Two big mindset shifts need to happen across all of industry and critical infrastructure sectors. First, when it comes to IT systems and reporting environments, we too often test them based on how we expect them to perform. Particularly from a security perspective, we need an extra level of testing that focuses on what malicious actors want to do and what they’re going to try. It’s important to test systems based on how we want them to be used but also how we ťĺ´Ç˛Ô’t want them to be used.

Secondly, we often talk about how to collect data, store data and extend data. Cyber security compels us to ask: what are we going to do with this data? How will people use it? This is particularly crucial now that workers are less tethered to offices or corporate networks. It’s more important than ever to think about the potential usage of data and truly consider its security risk, ensuring that the device and solution set you’re using to present or extract that data is genuinely secure.

Major crises and national challenges in 2020 have reinforced the importance of collective success – when even one element struggles, so does the larger group. It’s an especially important principle in cyber security, where the tiniest vulnerability can open entire ecosystems to potential harm.

Yet the choice between security and innovation is a false one. Still, the topic is undeniably complex and demands ongoing discussion and thought.

So, what are you doing to protect your organisation while still pushing it forward?

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To find out how SAP’s Business Technology Platform can help meet your security needs, visit the .

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COVID-19 accelerated digitalisation across public and private sectors. We saw spikes in demands for specific goods and resources, thereby testing the resilience and adaptability of supply networks. Social cohesion and trust were challenged, communication channels were flooded with new users and increased traffic as people were stuck in isolation and becoming increasing reliant on digital technology to work and communicate.

The Australian Information Industry Association recently put together a whitepaper, , which outlined four key areas from which the AIIA presented its recommendations:

1. Building a National Digital Backbone supported by data intelligence and analytics to highlight deficiencies and areas for improvement across industries.

2. Building a Digital Australia that is Secure and Resilient based on policy reform and investment to attract global cybersecurity talent and developing intelligent technologies.

3. Building Digital Skills for the future by promoting, investing in, and supporting the retraining and upskilling critical technical skills in Australian workers

4. Tax, Incentive, and Government procurement reform that incentivises businesses to collaborate with research institutions and non-R&D-based innovation.

The team I work with are about helping people understand the digitalisation of supply chain management and how intelligent technologies can create greater interconnectivity across supply networks and country borders. Today, more than ever, supply chains need to continue building resilience and responsiveness to support economic and social recovery worldwide.

Intelligent technology solutions play a critical role in not only creating efficiencies, but interconnecting systems and processes to operate with greater insights. This helps businesses and governments plan and forecast with accurate and comprehensive data. To help businesses be more responsive and resilient to future shock events, intelligent enterprise systems are vital to businesses and governments alike.

The ability to connect different supply chains, business structures, workforce dynamics, and financial systems onto a single platform provides any organisation with the visibility to manage with intelligence, with the data insights necessary to adapt and anticipate change. As outlined in What Resilient Companies Do Before, During, and After Turbulent Times by David Sweetman, 51ˇçÁ÷Senior Director of Global Marketing:

“As change becomes more intense and disruptive, intelligent ERP enables businesses to listen intently, operate more intelligently, and stay connected to suppliers, customers, and employees. Doing so safeguards the business from missing out on unexpected demand spikes, much-needed investments, and evolving buying habits and preferences.”

“But resilient companies go a step further with this technology. They use this information – often captured, processes, and analysed in intelligent ERP such as 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA – to focus on their core competencies and make investments that strengthen it.”

Intelligent ERP systems lay the foundation for building intelligent networks of digitally enabled enterprises all operating optimally and with shared insights. Connecting these different functions and organisations help manufacturers manage and coordinate the entire product lifecycle while minimising waste and optimising processes.

This challenging time has demonstrated the importance of interconnectivity both in how we communicate and operate across industries and geographies. Within manufacturing, it’s about being responsive to spike demands, adapting to the new policies determining work environments and safety while safeguarding resources (human and material).

David Sweetman’s follow-up blog, Guide to Supply Chain Resilience in Changing Times, outlined the importance of intelligent enterprise networks in managing highly volatile demands and high volumes of business-critical data. These data insights are paramount to mitigating risk, diversifying resources, and providing avenues for automation.

With intelligent technology platforms like 51ˇçÁ÷S4/HANA, businesses have a single source of truth and control across diverse and disparate systems to run more efficiently. As cumbersome and often manual processes are eliminated and other vital functions streamlined, businesses can focus on core competencies and value-adding tasks.

Sourcing, logistics, warehousing, distribution, workforces, and resource management connect and communicate intelligently. When manufacturers adopt Industry 4.0 and incorporate digital technology into every business facet, they can dedicate more resources towards customer service, growth, diversification, and sustainability.

Manufacturers are realising just how important consistency can – through intelligent technology – be automated and ensured throughout the product lifecycle. This doesn’t just provide businesses with ongoing quality and delivery assurances, but platforms like 51ˇçÁ÷S4/HANA offer inbuilt localisations to ensure regulatory needs are analysed, controlled, and data supported for decision making.

Intelligent technology platforms create end-to end functionality and collaboration, from sourcing, to workflow, logistics, customer service, and financials. By integrating these functions into 51ˇçÁ÷S4/HANA, manufacturers can adopt Industry 4.0 more easily, operate more efficiently, and ensure business continuity while focusing on the processes that matter. Explore how is

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In our , I was fortunate to speak with 51ˇçÁ÷Vice-President and Global Innovation Evangelist, . We discussed the ever-shifting world in the light of COVID-19 and the technology solutions that are helping business adjust, adapt, and evolve.

Due to the rapidly developing situations across international governments and businesses, Timo acknowledged that change is not optional for most organisations right now. “Around the globe, people are being forced into more digital transformation in a tighter timeframe than they had ever imagined,” he explained.

“Everybody is facing the same issues: how to embrace the changes with as much confidence as possible. How can companies minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities, to stay resilient now and reinvent themselves in the future.”

“What is important are the same things they’ve always been – how do companies define and focus on their core competency, how can they drive deeper customer relationships, the advantage of new business models, how can they streamline operations, and ultimately emerge stronger than ever before?”

Timo noted that the most critical element at times like this is transparency, which stems from good data. “To make decisions we need to take the data we have available and turn it into reliable insights,” he explained.

“We’ve been talking about the data value equation, in general, ‘amount times quality times usage equals value’. The more data you have, the better the quality, and the more people get to access and use it, the more value you’ll get. I think that’s a good basis for thinking about how organisations can move forward in this environment.”

According to Timo, cloud-based data orchestration allows business to connect that data to create a holistic view of business networks without physically moving it. “These data pipelines connect to business applications, or a data warehouse, or your suppliers’ data, a data lake, or some spreadsheets someone’s pooled together, and you can bring that information together to get a single view.”

At the heart of all this is the breakthrough technology of machine learning, Timo expressed. “Predictive analytics, advanced statistics, machine learning – these technologies have been around for decades, but really in the last few years they’ve made a breakthrough in terms of the computing power available and the quality of the algorithms and the amount of data available.”

“Machine learning technologies are more powerful when you’ve got lots of data to build the models. It’s basically sophisticated pattern matching – it’s not magic or anything like human intelligence. It really is automating complex and repetitive decisions in new ways. This is a huge opportunity for any kind of data leverage. It means, firstly, that we can automate applications.”

Timo noted that automation is not about eliminating roles rather freeing people from repetitive tasks and instead focus on core competencies. “People are the technology you should be maximising right now in your organisation,” he added. “There is nothing more intelligent than people, they’re the only ones that can understand what’s going on – the full context of the environment – and what needs to be fixed to move forward with solutions.”

For times of uncertainty, Timo said, the keys to success are agility and flexibility. “This is an era of constant change, so fast adaption and innovation has to become core competencies for all organisations. Technology is a huge advantage; the organisations that embrace the cloud are undoubtedly better off right now than the companies that still have to have people working on their on-premises data system.”

According to Timo, the biggest area of benefit is taking the power of cloud and integrating it with business processes. “The idea is that you can rapidly adapt and change your business processes without having to wait for new functionality in your core systems. Running your systems in the cloud, you just want to spin up a quick application where you can add new functionality on top of your core foundation quickly and easily.”

Timo said, “For example, you may need a lot of visibility in your supply chain, so you quickly create a mobile application that takes sensor data from your manufacturers, combines it with some core business master data, maybe some location data, and gives you visibility in the end-to-end supply chain.

“Using cloud platforms makes it easier to adopt agile development. Using things like Design Thinking, you can quickly create programs and tests and iterate, so you can learn as you go, based on the feedback of users.”

You can join Timo with other industry experts for a virtual event for businesses looking to build resilience and reinvent during this turbulent time.

“We’re trying to be as helpful, optimistic and forward thinking as possible, Timo explained. “We’re absolutely going to be talking about technology and how it’ll be helping them to the extent that’s possible. We’ll be investigating how the technologies can help people do their jobs better. And then we’re trying to be helpful, look forward to the future.”

To learn more about how this unlock the power of Business Technology Platform and data-driven insights – check out this , visit the , or today. Listen to the .

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