Workflows lie at the heart of everything we do – literally. A workflow is involved in everything from making our morning coffee to carrying out complex innovations or research projects at work.
Workflows are designed to connect tasks and teams to optimise efficiency; that is their traditional role. In research commissioned by ServiceNow, Bernard Salt, the noted demographer recently stated that assembly lines are still relevant to manufacturing more than a century after their discovery.
According to Eric Swift, Vice President and MD, ANZ at ServiceNow, information technology has radically changed our approach to workflows, so we can now automate specific parts of a designated workflow to create more efficiency. However, if we only automate a few parts and not the entire workflow, there are bound to be bottlenecks and delays.
The automation and integration of workflows needs to continue to evolve in order for us to avoid these issues and create coherent experiences at work.
Why is ‘Workflow Revolution’ the need of the hour?
Post-pandemic, simple workflows have been disrupted. For instance the process of collaborating and engaging with peers by peeking over their cubicles became a complex workflow of scheduling an informal chat and then showing up on time, ready to have that casual chat in a Virtual domain – amid all that ‘Zoom fatigue’.
The pandemic changed how work happens and that also calls for a workflow revolution. Employees are returning to the office part-time and companies have recognised they need to develop hybrid work models as the permanent status quo.
As companies try to conquer the ‘Turnover Tsunami’ – a noted side-effect of the pandemic – and strive to retain their talent, workflow automation can mean the difference between talent loss and efficiency gain.
According to Bill McDermott, CEO, ServiceNow, “the COVID-19 crisis put people and their well-being first. We will not be going back to the old and often rigid ways of working. Instead, the future means enabling employees to choose where, when and how they want to work.”
Automation makes it easier for employees to do their job and as a consequence, it also leads to better customer experiences. Improving both the employee and customer experience is high on the priority list for organisations today in order to nurture loyalty from both.
A noted outcome of the pandemic has been a flare-up in cyberattacks and breaches, so a third priority pillar for organisations must be to strengthen their security posture.
How can organisation-wide security be revolutionised with better workflows?
It needs to be understood from the outset that identity management and governance is a process, not a one-time activity.
Though there are a number of tools and systems that enterprises can put in place to dramatically improve their security, in reality the best way to protect digital identity and resources against potential breaches is to stay constantly vigilant and to update the process continuously.
However, because of multiple challenges on the practical front, this doesn’t always happen.
Here are three reasons security performance may be less than optimal.
- Lack of visibility: Often employees simply don’t follow security governance protocols. Their lack of visibility shields them from the effects of their action (or inaction) on the entire process. Legacy manual processes and outdated systems typically don’t leave a track of ‘who did what and when’.
- Disparate systems with no interconnections: Many organisations continue to use different systems for service management, so SecOps and IGA often lose out when data and processes have to be transferred manually from one system to the other.
- Systems that generate a negative employee experience: Irrespective of the systems and processes, employees may not follow the processes if the system they use doesn’t provide an intuitive and user friendly interface.
Building workflows into enterprise security
Rigorous cybersecurity practices need to be built into all enterprise workflows so they become an integral part of the knowledge management system.
ZertID natively integrates with ServiceNow, SecOps and GRC to build a truly connected IAM platform that leads to identity management & governance workflows that natively integrate with your business, HR and IT workflows.
This will meet the need for organisations and enterprises to balance employee and customer concerns while ensuring organisation-wide security.
ZertID allows you to extend the known ServiceNow interface for IAM & IGA and improve your security status quo.
WRITTEN BY
Alan Hollensen
Writer and Social Media & Content Marketing Manager