Indirectly Speaking: Wait! Where’s My Laptop?

Here’s a business travel nightmare for you:

You’ve wrapped up a successful trip, now you’re tired, flying home, and grudgingly tolerating seat 34-A. Time to play catch up on email. You reach for your laptop under the seat in front of you and notice the bag feels light. As in real light. Stressed, frantic searching only confirms the worst: No machine.

There’s not much you can do about it while captive at 35,000 feet – other than spend the next five hours flying in a state of panic, hoping you don’t sweat too much.

Not fun. I know because this just happened to me. Now I’m certainly not the first person who’s been either a victim of theft or simply left a device at security out of absentmindedness, distraction or for some other reason (you know who you are). The fact is, the TSA reports hundreds of thousands of laptops, tablets and smartphones left behind -- or stolen -- from screening checkpoints each year. But when it happens to you, it triggers all manner of emotions: Fear, frustration, anger, embarrassment. 

And then, gulp, you have to call your IT department.

Now I’m fortunate to have seasoned, un-panicked and well-prepared IT professionals at the ready. Oh and did I mention NOT ANGRY? In fact, they barely blinked. I honestly think they felt worse about my overwhelming guilt than the fact that they now had to deal with this mess. And deal with it they did.

But on a broader scale, my individual debacle underscores the premium that needs to be placed in all businesses on mobile device management, routine backup and general security protocols and measures. Today’s mobile, on-the-go workforce demands it more than ever.

Let’s cite a few macro stats from my colleague Seth Robinson’s fine report on security:

• Security is becoming the top IT priority for companies, as the recent history with new technology models and the reliance on data has brought focus to the need for tight security and privacy. Accordingly, the market is growing, with Gartner projecting overall spending on enterprise security to reach $100.3 billion globally by 2019.
• Three different movements are driving the modern security approach: the shift away from the secure perimeter, the balance of prevention and detection, and the increased focus on proactive security activities. Businesses must combine technology, processes, and education in order to properly protect their digital assets. 

Technology. Processes. Education. All three matter in preventing or mitigating IT asset-related hijinks. Now, my personal path to laptop redemption ran through an internal IT department. But what about customers that use the channel, especially managed services providers? It’s up to MSPs to ensure the same protections are in place for their business-traveling customers as my IT department does. It should be table stakes, obviously, but taken to another level it could provide additional opportunity.

What kind of opportunity? Consider LOGICnow, not to tout just one vendor, but this PSA/RMM tools-player provides an example of how asset security and intelligence skills could lead MSPs down the road to a more lucrative set of services. In February, the company acquired iScan Online and integrated that firm’s technology into the LOGICnow risk intelligence solution. One capability of this technology is to allow companies – or in this case MSPs – to quantify the value of data on end user devices. Think about it: how much is the data on your laptop valued at (in dollars) – or frankly, on my missing laptop? Turns out, most likely a lot. LOGICnow tests found that one individual’s laptop had data worth more than a million dollars.

That’s a powerful message to take to customers when selling them on your security and asset protection services, right? “Hey potential customer, you’ve got a million dollars of critical information on just one of your employee’s laptops. Let us help you protect that!” Moreover, with the right internal skills, an MSP can move from just protecting that data to helping customers use it for business gain; in other words, entering the realm of business analytics.

Finally, the net-net on my situation. Thanks to my IT department, I have a new machine, but more importantly, the old device has not become a TOTAL liability (other than hardware costs). But the data and files were protected and the IT team was able to lock the laptop down and render it a brick in what I’m assuming is some stranger’s hands. Plus, I didn’t lose anything I need to move forward. The machine’s contents had been backed up to the network as a matter of course in my organization. I work remotely, so automatic backups to headquarters and/or the cloud are beyond essential. I shudder to think about the alternative. There are other tricks to the trade that my IT department employed, but that’s for them to know.

What’s important is that my company was prepared for a worst-case scenario. If you are an MSP, you should be too. It could be your next calling card.