Recently in New Internet Category

Get Smart with FaceTime

By
Sarah Carter
 on June 7, 2010 10:39 AM | | Comments (0)
Kailash Ambwani is FaceTime's CEO and President: 

Today is an interesting and memorable day for FaceTime.  Earlier, Apple introduced their next generation iPhone and announced that it will use "FaceTime"  as the trademark for its new video calling application. 

 

I'm intrigued with the way that the use of the term "facetime" has evolved since we named our company about a decade ago.  Ten years ago, our solutions were for Instant Messaging and other "virtual facetime" applications of that ilk.  Now, "facetime" will refer to an application that enables callers to see one another, while using a mobile device and that makes me reflect on how far we've come.

 

Today's announcement echoes our long held belief that the Internet has changed - from one-way information delivery to two-way communication and collaboration. The New Internet is increasingly about communications, collaboration and communities - whether it's social networking, instant messaging or now video calling, users are increasingly bringing these tools into the workplace (if you didn't yet check out the results of our fifth annual survey - then you'll find some evidence of that here)

 

Our agreement with Apple to transfer the FaceTime trademark to them comes as we are rebranding our company to better reflect our capabilities.  From our virtual facetime beginnings 10 years ago, our solutions have continued to evolve and renaming our company will better reflect how we help enterprises leverage new communication in a secure and compliant manner.

 

So, it's an exciting day.  When I look around at these new communications tools - like a video calling application on a phone -I'm reminded of the old TV shows (I want no comments or jokes about my age...) with secret agents running around with video watches tracking down the bad guys.  It's amazing what we can now do.  I guess shoe phones and the cone of silence aren't too far away. 


Good thing our company will be there to keep the networks and the data secure and compliant.

Secure and Enable the New Internet

By
Kailash Ambwani
 on December 7, 2009 5:25 AM | | Comments (0)

Last month we announced that Check Point Software Technologies had purchased our application database for use in their products. According to Check Point, this technology will "... provide businesses unparalleled granular control over application usage and enable security administrators to prevent threats associated with the use of certain Internet applications. Check Point will offer this new level of security controls as a Software Blade that will be available for all gateways." (read their release here: )

This deal reaffirms our leadership in the Web 2.0 security space. More importantly, it highlights the growing need for network solutions that provide visibility and control at the application level not just at the port & protocol level. Check Point sees this need and will use our database to provide application level control. Application level control will become the price of entry in the Firewall market.

But beyond visibility and control, what enterprises are asking for is "enablement".

  • How do I allow access to Facebook or LinkedIn and stay in compliance with FINRA or FERC or HIPAA or PCI or [insert your favorite regulation here]?
  • How do I allow access to YouTube videos but not the inappropriate stuff?
  • How do I allow access to blogs and wikis and webmail but ensure that confidential information if not getting posted?

Our customers realize they can't block access to the New Internet - they must enable it.

Which is why our mission statement reads "Secure & ENABLE the New Internet"


How are you and your organization enabling the new Internet?  What tools and applications do you need to secure to effectively enable your team?

Yesterday's solution doesn't address today's issues

By
Sarah Carter
 on December 2, 2009 4:54 AM | | Comments (0)

Today's guest blogger is Eric Young.  Eric is FaceTime's Sr, Director of Field Services, and works with FaceTime customers to implement leading edge security and compliance solutions for Unified Communications and Web 2.0.  Eric's worldwide role gives him an insight into the global requirements of organizations implementing real time communications technologies to enable their businesses and works closely with our product team to ensure that FaceTime solutions remain at the forefront of the industry.

 

Yesterday's solution doesn't address today's issues.

 

I was onsite with a customer recently completing our fifth competitive replacement within the Fortune 400 in the past 6 months.  As the customer was detailing all of the requirements the previous solution did not satisfy, it made me wonder, how are other customers of these competitors feeling they are operating in a compliant fashion? 

 

If you, as a compliance officer or legal counsel, cannot make sense of a group chat conversation, cannot actually view the content of a blocked message, or can't see what folks are trying to post to a social networking site; how can you possibly defend your organization from SEC fines or from a lawsuit in a court of law? 

 

Security technologies evolve quickly, especially in the area of real-time communications - but the adoption of tools like Unified Communications, Instant Messaging and social media has grown exponentially - in many cases even without the knowledge of either IT or compliance.

 

Regulation and compliance changes too, with the times.  Most recently I've seen FINRA starting to address the issue of social media and issuing guidelines to member organizations and individuals on how usage should be treated. 

 

We all understand there is a big difference between "logging" and "being compliant" but knowing there are still some banks and other highly regulated companies using these legacy solutions that were designed for technology of a few years back, it begs the questions:  What are the minimum requirements for security and compliance for Unified Communications, Instant Messaging and Social Media?


And, what are you doing about dealing with emerging technology?

 

 

 

Guest Blogger: Damon Martin, of SKT on Unified Comms & Web 2.0

By
Sarah Carter
 on November 25, 2009 6:15 AM | | Comments (0)

Damon Martin, takes a primary role in the development of technical and sales direction for SKT, a national Unified Communications consulting firm based in the central US.  Damon executes consulting practices and sales methodologies developed to ensure organizations realize the promise of Unified Communications.

Here, Damon discusses what's changed in the workplace - and what's becoming more relevant.

For many of us that have been consulting on Unified Communications for years it is hard to see the transformations when they are happening.  I remember talking to organizations about CTI when the idea that your computer could talk to your PBX was bleeding edge.    There has been an enormous amount of discussion in the past year about Unified Communications and its business impact.  An interesting transition for me has been that I don't find myself answering the question "What is Unified Communications?" anymore.  Instead, I find myself talking to organizations about what Web 2.0 and social networking mean to their business. The reality is that those questions are a natural progression of the dialog.  There is an inherent link between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networking tools and Unified Communications.


What is changing in the workplace?
There is awareness within today's workplaces that we have to find ways to become more productive.  The effects of today's economic environment and acceptance of the "new normal" have allowed us to see the workforce output that is expected for information workers at our companies.  That productivity is fueled by an increasing demand for a collaborative working culture.  There are several trends that are emerging in the new workplace:

  • Unwillingness to return to previous employment levels
  • Demands for higher productivity from information workers
  • Elimination of organizational layers
  • Increasing expectations for staff to take on a variety of roles and responsibilities

There is an interesting phenomenon of the new workforce; workers are finding an environment where they are being forced to collaborate with others at a much higher degree than was required previously.  This pressure has a logical conclusion that we are seeing play out in many organizations:

  1. Workers need to collaborate quickly and effectively and today's phones and email are not fast enough with most communications resulting in a voicemail or replies hours later.
  2. Workers have become accustomed to instant access to friends and family with text messages, Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging.

The result is that workers have a desire and need to use collaboration tools.  If we look at Unified Communications as a tool and explore its ability to add business value by driving collaboration, we can start to understand how social networking is an indication of the willingness of our teams to embrace Unified Communications and Collaboration.

Why is Web 2.0 relevant?
The key to the adoption of Unified Communications in the workplace is embracing it as a collaboration tool.  The question about whether people can use social networking tools to collaborate has been answered by the prolific growth of tools and social network sites.  The burden now is on solutions providers and vendors to help executives at companies understand how to leverage a Unified Communications platform to provide a tool-set.  Businesses need to continue growing productivity without returning to the staffing levels they that drove up costs.  We hear the question "how can we get our staff to embrace Unified Communications".  The key is to understand that they already have by tweeting feedback at a trade show or posting pictures of grandchildren on Facebook.  The vendors are doing a good job of showing demos of how Unified Communications works to IT departments.  In the interim, workers are finding ways to collaborate because they have to stay competitive and provide the output that is expected in today's workplace. 

Conclusion
It is time for the technology departments to accept that Unified Communications is not something that can be migrated to over time or tested for small user groups.  Businesses are not going to back away from demands for increasing productivity.  Workers have realized that collaborative communication is the way to make productivity sustainable.  We have to work to help organizations understand that Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) is where the consumer acceptance of social networking and the business software for Unified Communications come together. 


Damon originally posted this blog entry at the SKT Blog earlier in November 09.  You can follow Damon on Twitter.

Enterprises realizing the value of Social Networking

By
Kailash Ambwani
 on November 3, 2009 12:48 PM | | Comments (0)

I had an interesting meeting with a customer last week regarding the use of social networking. This is a large broker dealer with several thousand financial advisors across the country.


The IT department is getting pressure from the business users to allow the use of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all of which they currently block. When I asked them why the business units wanted access to these sites, they gave me three reasons:

  1. The financial advisors are telling them that referrals they get through Facebook and LinkedIn tend to convert to clients at a much higher rate than any other channel. This resonated with me - at FaceTime we constantly remind our salespeople to leverage their social networks for prospecting. It is well know that human beings are tribal by nature and are more likely to respond to someone who is "connected" to them in someway - even when you have millions of connections!
  2. Their marketing group is focused on the 35-45 year old demographic since this is where people hit the peak of their earning power and start thinking about financial planning. Getting clients in their late thirties means you can hang on to them 20-30 years. Turns out that the over-35 demographic is the fastest growing user group at Facebook and the largest segment for both LinkedIn and Twitter.
  3. Finally, the company is finding that their ability to recruit at college campuses and MBA schools is enhanced by their Facebook and Twitter presence. As we all know, college kids live with these technologies and businesses that block access are seen as old school.


I am hearing similar reasons from other customers across all industry groups. Enterprises are recognizing the power of social networking to recruit new customers, stay in touch with existing customers and enhance communication with their employee base.


Of course there are several challenges that need to be overcome. In a survey FaceTime conducted in June of this year, organizations identified their top three concerns as content leakage, regulatory and corporate compliance and reputation damage.

"I am not worried about the guy who wants to steal information" the IT manager at a large services firm said to me. "I am worried about mistakes. People don't realize that competitors can also see your status update on LinkedIn and if you're talking about working on a particular project, you've just told the world." The inadvertent leakage of content is a common concern among the security managers I speak with.

On the compliance front, regulatory authorities are increasingly focusing on the use of these networks within regulated industries such as financial services, energy and healthcare. For example, FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, recently formed a Social Networking Task Force to look into the compliance challenges posed by social networking sites.

Finra CEO Rick Ketchum said, at the SIFMA Annual Meeting "Social networking sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn provide new ways to connect, inform and interact with customers... They also raise new regulatory challenges. For example, as currently designed they may not allow you to archive and maintain the communications on your own books and records."

 

Reputation damage is another concern for large enterprises. How do you track what employees and customers are saying about your company? The CIO of an electric utility company noted that they used Twitter to communicate information about outages and other emergencies to their customer base. "I worry that a disgruntled employee or customer could hijack our Twitter account and start spreading misinformation".

 

Another customer, a large bank that ran into some problems integrating an acquisition, talked about how customers were blasting the bank on Facebook and Twitter. "Because we block the use of these sites within our company, we were caught off-guard and didn't understand how we should respond to these comments." The IT manager noted. "Our marketing group is now formulating a strategy on how to leverage these platforms. We need to be more savvy about these channels."

 

Notwithstanding the challenges, it is clear that enterprises recognize the value of these sites and are motivated to overcome them. (Shamefaced sales pitch follows) FaceTime recently announced USG 3.0 which is designed to address these challenges and allow enterprises to leverage the benefits of social networking.

 

I would be interested in hearing your views on the use of social networking in your business. Do you agree with the above reasons? Are there other reasons?

Social Networking? or Social NOTworking?

By
Sarah Carter
 on July 1, 2009 8:06 AM | | Comments (0)

It's not so long ago that I'd wonder what I did without my instant messaging client just to get through my working day. Not, you understand because I needed my latest fix of emoticon laden gossip with far flung friends, rather so that I could use Windows Live, Microsoft OCS, Lotus Sametime, Skype (yes I'm a serial IM'er) to get answers I needed from people who were online, rather than abandoning my question in a voicemail black hole.

 

My must have applications of choice now?  Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for starters.   And it appears I'm not the only one to join the social revolution.  FaceTime's June survey on social networking had over 87% of 1199 respondents using social networks, with 39% using a social network every day.  

 

Now most of the folks I social network with are work related.  And my communications are during the working day.  And they respond in kind.  (So.. there's a Sherlock Holmes style deduction going on here) It's elementary, my dear Watson, that they must therefore be using social networks in the workplace.

 

And our survey agrees with that.  With a whopping 85% of respondents believing that their users are utilizing social networks from the corporate network.  We'd been somewhat surprised earlier this week, when Chris Boyd, our Director of Research uncovered a keylogger on the kids popular social networking site Neopets.  (Neopets (originally NeoPets) is a virtual pet website, based around the virtual pets that inhabit the virtual world of Neopia.)  

 

Chris found hackers targeting 12 year olds - and probably their more affluent parents.

 

Interestingly, sites such as Neopets are accessed in corporate environments too - FaceTime collects live traffic data from commercially deployed Unified Security Gateway appliances at more than 80 mid to large enterprises worldwide that have opted into this program, representing the daily Web-based activities of more than 100,000 corporate workers.

 

During the past week, these corporate workers have accessed 99 different virtual worlds from their work computers, and at least half of those are targeted at children. Perhaps, as Chris suggests, the kids are asking their parents to check on their Neopets at work or see if the latest friend request on Myspace has been approved?

 

I guess it's at this point in time that the corporate security folks start shaking their heads, and blocking access to social networks, updating those URL filters, tightening up the rules on the firewall.  You know the drill. 

 

Hold up.  Whoa.  Stop. 

31% of our survey respondents reported that Social Networking is critical to business - but must be secure and compliant, citing business benefits from better employee communications to improved marketing communications, more efficient recruiting and faster decision times through collaboration as the key benefits that social networking delivers.

 

But that's not all.  40% of our survey respondents derived their information about their employee social networking usage from URL filter logs.  The Web 2.0 applications and real time communications tools that make up the social networks and the internet that we use today are highly evasive, specifically designed to get around Web filtering, firewalls and other traditional security solutions using a variety of techniques like port crawling, tunneling and onion routing.  So the reality is probably that there is a lot more of this traffic that folks are just plain NOT SEEING, let alone managing.

 

I'll leave you with the thought that our web 2.0 world is no longer about blocking (even if your traditional URL filter could..) it's as we at FaceTime say (and our survey respondents agree with resoundingly)  - our new social order needs enabling, just make sure that it's done securely and compliantly.

 

Why China's Web Filtering Plan Won't Work

By
Larissa Gaston
 on June 22, 2009 12:13 PM | | Comments (0)

As you've no doubt already heard, China recently announced plans mandating that all new computers sold in that country - including imported PCs - be delivered with pre-installed and pre-configured Web filtering technology beginning July 1, 2009.

 

Branded Green Dam-Youth Escort, China's foreign ministry spokesman defends the software claiming it's "aimed at blocking and filtering some unhealthy content, including pornography and violence" in an effort to protect children.

 

Putting aside the obvious discussions of censorship versus freedom of information, there's a fatal flaw in China's plan. Maybe we shouldn't tell them this, but Web filtering software alone doesn't block people from visiting Web sites and/or accessing Web applications.

 

Surprised? While the Internet used to be primarily about transmitting and accessing fairly static information via HTTP, FTP and e-mail it's now dominated by Web 2.0 applications such as instant messaging, P2P, VoIP and social networking sites. Savvy Internet users already use tools like anonymizers to mask their browsing habits, and real-time communications and Web 2.0 applications are highly evasive, specifically designed to get around Web filtering, firewalls and other traditional security solutions using a variety of techniques like port crawling, tunneling, onion routing, etc. - after all, their goal is to grow their communities and ensure users have the full experience.

 

From what I've read, neither China nor the media has considered or addressed this. I'm certainly not in favor of China to block access -- yes, FaceTime helps organizations control employee Web browsing and use of Web 2.0 applications, where visiting certain sites or using certain applications may be inappropriate in the workplace, put the company at risk or impact productivity -- but the Web sites you choose to visit and applications you use at home are for you to decide and parents to control.

 

The backlash over China's censorship plans is widespread, including nearly 20 trade groups representing technology companies calling on the Chinese government to reconsider the mandate contending that it "raises significant questions of security, privacy, system reliability, the free flow of information and user choice." There's also the California company that claims the mandated Internet filtering software contains stolen programming code. Other articles say the Chinese government has already backed down, retreating on its controversial new web filtering plan, saying the software can be uninstalled or switched off.

 

It's not clear yet how all of this will play out, but you have to ask, if China's mandate won't be effective, why do it at all?

Peace, love and free URL filtering

By
Larissa Gaston
 on April 16, 2009 11:09 PM | | Comments (0)

LarissaSarah_tiedye.JPGEvery self-respecting marketing person would dress up like a hippie for the sake of a marketing promotion, right? Well, Sarah Carter and I would, anyway.

 

You see, here at FaceTime, we're all about peace, love and free URL filtering. Okay, yes, it's a promotion we've been running for the past couple of months, but we really do feel the love when it comes to helping our customers manage their budgets by eliminating URL filtering renewal fees. Rumor has it there will be a group of protesters at the RSA Conference next week speaking out against those fees so be sure to stop by the FaceTime booth #2339 and check it out. And don't forget to wear your tie dye.

 

Seriously, all this commotion and protesting, but we really don't have anything against URL filtering. Everyone needs URL filtering, it's just that it's not enough when it comes to managing the New Internet. A much more granular level of application control is required when it comes to securing and managing Web 2.0 including social networking, multimedia, virtual worlds, VoIP ... and the list goes on.

 

So we've been having a lot of fun with our No URL Filtering Fees promotion in our Larissa and Sarah Show episodes. NetworkWorld even called our YouTube videos quirky. We'll take that as a compliment.

 

Peace out. 

 

Maybe Perception is NOT Reality after all

By
Frank Cabri
 on February 3, 2009 3:22 PM | | Comments (0)

Your employees really are on Facebook at work, trust me. And they're on more than 400 other social networking sites as well. Ok, if you're one of the companies that blocks the Facebook.com domain you may be saving your company a bit in terms of employee productivity, but from a security standpoint it's only the tip of the iceberg.

 

During fourth quarter 2008, FaceTime collected live traffic data from more than 80 mid to large commercially deployed networks worldwide, representing the daily Web-based activities of more than 100,000 corporate workers. In parallel, a large sample of IT managers were surveyed on a variety of topics, including how many Web 2.0 applications they believed were in use on their networks. One-third estimated the number at less than eight.

 

In reality, FaceTime's actual network traffic data shows an average of 49 Web 2.0 applications installed in each of the 80 reporting locations. These applications include social networking (with Facebook topping the list), instant messaging, Web-based IM, streaming media, IPTV, P2P file sharing, Web conferencing, VoIP and anonymizers. 

 

 

IT Estimates (Survey)

FaceTime Actual Tracking Data

Instant Messaging

66%

100%

Web based IM

35%

97%

Streaming Audio/video

80%

94%

IPTV

10%

100%

P2P File Sharing

54%

96%

Web Conferencing

82%

83%

Social Networking

60%

100%

VoIP

40%

100%

Anonymizers

15%

74%

 

What's an anonymizer you say? For users whose employers block Facebook.com - or gambling or porn sites - it's a godsend. Where there's a will, there's a way - but there's also a solution for IT to regain control.

 

Yes, I believe that in reality most IT managers know that Web 2.0 is pervasive in their networks - but what I don't think they really have a handle on is what employees are doing with these applications on a day-to-day basis. And that's worth understanding.

 

We'll be looking more at what's really going on in corporate networks over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

White House says yes to email, no to IM. Change doesn't have to be this hard.

By
Frank Cabri
 on January 20, 2009 1:50 PM | | Comments (0)

It looks as if the decision has been made, President Barack Obama will be allowed to keep his Blackberry. Politico's Ben Smith reports incoming white house staffers were told last Friday that, indeed, the President would remain connected - but for them the news was not so bright. There will be no IM in the White House, and that's a change that the white house staffers are not ready for.

 

This is an interesting policy, since Web 2.0 and real time communications have played such a significant role in the Obama campaign.

 

According to Smith:

 

"They just told us flat out we couldn't IM in the White House," groused one senior staffer Friday.

"It sucks. It's really going to slow us down," complained another, saying that lawyers had warned that, along with instant messaging, White House software will restrict users to a range of sites roughly "like your average grade school." 

 

At the heart this debate is The Presidential Records Act, which requires White House documents to be made publicly available five years after a president leaves office. The White House will obviously be archiving its emails to comply. But why stop there? After all, in many ways IM is really just instant email. For more than seven years now, corporations have embraced the benefits of IM and solved the compliance issues around storing and retrieving its content.

   

In defense of the White House IT staff, even though IM seems like instant email to its users, its very different from a management standpoint. Instead of one email network under IT's control, there are dozens of different IM networks in play where conversations occur in real time and involve any number of parties.  It's like solving a Rubics Cube as opposed to a flat picture puzzle - it can be done, but it's a bit more complicated.

 

For example, a multi-party IM conversation can include numerous participants joining at different times, creating a requirement to make clear the context surrounding each participant's understanding of the conversation. Who entered at what point, what did they hear and what did they say?

 

Or in terms that became familiar during the Watergate scandal, which was the catalyst for the adoption of the Presidential Records Retention Act, "Who knew what, and when?"

 

The technology exists to solve these problems, so my guess is that's not all that's behind the decision. IM conversations are by their nature casual, more like hallway conversations. So the fear is that if IM is archived, one day those walls will talk and the result may be embarrassing. Remember Mark Foley?

 

But Corporate America has dealt with this issue as well, and the White House could do the same. Employee education goes along way, along with proactive technology solutions like setting policies and real-time notifications to appear during their instant message conversations to let them know they are being monitored. If you tell the White House staffers they're being monitored, I'm guessing they will use IM appropriately - no more or no less than they would with email. How often do you go over the speed limit when a Highway Patrol car is in the next lane?

 

Change. If anyone can do it, this administration can.

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