ASG Technologies: Enterprise IT Governance and Compliance Solutions That Deliver Greater Data Visibility and Deeper Insights

Asg Technologies Provide It Governance And Compliance Solutions

TL; DR: ASG Technologies builds tools that help enterprises manage data and content on any platform or device. That control increases data visibility so the right people can act on it at the right time. It also makes the workplace more flexible for employees and simplifies access to the applications and content they need to get work done. ASG can provide visibility across all IT environments, from legacy to leading edge, with on-premise, hybrid, or cloud solutions that optimize spend while increasing governance and compliance efficiency. And, with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation going into effect in May, enterprises that get a handle on their data through ASG’s tools not only gain a competitive advantage but are also well-positioned for the digital future.

With the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) scheduled to go into effect in May 2018, global enterprises are taking a hard look at how they manage the personally identifiable data — or any information that can potentially identify a specific individual — they collect from EU residents. GDPR aims to put individuals in control by requiring enterprises to obtain explicit consent to collect personal data from the EU, use it only for the purposes specified, protect it from unauthorized access, and delete it when it’s no longer being used.

GDPR also requires enterprises to demonstrate compliance on demand, holding them accountable with fines of up to 4% of annual worldwide revenue. Every company doing business in the EU needs to understand the implications of the new regulations and put a plan in place to deal with them.

Photo of Rob Perry, Vice President of Product Marketing at ASG Technologies

Rob Perry, ASG Technologies Vice President of Product Marketing, spoke with us about the company’s compliance and governance solutions.

But GDPR doesn’t just present a challenge, said Rob Perry, Vice President of Product Marketing at ASG Technologies, a global provider of solutions for enterprise information access, management, and control. In preparing for GDPR, enterprises gain an opportunity to recognize the value of the data they’re collecting, protect it, and then leverage it for the digital long run. GDPR is just the very large tip of the iceberg.

“Every day across the globe, hundreds of changes occur — that means new regulations or changes to existing ones,” Rob said. “Enterprises need systems that are flexible enough to address those different requirements, account for additional changes, and turn the situation into a positive.”

ASG helps companies accomplish those goals, maintain compliance, and glean insights from the data they collect but often don’t know how to parse.

Enterprise Data Intelligence Helps Trace Critical Information Across an Entire Organization

The first step is self-discovery — or understanding what you’ve got. The problem is that data estates don’t usually emerge fully formed.

It’s more likely that a company has accumulated data in piecemeal fashion over time, rigging new systems to work with legacy ones and evolving separate repositories to solve different functional requirements.

ASG’s Enterprise Data Intelligence maps the data estate. It’s a suite of tools for identifying data wherever it resides, tracing the path it takes from origination to destination and accounting for any changes that have occurred in the data over time. In other words, it uncovers the lineage of the data in a way that makes it transparent, usable, and reportable.

Enterprise Data Intelligence works with data stored on-premise, in the cloud, and with more than 220 platforms and applications — including legacy mainframe systems. And it supports the creation of custom metadata interfaces to provide a single view of all the data within an organization.

“You’re building a structure to understand your data and make it accessible to users across the company,” Rob said. “For example, a phone number might carry different identifiers as it moves through different repositories. We can trace and link those.”

The key to bridging those silos is the Business Glossary tool, which enables the construction of a shared vocabulary of business terms, including terms for identifying personal data. The Intelligent Data Catalog then links those terms to the data itself to leverage the agreed-upon vocabulary across the organization. This process adds value by making information accessible to users in ways that can drive sales.

“The Intelligent Data Catalog allows tagging, documentation, and annotation of every element captured within the data estate — from customer sentiment to purchase information,” Rob said. “Our capacity to leverage big data for increased intelligence and insight is something we’re very excited about.”

Workspaces: Personalized Delivery of Apps, Services, & Content to Any Digital Device

ASG not only eliminates barriers between data sources and types, but it also lets users leverage that access by doing away with barriers between applications and devices. Workspaces delivers a user-specific application environment to any corporate or personal device, enhancing productivity and engagement.

“On the content side, Workspaces includes the ability to build widgets that span repositories and applications and present a consolidated view of actionable information,” Rob said.

“Workspaces enables delivery of a more flexible and responsive work environment in a way that maximizes administrative efficiency.” — Rob Perry, Vice President of Product Marketing at ASG Technologies

Workspaces also gives enterprises full control over personal data. Context-aware, policy-driven data management tools ensure data travels only where it’s allowed. “You control how data is accessed and where it goes,” Rob said.

On the application side, Workspaces uses a single sign-on and a browser-based interface that works optimally — even on mobile devices. Users can personalize the look and feel and order new applications as needed.

“Workspaces enables delivery of a more flexible and responsive work environment in a way that maximizes administrative efficiency,” Rob said. “Manual provisioning, patching, and upgrading is reduced, and our open API allows connections to proprietary software to preserve current IT investments.”

Manage Content in Legacy & Leading-Edge Environments

Mobius is ASG’s system for eliminating barriers related to the management and delivery of content across platforms. Whether on-premise, in the cloud with Amazon Web Services, or in a hybrid environment, Mobius provides a content architecture that gives users access to any type of content on any device.

Seamless integration of on-premise and cloud brings maximum flexibility, easier IT management, and lower costs. Users can concentrate on accessing the information they need to do their jobs.

Screenshot of Mobius across devices

Mobius enables easy management and distribution of content in accordance with corporate policies, industry regulations, and public mandates. Life-cycle management tools enable time-based retention of information, and pseudonymization functionality hides personal identities. The system can also create privacy notifications and deliver requested personal data and usage information.

“Even as more and more data moves to the cloud, enterprises find themselves reconsidering the wisdom of aggressive rip and replace strategies,” Rob said. “Mobius lets enterprises manage all content regardless of type, volume, platform, storage device, or viewing client in any computing environment.”

GDPR and Beyond: How ASG Helps Future-Proof Compliance

As ASG eliminates barriers between data sources and types, applications and devices, and platforms, it provides centralized management tools for governance and compliance. Other benefits emerge during that process as well.

“Enterprises realize that implementing governance for regulatory compliance actually helps them create better internal data management processes and policies,” Rob said. “Better data management means greater efficiency and visibility and a better chance to do positive things with the data you have.”

After it maps data estates, processes, and workflows that involve personally identifiable data, Enterprise Data Intelligence enables the creation of policies for obtaining and managing consent for storing personal information, retaining information, and managing its internal use. The system enables responses to audits and requests for action regarding personal information.

“GDPR talks a lot about data minimization — using the minimum amount of personal data and not hanging on to what you have no use for,” Rob said. “That’s not a bad thing. From a practical standpoint, retaining personal data that you’re not using exposes you to risk from a breach of data that you don’t even need to have.”

Consistent compliance not only makes data management more straightforward, but it’s also a good practice from a corporate citizenship standpoint.

“If reducing risk from noncompliance saves time and money, as it clearly does, then going global with solutions by ASG gives enterprises a win-win opportunity and an insurance policy for the future,” Rob said.

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