SOLVING THE DIRECTORY
DILEMMA
By STUART McCARTHY -- Ottawa Sun
The biggest problem facing chief information officers around the
world may not be what you think.
Sure we've been inundated with the horror stories around the
Year 2000 or "Y2K" issue about how everything from planes to
elevators and nuclear reactors are going to crash, burn and
explode unless computer code is updated.
But Newbridge Networks chairman and CEO Terry Matthews
says that as the telecommunications and computing worlds
collide, there's an even more insidious, although markedly less
spectacular crisis looming.
As Matthews told shareholders at the company's annual meeting
this past week, this is "where the future is headed for Newbridge.
"There's a thing going on that is at a kind of higher level than
most people in our industry address, whether it's the telephone
service providers or the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) or the
Nortels or the Lucents and the Ericssons, or whether its the
Ciscos and so on," Matthews said. "The world is being more and
more dictated by directories."
It seems innocuous enough, but everywhere you turn, some
computer somewhere is keeping track of the movements and
access privileges of millions and millions of workers, whether they
are store clerks, warehouse employees, engineers or scientists.
"Let's start with a simple thing like an employee card," Matthews
said. "The employee card allows you access to the computer
room for some employees, or building A or B or C, but not for
everyone. Some people can go in A, but can't go in B."
There are directories which let you have access to different
computer servers where corporate information is stored. There
are directories which identify you and give you access to e-mail
or the Web. There are directories to control your voice mail and
in some cases, directories which even control access to
photocopier and fax machines.
"More and more, directories are becoming an everyday part of
our life," said Matthews.
But the profusion of directories has created a major boondoggle.
Take the case of the average terminated employee.
"It's highly likely that a file clerk who's been fired is a bit peeved
off, not all that happy," said Matthews.
"Here's the first thing that happens: Salary's stopped, payroll
system says they're terminated," he said.
"Here's the snag -- the security system is on another directory.
"I can use the card to go straight into the computer room and
corrupt all the files, because that directory hasn't been updated."
Or what about the software engineer who's been let go in a
major reorganization or downsizing of a company who says: "I
really don't like this company anymore and I've been really turned
off.
"I can just rip into the software and wreck all the code because
that was another directory system," said Matthews.
"So one of the single biggest problems chief information officers
around the world -- and I know because I talk to them, some of
the biggest companies in the world -- what's the biggest
problem? Directories."
And with more and more companies allowing remote access to
computer systems, shutting down access cards is not the be-all
and end-all.
The most recent Global Information Security Survey by Ernst
and Young, showed network security breaches are on the rise.
"Today every business -- regardless of the industry or size -- is
dependent on information technology," said Doug McPhie,
partner Ernst & Young Information Systems Assurance and
Advisory Services.
"The integrity and confidentiality of corporate information relies
on a solid information security architecture. More than ever
before, breaches to security impact a company's competitiveness
and profitability."
The survey reports 70% of Canadian participants suffer some
form of monetary loss due to security breach. Thirty-four
incidents were reported where the costs due to losses were equal
to $1 million US or more.
Matthews said Newbridge has been working on a solution to the
directory conundrum through one of its more recent affiliate
companies, Fastlane Technologies, which is developing a solution
largely based on the Microsoft Windows NT operating system.
"Microsoft (has) a very good partner in Newbridge," Matthews
said of his companies support in establishing Fastlane two years
ago.
"Their purpose in life is to provide synchronization between the
directories ... an umbrella directory to which all other directories
come into," he said.
"If someone's terminated or there are classes provided for one
employee category vs. another or one object on the network vs.
another object -- all of the directories are synchronized,"
Matthews said.
"Because that's the single biggest problem the CIOs face."
Matthews said the next step, which from Newbridge often
involves the work of some of its other affiliates such as
CrossKeys Systems and TimeStep, is to tie the control directory
into central management of a converged telecommunications and
computing platform.
That lets a company profile every user into the directory on
everything from the amount of bandwidth to their computer or
telephone to their long distance access and computer access
privileges.
"No one's ever done that before, but we can do it," said
Matthews.
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