Skilled IT leaders understand that consistent and sustainable growth comes with a number of significant challenges.

Developing IT growth requires a cohesive strategy that aligns perfectly with the engine of that operation:

And that is Service Desk, the undisputed main character of this journey.

Does the support strategy set the foundation of business growth?

A solid support strategy not only guarantees the success of the company, but becomes an essential piece for its survival in a competitive environment.

Technological evolution has given a new dimension to the meaning of growth in the IT field.

In the constant search for innovative strategies to drive their development, IT leaders recognize the indisputable importance of technology in the evolution of a company.

Within this context, support and customer service present themselves as crucial elements to enable a company to:

1. Keep the continuity of its operations.
2. Optimize the productivity of their user and customer base.
3. Fulfill their commitments.
4. Encourage customer loyalty.

Business optimization through remote support:
Savings and efficiency

Time, a sometimes priceless resource, reaffirms its position as the most valuable asset in business management.

In the art of managing time efficiently, lies the potential of saving considerable sums of money, since processes are streamlined and executed in fewer hours.

In this context, the use of remote support tools makes a tangible difference.

If we compare Traditional Support and Remote Support, we will soon reveal the impact of our choice in terms of costs.

Based on an analysis conducted by the Help Desk Institute, the financial disparity between solving an incident at the physical site and addressing it remotely is evident.

Although these data come from the United States, their usefulness as a reference for savings estimates around the globe is unquestionable:

Deploying remote support can reduce costs per ticket by a staggering 69%!

Damn wise Yankees!

Optimize your Service Desk:
Cost reduction through Mean Operating Time (MOT)

Your Information Technology (IT) Department usually houses a series of indicators that trace the pulse of the support strategy implemented.

Among these indicators, the Average Handle Time (AHT) stands out.

This metric reveals the average length of time a support analyst works on a Service Desk ticket.

There is a correlation between the cost per ticket and the associated management time.

The speed in solving a ticket translates into a decrease in the related cost.

Every minute spent by an agent has an economic value, so solving it in 20 minutes is different from solving it in 40 minutes.

Likewise, the difference between a problem being solved at the first level or needing to be escalated to a higher level specialist has an impact on expenses, given that salaries vary markedly.

Thus, the First Call Resolution and First Level Resolution metrics determine the duration of ticket management and, consequently, the associated costs.

The approach of solving more tickets at the first contact with the customer, and addressing incidents from the initial support levels, entails unavoidably a reduction in the cost per ticket, a strategy that leads to considerable savings.

Remote support tools:
The catalyst for efficiency and savings

The Corporate Remote Support capability is an essential tool for support departments, enabling them to securely and remotely connect to customer devices and equipment.

The premise is clear.

Take note:

Streamline incident management and safeguard the continuity of IT services and business operations

Within this context, one of the most valuable levers offered by a corporate remote support tool lies in its ability to reduce support costs, improving the Average Operating Time per ticket metric.

Are you looking to enhance efficiency in customer service?
Here comes the art of solving in the First Contact

Well, the time has come to focus on the First Call Resolution metric.

This indicator reflects the percentage of cases that are solved on the first contact between the customer and the Service Desk.

You need an accurate and structured solution with which you may quickly diagnose the incident, discarding of course outdated methods and taking an approach to accelerate support in a practical and efficient way.

If it is necessary to escalate the case to an advanced level technician, you must have a function that ensures that the solving process continues in the first interaction with the customer.

This approach avoids interruptions in the call or chat with the customer, as well as pausing the ticket and registering all the notes of the first contact, among other cumbersome tasks.

With this solution, the process is sped up by inviting the relevant technician, allowing the problem to be addressed immediately.

Imagine the significant time saved by smoothly inviting the right technician, resulting in successful resolution in the first interaction.

Shift-Left strategy:
Key to reducing costs and freeing up resources in IT

One of the most notable trends in the Service Desk domain is the ongoing implementation of a “shift-left” strategy.

In the current era, the generation and maintenance of a competitive advantage is inseparable from this continuous improvement.

Let’s go back a second to the previous point and get deductive:

The hourly cost of specialist technicians far exceeds that of tier 1 analysts.

If we look at the average cost of solving tickets according to the support level in America, the disparity between the resolution at the first level (22 USD) and at the third level (104 USD) is evident.

This difference becomes almost five times higher.

Therefore, by focusing on strengthening the shift-left strategy and seeking to solve a higher number of tickets from the initial support levels, we will achieve two vital goals:

1. Reducing costs per ticket: This action directly contributes to optimizing operating expenses.
2. Freeing up high-value resources: By decreasing the burden on advanced technicians, they are given more time to engage in high-impact activities within the IT department.

So the remote support tool emerges from the waters as an invaluable ally to take the shift-left strategy to new heights.

Conclusions:

In the technological maelstrom in which we live, great IT leaders have discovered that constant growth demands facing formidable challenges.

That’s when the Service Desk shines as an essential pivot.

We explored how support strategies shape the corporate expansion landscape and how remote assistance becomes an effective pillar for the evolution of the Service Desk.

Savings and efficiency rooted in these practices are not just goals, but tangible realities.

What’s the moral of the story?

Of course, this is a great article:

In cosmic ballet, time is the undisputed protagonist.

Smart investment in remote support tools not only cuts expenses, but adds seconds to the dance, unlocking untapped potential.

Thus, the road to optimization is paved with savings and smiles.

The clock is ticking, and we, with ingenuity, are speeding towards tomorrow!

BOOM!

Increase team collaboration quality and speed in emergencies with Pandora FMS and ilert’s ChatOps features

Pandora FMS is an excellent monitoring system that helps collect data, detect anomalies, and monitor devices, infrastructures, applications, and business processes. However, more than monitoring alone is needed to manage the entire incident lifecycle. ilert complements Pandora FMS by adding alerting and incident management capabilities. While Pandora FMS detects anomalies, ilert ensures that the right people are notified and can take action quickly. This combination helps reduce the mean time to resolution (MTTR) and minimize the business’s impact.

While Pandora FMS and ilert are reliable and robust foundations for your system’s resilience, the magic of team collaboration and real-people decisions happens in chats. This trio of tools is indispensable in today’s business world. In this article, we will provide practical recommendations on evolving your ChatOps and enhancing the speed and quality of incident response.

What exactly is ChatOps? 

ChatOps is a model that connects people, tools, processes, and automation into a transparent workflow. This flow typically centers around chat applications and includes bots, plugins, and other add-ons to automate tasks and display information.

As a model, ChatOps means that all team communication and core actions are taking place right in a chat tool, which eliminates the need to switch between the services and makes it possible to orchestrate the work from one platform. As there is a variety of chat tools on the market, there are, for sure, two of the most commonly used among IT teams. Those are Slack and Microsoft Teams. As for the available data, they have 18 million and 270 million users, respectively, and those numbers are growing consistently for both companies.

As there is a wide variety of implementations of the ChatOps model to everyday work, we will concentrate specifically on how to manage incidents through ChatOps.

ChatOps and Incident Management: What is it all about?

The fusion of monitoring and incident management platforms with ChatOps is a manifestation of modern IT operations aiming to optimize efficiency, speed, and collaboration. By marrying these paradigms, organizations can capitalize on the strengths of the tools, leading to streamlined incident resolution and enhanced operational visibility.

At the core of ChatOps lies real-time collaboration. When an incident arises, time is of the essence. Integrating ChatOps with an incident management platform ensures that all team members—be it developers, support, or management—are immediately aware of the incident. They can then collaboratively diagnose, discuss, and strategize on remediation steps right within the chat environment. This kind of instant cross-team collaboration reduces resolution time, ensuring minimal service disruption.

Here are other advantages that integrated ChatOps provides in times of incident response.

Centralized information flow

ChatOps can funnel alerts, diagnostics, and other relevant data from various sources into a single chat channel. This consolidation prevents context-switching between tools and ensures everyone has access to the same information.

Team awareness

Everyone involved in the incident response has a shared view of the situation. This shared context reduces miscommunication and ensures everyone is aligned on the incident’s status and the response strategy.

Detailed overview

Every action taken, command executed, and message sent in a chat environment is logged and timestamped.

Accountability

With each chat action being attributed to a team member, there’s clear accountability for every decision and command. This is especially valuable in post-incident reviews to understand roles and contributions during the incident.

Automation

Through chat commands, responders can trigger predefined automated workflows. This can range from querying the status of a system to initiating recovery processes, thereby speeding up resolution and reducing manual efforts.

Accessibility

With many ChatOps platforms being available on both desktop and mobile, responders can participate in incident management even when away from their primary workstation, ensuring that expertise is accessible anytime, anywhere.

9 Tips on How to Squeeze Maximum out of ChatOps in Times of Incidents

ChatOps provides a synergistic environment that combines communication, automation, and tool integration, elevating the efficacy and efficiency of incident response. But what exactly do teams need to uncover the full potential of their chats?

We won’t dive deep into instructions on how to connect Pandora FMS with the ilert incident management platform, but you can find related information in Pandora FMS Module Library and a step-by-step guide in ilert documentation. Find below a list of best ChatOps practices for organizing your workflow when an alert is received.

Use dedicated channels

Create dedicated channels for specific incidents or monitoring alerts. This helps to keep the conversation focused and avoids cluttering general channels. And don’t forget to set a clear name for those channels. In ilert, the pre-build title includes the name of the monitoring tool and the automatically generated number of an alert, for example, pandorafms_alert_6182268.

Allow users to report incidents via your chat tool

Enable all users to report incidents through Slack or Microsoft Teams using pre-set alert sources for each channel. This approach empowers teams to have a structured method for reporting concerns related to the services they offer within their dedicated channels.

Decide on what channels should be private

Most chat tools provide functionality to create public channels that are searchable across an organization and can be viewed by all team members, and private where only specific people can be invited. Here are a few reasons why you might want to create a private channel:

• • Sensitive data exposure. Such as personal identification information (PII), financial data, or proprietary company information.

• • Security breaches. In the event of a cyberattack or security compromise, it’s important to limit knowledge about the incident to a specialized team. This prevents unnecessary panic and ensures that potential adversaries don’t gain insights from public discussions. You can read more on how to prevent data breaches in the article “Cyber Hygiene: Preventing Data Breaches.”

• • High-stakes incidents. If the incident has potential grave repercussions for the organization, such as significant financial impact or regulatory implications, it’s beneficial to restrict the discussion to key stakeholders to ensure controlled and effective communication.

• Avoiding speculations. Public channels can sometimes lead to uncontrolled speculations or rumors. It’s best to keep discussions private for serious incidents until the facts are clear and an official narrative is decided upon.

Keep all communication in one place

Ensure that all decisions made during the incident are documented in the chat. This assists in post-incident reviews.

Pin important messages

Use pinning features to highlight essential updates, decisions, statuses, or resources so they’re easy for anyone to find.

Keep stakeholders informed

Ensure you keep your team in the loop and update all incident communication, including public and private status pages, in time.

Use chats in post-mortem creation

The real-time chat logs in ChatOps capture a chronological record of events, discussions, decisions, and actions. During a post-mortem creation, teams can review this combined dataset to construct a comprehensive incident timeline. Such a detailed account aids in pinpointing root causes, identifying process bottlenecks, and highlighting effective and ineffective response strategies.

Regularly clean up and archive

To maintain organization and reduce clutter, regularly archive old channels or conversations that are no longer relevant. Avoiding numerous channels in your list will also speed you up when the next incident occurs.

Provide regular training for all team members

The more familiar your team is with tools, alert structure, chat options, and features, the quicker you will be when the time comes. Trigger test alerts and conduct incident learning sessions so that everyone involved knows their role in the incident response cycle.

Pandora FMS team

El equipo de redacción de Pandora FMS está formado por un conjunto de escritores y profesionales de las TI con una cosa en común: su pasión por la monitorización de sistemas informáticos.

Pandora FMS’s editorial team is made up of a group of writers and IT professionals with one thing in common: their passion for computer system monitoring.

 

As a good technology superhero you will know that in the world of troubleshooting, there is an approach that goes beyond simply fixing superficial symptoms. We call this approach “Maximum Heroics” or Root Cause Analysis (ACR), a charming method that seeks to unravel the mysteries behind an incident.

Through the RCA, the causal factors of an incident are examined, and why, how and when it happened are broken down in order to prevent it from repeating itself and ensure smooth continuity.

Anticipate issues, optimize your systems and processes with RCA

Imagine this post-apocalyptic scenario: a system breaks down or undergoes an unexpected change, surprising all of those who depend on it.

This is where RCA comes into play, as an indispensable tool to fully understand the incident and what triggered it.

Unlike simple troubleshooting, which focuses on taking corrective action once the incident took place, RCA goes further, seeking to uncover the root cause of the problem.

Sometimes RCA is also used to investigate and understand the performance of a particular system, as well as its superiority performance compared to other similar systems.

However, in most cases, root cause analysis focuses on problems, especially when they affect critical systems.

Through a RCA, all the contributing factors to the problem are identified and connected in a meaningful way, allowing a proper approach and, most importantly, preventing the same adversity from happening all over again.

Only by getting “to the root cause” of the problem, rather than focusing on surface symptoms, you may find out how, when and why the problem arose in the first place.

There is a wide range of problems that warrant a root cause analysis and they might come from a variety of sources, from human errors to physical system failures to deficiencies in an organization’s processes or operations.

To sum up, any type of anomaly that affects the optimal functioning of a system may require the implementation of an RCA.

Whether it’s faulty machinery in a manufacturing plant, an emergency landing on an airplane or a service interruption in a web application, investigators embark on a journey to uncover the hidden layers of each incident, in search for the ultimate solution.

Pursuing Continuous Improvement: The advantages of Root Cause Analysis

When it comes to maintaining the integrity and smooth operation of an organization, root cause analysis becomes an invaluable ally.

With the primary goal of reducing risk at all levels, this revealing process provides vital information that can be used to improve system reliability.

But, what exactly are the objectives and advantages of performing a root cause analysis??

First, root cause analysis, as we already know, seeks to identify precisely what has actually been happening, going beyond the superficial symptoms to unravel the sequence of events and root causes.

Understanding what is needed to solve the incident or taking advantage of the lessons learned from it, taking into account its causal factors, are some other key objectives of RCA.

In addition, repetition of similar problems is avoided, leading to an improvement in the management quality.

Once these goals are achieved, an RCA can provide a number of significant benefits to an organization.

First, systems, processes and operations are optimized by providing valuable information about the underlying problems and obstacles.

In addition, repetition of similar problems is avoided, leading to an improvement in the quality of management.

By addressing problems more effectively and comprehensively, you may deliver higher quality services to your customers, thereby generating customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Root cause analysis also promotes improved internal communication and collaboration, while strengthening the understanding of the underlying systems.

In addition, by quickly getting to the root of the problem instead of just treating the symptoms, the time and effort spent on long-term resolution of recurring problems is significantly reduced.
Moreover, this efficient approach also reduces costs by directly addressing the root cause of the problem, rather than continually dealing with unresolved symptoms.

More importantly, root cause analysis is not limited to a single sector, but can benefit a wide range of industries.

From improving medical treatment and reducing workplace injuries, to optimizing application performance and ensuring infrastructure availability, this methodology has the potential to drive excellence in a variety of systems and processes.

The Foundations of Root Cause Analysis: Principles for Success

Root cause analysis is a versatile enough methodology to adapt to various industries and individual circumstances.

However, at the core of this flexibility, there are four fundamental principles that are essential to ensure the success of RCA:

• Understand the why, how and when of the incident: These questions work together to provide a complete picture of the underlying causes.
  For example, it is difficult to understand why an event occurred without understanding how or when it happened.
  Investigators must explore the full magnitude of the incident and all the key factors that contributed to it taking place at that precise time.

• Focus on underlying causes, not symptoms: Addressing only symptoms when a problem arises rarely prevents recurrence and can result in wasted time and resources.
  Instead, RCA focuses on the relationships between events and the root causes of the incident.
  This approach helps reduce the time and resources spent solving problems and ensures a sustainable long-term solution.

• Think prevention when using RCA to solve problems: To be effective, root cause analysis must get to the root causes of the problem, but that is not enough.
  It must also enable the implementation of solutions that prevent the problem from happening all over again.
  If RCA does not help solve the problem and prevent its recurrence, much of the effort will have been wasted.

• Get it right the first time: A root cause analysis is only successful to the extent that it is performed properly.
  A poorly executed RCA can waste time and resources and even make the situation worse, forcing investigators to start over.
  An effective root cause analysis must be carried out carefully and systematically.
  It requires the right methods and tools, as well as leadership that understands what the effort entails and fully supports it.

By following these fundamental principles, root cause analysis becomes a powerful tool for unraveling the root causes of problems and achieving lasting solutions.

By fully understanding incidents, focusing on underlying causes and taking a preventative approach, organizations can avoid repeat problems and continuously improve their performance.

Ultimately, root cause analysis becomes the foundation upon which a culture of continuous improvement and excellence is built.

A Range of Tools: Methods for Root Cause Analysis

When it comes to unraveling the root causes of a problem, root cause analysis offers a variety of effective methods.

One of the most popular approaches is the 5 whys, where successive “why” questions are asked to get to the underlying causes.

This method seeks to keep probing until the reasons that explain the primary source of the problem are uncovered.

While number five is only a guide, fewer or more “why” questions may be required to get to the root causes of the problem initially defined.

Another method widely used in RCA is the “Ishikawa Diagram”, also known as “Cause and Effect Diagram” or “Fishbone Diagram”.

In this approach, the problem is defined at the head of the fishbone, while the causes and effects unfold at the branches.

The possible causes are grouped into categories that are connected to the backbone, providing an overview of the possible causes that could have led to the incident.

In addition, investigators have several methodologies for performing a root cause analysis:

• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA): Identifies the various ways in which a system can fail and analyzes the possible effects of each failure.

• Fault Tree Analysis (FTA): Provides a visual map of causal relationships using Boolean logic to determine the possible causes of a failure or assess the reliability of a system.

• Pareto Diagram: It combines a bar diagram and a line diagram to show the frequency of the most common causes of problems, from most likely to least likely.

• Change analysis: Consider how the conditions surrounding the incident have changed over time, which may play a direct role in its occurrence.

• Scatter plot: It plots data on a two-dimensional graph with an X-axis and a Y-axis to uncover relationships between data and possible causes of an incident.

• In addition to these methods, there are other approaches used in root cause analysis. Those professionals who engage in root cause analysis and seek continuous reliability improvement should be familiar with several methods and use the most appropriate one for each specific situation.

The success of root cause analysis also depends on effective communication within the group and personnel involved in the system.

Post-RCA debriefings, commonly referred to as “post-mortems,” help ensure that key stakeholders understand the causal and related factors, their effects, and the resolution methods used.

The exchange of information at these meetings can also lead to brainstorming about other areas that may require further investigation and who should be in charge of each.

Joining Forces: Tools for Root Cause Analysis

Root cause analysis is a process that combines human ability for deduction with data collection and the use of reporting tools.

Information technology (IT) teams often leverage platforms they already use for application performance monitoring, infrastructure monitoring or systems management, including cloud management tools, to obtain the necessary data to support root cause analysis.

Many of these products also include features built into their platforms to make root cause analysis.

In addition, some vendors offer specialized tools that collect and correlate metrics from other platforms, which helps remediate problems or disruptive events.

Tools that incorporate AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) capabilities are able to learn from past events and suggest corrective actions for the future.

In addition to monitoring and analysis tools, IT organizations often look to external sources for help in root cause analysis easier.

Collaboration and utilization of external resources are valuable aspects of root cause analysis.

By leveraging existing tools and seeking additional expertise from online communities and platforms, IT teams can gain a more complete and enriching perspective.

These synergies allow problems to be addressed more effectively and lasting solutions to be achieved.

Conclusions:

Root cause analysis emerges as a powerful methodology for understanding the underlying causes of problems and incidents faced by organizations.

Throughout this article, we have explored in detail what root cause analysis is, its objectives and advantages, as well as the fundamental principles behind it.

Root cause analysis invites us to go beyond the superficial symptoms and discover the real causes behind an incident.

Using multiple methods and tools, such as the 5 Whys, Ishikawa diagrams, FMEA, FEA and many others, RCA practitioners embark on a psychotropic journey of discovery to identify root causes and prevent problems from recurring.

Achieving the goals of root cause analysis, such as fully understanding events, applying preventive solutions and improving the quality of systems and processes, comes with a host of benefits that you can brag about over coffee later.

From optimizing systems and operations to improving service quality, reducing costs and promoting internal collaboration, root cause analysis becomes an enabler of continuous improvement and organizational excellence.

In this process, the right choice of tools and methods is crucial.

Organizations can leverage existing monitoring, analysis and systems management tools, as well as seek additional insights from external sources.

Collaboration and information sharing play a vital role in the success of root cause analysis, as they enable broader and richer perspectives.

Root cause analysis is a powerful ally of The Force and organizations in their search for effective and lasting solutions.

Pandora FMS team

El equipo de redacción de Pandora FMS está formado por un conjunto de escritores y profesionales de las TI con una cosa en común: su pasión por la monitorización de sistemas informáticos.

Pandora FMS’s editorial team is made up of a group of writers and IT professionals with one thing in common: their passion for computer system monitoring.

In a world increasingly dominated by technology, tech companies have faced financial challenges on a number of times.

Microsoft.

Everybody knows it, right?

It has again made the headlines due to its decision to downsize, adding a new wave of layoffs to the approximately 10,000 employees who were terminated earlier in the year.

While sales department layoffs are common when companies are looking to reduce their costs, it’s not the only department affected:

Hiring, marketing, and customer service functions also often bear the brunt when the revenue becomes uncertain.

A clear example of this trend was evidenced in Crunchbase, a business data platform.

After announcing its recent downsizing, it was possible to see in a spreadsheet the departments in which the startup considered that they could cut some expenses:

• Sales
• Customer service
• Marketing
• Hiring
• Even Crunchbase News, a team that encouraged the dissemination of relevant news, was affected by this decision

It is worth mentioning that the situation is personal for some, such as those who participated in the construction of the team while working in the company and still retain shares of the company.

*We will call them “Martyrs”.

Despite this seemingly ingrained trend, the landscape of tech layoffs is showing signs of change.

A detailed analysis of Layoffs.fyi, a database that tracks downsizing in the tech sector, reveals an interesting trend in the making.

Since the peak of layoffs in January 2023, the number of tech workers affected by them has been steadily decreasing.

This suggests that companies are finding new approaches to maintaining financial stability while retaining the talent that drives innovation in the sector.

*Good thing someone cares, right?

As we move into this era of constant technological transformation, the future of tech layoffs looks uncertain.

Will companies be able to find a balance between the need to adjust expenses and talent preservation?

Will layoffs become a less frequent measure?

These questions will remain at the heart of the debate as companies seek to adapt to an ever-changing environment and strive to ensure a sustainable future for both their businesses and their employees.

Impact of layoffs in the technology sector during 2023

As we get through the year 2023, the tech sector has witnessed a significant trend when it comes to the number of workers laid off.

Analyzing the figures collected on Layoffs.fyi, it is clear that the beginning of the year was gloomy for many employees in the industry.

During the month of January, a staggering total of 89,554 workers were unemployed due to adjustments made by different companies.

However, the figures began to show signs of change in February, when the number of layoffs dropped noticeably to 40,011.

This decrease continued in March, with a total of 37,823 employees affected by the downsizes in that month.

The month of April brought with it a new decrease in layoffs, standing at 19,864 workers.

As we moved towards the end of the year, the downward curve continued, reaching 14,858 layoffs in May and falling further to 10,524 in June.

These figures reflect a positive change in the trend of technology layoffs throughout the year.

It seems that companies have been looking for other alternatives to keep their operations in the midst of economic difficulties.

*Minipoint for companies.

The steady decline in layoffs suggests that companies are adopting a more cautious and strategic approach to adjust their costs, rather than resorting to mass layoffs as a first option.

This outlook could be a sign that tech companies are adapting to an ever-changing environment, finding more sustainable ways to manage their human resources.

In addition, the reduction in layoffs may be a response to the growing awareness of the importance of talent and innovation in the development of the technology sector.

As we head into the second half of the year, it will be interesting to see how this trend evolves.

Will the decrease in technological layoffs continue, or will there be unforeseen factors that can reverse this positive trend?

The future remains uncertain, but data suggests that the tech sector has learned its lessons from the past and is seeking a more stable and balanced future for its employees and their sustainable growth.

Conclusions: New management era. Reduction of layoffs in the technological field

The era of technological layoffs has undergone a significant transformation over the course of the year 2023.

Although the beginning of the year was characterized by a worrying number of dismissed workers, the figures have shown a constant decrease in the subsequent months.

This change in trend suggests that tech companies are rethinking their approach to reducing costs and managing their human resources.

Traditionally, layoffs in the tech sector have impacted departments such as sales, marketing, hiring, and customer support.

*Wow, always marketing, ALWAYS! KEEP IT UP, COMRADES!
**I’m marketing

However, this practice seems to be giving way to a mindset more focused on retaining talent and preserving innovation.

Companies may be recognizing the strategic value of having highly skilled and engaged employees in a highly competitive environment.

Layoffs.fyi’s analysis has provided valuable insights into the evolution of the employment situation in the technology sector.

The sustained decline in layoffs from January to June has been encouraging and has raised the question of whether companies are taking more balanced and responsible approaches to addressing economic challenges.

The new era of job stability in the technology sector represents not only a change in management practices, but also an opportunity for companies to redesign their vision for the future.

Prioritizing talent investment and fostering a business culture that values creativity and collaboration can be the key to maintaining a competitive edge in an ever-changing tech world.

However, the future remains uncertain, and it is possible that economic conditions and other unforeseen factors could alter this positive trend.

It is critical that companies continue to be agile and flexible in their approach to adapting to changing circumstances.

*Please, tech companies, don’t be so cold towards your employees.

Pandora FMS team

El equipo de redacción de Pandora FMS está formado por un conjunto de escritores y profesionales de las TI con una cosa en común: su pasión por la monitorización de sistemas informáticos.

Pandora FMS’s editorial team is made up of a group of writers and IT professionals with one thing in common: their passion for computer system monitoring.

Software developers and vendors from all over the world are under attack by cybercriminals. It’s not that we’re at a time of year when they’re out and about, barricaded in front of offices with their malicious laptops seeking to blow everything up, no. They’re always out there actually, trying to breach information security, and in this article we’re going to give you a bit of advice on how to deal with them.

No one is safe from all kinds of threats 

Whether it’s a half-assed attack or sophisticated and destructive one (as it happen to our competitors from Solarwinds and Kaseya) evil never rests. The entire industry faces an increasingly infuriating threat landscape. We almost always wake up to some news of an unforeseen cyberattack that brings with it the consequent wave of rushed and necessary updates to make sure our system is safe… And no one is spared, true giants have fallen victims. The complexity of today’s software ecosystem means that a vulnerability in a small library could end up affecting hundreds of applications. It happened in the past (openssh, openssl, zlib, glibc…) and it will continue to do so.

As we highlighted, these attacks can be very sophisticated or they can be the result of a combination of third-party weaknesses that compromise customers, not because of the software, but because of some of the components of their environment. This is why IT professionals should require for their software vendors to take security seriously, both from an engineering and vulnerability management standpoint.

We repeat: No one is safe from all threats. The software vendor that yesterday took business away from others may very likely be tomorrow’s new victim. Yes, the other day it was Kaseya, tomorrow it could be us. No matter what we do, there is no such thing as 100% security, no one can guarantee it. The point is not to prevent something bad from happening, the point is how you manage that situation and get out of it.

Pandora FMS and Sgsi Iso 27001

Any software vendor can be attacked and that each vendor must take the necessary additional measures to protect themselves and their users. Pandora FMS encourages our current and future customers to ask their vendors to pay more attention in this regard. Ourselves included.

Pandora FMS has always taken security very seriously, so much so that for years we have had a public policy of “Vulnerability disclosure policy” and Artica PFMS as a company, is certified in ISO 27001. We periodically pass code audit tools and maintain locally some modified versions of common libraries.

In 2021, in view of the demand in the area of security, we decided to go one step further, and to become CNA of CVE to provide a much more direct response to software vulnerabilities reported by independent auditors.

PFMS Decalogue for better information security

When a customer asks us if Pandora FMS is safe, sometimes we remind them of all this information, but it’s not enough. That’s why today we want to go further and elaborate a decalogue of revealing questions on the subject. Yes, because some software developers take security a little more seriously than others. Don’t worry, these questions and their corresponding answers apply to both Microsoft and John’s Software. Because security doesn’t distinguish between big, small, shy or marketing experts.

Is there a specific space for security within your software lifecycle?

At Pandora FMS we have an AGILE philosophy with releases every four weeks, and we have a specific category for security tickets. These have a different priority, a different validation cycle (Q/A) and of course, a totally different management, since they involve external actors in some cases (CVE through).

Is your CICD and code versioning system located in a secure environment and do you have specific security measures in place to secure it?

We use Gitlab internally, on a server in our physical offices in Madrid. It is accessed by people with a first and last name, and a unique username and password. No matter which country they are in, their access via VPN is individually controlled and this server cannot be accessed in any other way. Our office is protected by a biometric access system and the server room with a key that only two people have.

Does the developer have an ISMS (Security Incident Management System) in place?

Artica PFMS; the company behind Pandora FMS has been ISO 27001 certified almost since its inception. Our first certification was in 2009. ISO 27001 certifies that there is an ISMS as such in the organization.

Does the developer have a contingency plan?

Not only do we have one, but we have had to use it several times. With COVID we went from working 40 people in an office in Gran Via (Madrid) to working at home. We have had power failures (for weeks), server fires and many other incidents that have put us to the test.

Does the developer have a security incident communication plan that includes its customers?

It has not happened many times, but we have had to release some urgent security patches, and we have notified our customers in a timely manner.

Is there atomic and nominal traceability on code changes?

The good thing about code repositories, such as GIT, is that this kind of issues have been solved for a long time. It is impossible to develop software in a professional way today if tools like GIT are not fully integrated into the organization, and not only the development team, but also the Q/A team, support, engineering…

Do you have a reliable system for distributing updates with digital signatures?

Our update system (Update Manager) distributes packages with digital signature. It is a private system, properly secured and with its own technology.

Do you have an open public vulnerability disclosure policy?

In our case, it is published on our website.

Do you have an Open Source policy that allows the customer to observe and audit the application code if necessary?

Our code is open source, anyone can review it at https://github.com/pandorafms/pandorafms. In addition, some of our customers ask us to audit the source code of the enterprise version and we are happy to do so.

Do third-party components / acquisitions meet the same standards as the other parts of the application?

Yes they do and when they do not comply we support them.

BONUS TRACK:

Does the company have any ISO Quality certification?

ISO 27001

Does the company have any specific safety certification?

National Security Scheme, basic level.

Conclusion

Pandora FMS is prepared and armed for EVERYTHING! Just kidding, as we have said, everyone in this industry is vulnerable, and of course the questions in this Decalogue are crafted with a certain cunning, after all we had solid and truthful answers prepared for them beforehand, however, the real question is, do all software vendors have answers?

If you have to monitor more than 100 devices you can also enjoy a FREE 30-day TRIAL of Pandora FMS Enterprise. Cloud or On-Premise installation, you choose!!! Get it here.

Finally, remember that if you have a small number of devices to monitor, you can use the OpenSource version of Pandora FMS. Find more information here.

Don’t hesitate to send us your questions, the great team behind Pandora FMS will be happy to help you!

Dimas Pardo

Dimas P.L., de la lejana y exótica Vega Baja, CasiMurcia, periodista, redactor, taumaturgo del contenido y campeón de espantar palomas en los parques. Actualmente resido en Madrid donde trabajo como paladín de la comunicación en Pandora FMS y periodista freelance cultural en cualquier medio que se ofrezca. También me vuelvo loco escribiendo y recitando por los círculos poéticos más profundos y oscuros de la ciudad.

Dimas P.L., from the distant and exotic Vega Baja, CasiMurcia, journalist, editor, thaumaturgist of content and champion of scaring pigeons in parks. I currently live in Madrid where I work as a communication champion in Pandora FMS and as a freelance cultural journalist in any media offered. I also go crazy writing and reciting in the deepest and darkest poetic circles of the city.