EDITOR’S COMMENT
Ric
har
d
ENSURING
SOLUTIONS ARE
USER-FRIENDLY
ri t y
Archdeac n, Duo Secu
o
RICHARD ARCHDEACON, DUO SECURITY
A
s businesses demand greater agility and flexibility for their
in-house and external teams, vendors must reflect that
change. This is particularly important in the area of security
which, although vital to the success of an organisation, is not often
seen as necessary.
An author wants to write, a designer to design. They do
not come into work to be a security professional. So, success
will depend on the vendor ensuring that the end-user works in
partnership to secure the organisation.
Vendors must ensure solutions are easy to use and do not impede
the user and their work experience. A key way in which vendors can
work with end-users is to focus on the design of their solutions and
ensure they are effective but easy to use.
An example of this would be ensuring a common experience
across all the platforms open to end-users in their daily activities
– a solution should be similar across laptops, mobile phones and
intelligent watches.
The vendor needs to make sure that the functional requirements
are implemented without interrupting the user workflow.
If it interrupts what a person needs to do it will create a negative
experience and understandably, users will develop workarounds,
therefore undermining the purpose of any control.
A key way in which vendors can work
with end-users is to focus on the
design of their solutions and ensure
they are effective but easy to use.
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT
TECH CHANNELS
Issue 25
Success will depend on
the vendor ensuring
that the end-user works
in partnership to secure
the organisation.
By making authentication simple
while running checks on devices in the
background, end-users can stay secure
without degrading performance or
interrupting work. If an update is needed
on a device, rather than making it intrusive,
the vendor can develop an approach where
the end-user is included in the decision and
implementation process.
To develop these solutions, vendors need
to have a programme which includes end-
users in the development of new solutions.
Making it easy to use is the first step
but ensuring that end-users test it and
provide their input is a critical second
step before release. So, keeping it simple
and consistent while supporting – not
interrupting – the end-user is the way to
get the best out of the partnership.
17