Internet Dependency (Part 2/2)
My mother always used to (and still does) tell me to “Never depend on other people for things.” The advice is so simple and true and yet, people still ignore it anyway. I mean, how many times have you asked someone to do something as simple as remember to bring back the cd they borrowed from you last week and then they forgot it? The same is true for businesses- not the cd borrowing part- but the fact that many companies rely solely on the Internet to run their businesses.
Now, I’m not saying that the Internet is a bad thing. On the contrary, I think that the Internet has done wonders for all of us. However, there has been a growing tendency for many businesses to rely on the Internet, which opens them up to all sorts of vulnerabilities if they’re not careful.
Business Functions that Rely on the Internet
The following are some examples of things that a lot of businesses rely on where the Internet is involved.
- Employee benefits administration
- Corporate transfer of funds
- Document backup and storage
- Contact info for customers
- Communications (i.e. voice, data)
- Accounting purposes
- Business management
- Payroll
Potential Internet Threats
Some potential threats to the Internet include things like:
- Corrupt code written by individuals
- Internet disruptions
- Natural disasters
- Terrorist attacks
- Hackers
- People looking to harm the United States
There is much talk today about global terrorism. Terrorists aren’t just blowing things up anymore, they’re doing things more quietly too. For example, there is much speculation that a future terrorist attacks will come in the form of a cyber war. These attacks will be aimed not at the military, but at the United States economic infrastructure.
So, What Can We Do?
BR suggests that CEOs ask some of the following questions:
And you thought running a business was easy! There are many things to consider when operating your own business, especially if it is Internet- dependent!
For more information about Internet marketing, visit Create Business Growth!
The same logic could be applied to a number of technological achievements. Companies not being too reliant on the Internet is the same as saying they shouldn’t be too reliant on cars, trucks, delivery vans, or big rigs.
It’s something that can’t be avoided in today’s society and even if they try their best, there will still be a ripple effect since so many other companies do that they won’t be able to avoid it.
thanks, useful post.
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Janelle you defiantly raise some interesting points. Alot of people are reliant purely on the internet as a form of communication, and any long term downtime would be detrimental.
However I think the way the internet is structured geographically, it would be tough to bring it down for any long period of time. But in a certain area, sure.