Here’s a true story that many in the security field may find familiar. After an acquisition almost doubled the size of a major grocery wholesaler, the company’s corporate security team started training leaders to identify concerning behaviors and instances of potential workplace violence risks. This training and increased stress stemming from the acquisition increased reported incidents. The security team at this company comprised a handful of people who were now responsible for monitoring reports across more than 50 distribution centers and multiple corporate office locations. It quickly became clear their current neo-analog methods — using shared spreadsheets and manual note-taking — were inadequate.
In company after company, corporate security teams face situations like this regularly. They use outdated tools that lack any integrated workflow for investigating. Their limited reporting capabilities make gaining meaningful insights into case progress and resolutions difficult. Additionally, teams often work in silos, spending days manually collecting and documenting crucial information that could have urgent implications for the business.
In an industry where threats wait for no one, security teams need tools and processes to strengthen them to better protect their organization and its people. A connected case management system with an integrated research process is a good place to start.
That’s exactly what the team in my story did. To tackle these new challenges effectively, they strategically shifted toward more flexible tools and a dynamic research and case management solution. This enabled them to meet the demands of their growing responsibilities and centralize their investigations. Here’s why this worked for them.
Connected Case Management and Research
Case management and integrated research tools accelerate the security team’s ability to connect the dots by fostering collaboration across an organization, streamlining workflows, and centralizing data. At their core, these systems should also be able to identify patterns and trends for more powerful case analysis and strategizing.
Here’s another example to illustrate this. Imagine, for a moment, that an executive has been the subject of several threats based on their social media presence. Now imagine that one of the people making those threats has signed up to volunteer at a company-sponsored 5K charity run where the executive will be present. Some organizations may never make that connection because they don’t have a holistic view of their threat landscape. And some will only make that connection after spending hours manually researching disconnected databases.
This is a single example of a team managing hundreds of cases daily. Connecting their research allows security teams to give each case the attention it deserves because it has eliminated the need to search for information across data sources manually. No security professional wants their boss or leadership team members to approach them with a threat they’ve missed. Integrated Research can help security teams stay one step ahead and give company leaders confidence that their teams can see the entire threat landscape.
Organizations can seamlessly integrate and contextualize research findings with the right tools, enhancing their preparedness and response capabilities. This saves time and resources and empowers teams to focus more on strategic security measures rather than routine data management. By opting for a unified case management solution, corporate security leaders can work more efficiently, gain confidence not to overlook threats, and ensure overall business resilience by positioning themselves to respond proactively to threats and opportunities.
Improved case management elevates the perceived impact of security within the organization. In our original fable, the corporate security team successfully demonstrated the return on investment from their connected case management and research processes, securing buy-in to expand their team. This highlighted the team's value and enabled them to request and obtain the necessary resources to enhance their capabilities further, bringing up team numbers to balance the workload.
Risk is relentless and continuous, demanding constant attention from security teams. This necessitates that organizations reevaluate their case management needs and research approaches. Relying on outdated and disjointed tools increases vulnerability, highlighting the situation's urgency. In a world where threats evolve faster than ever, the only constant is the need for vigilance and adaptability.
