Secom Case Study
Secom: Managing Information Security in a Risky World
Main Issue
Recent years, the issue of personal information leaks over the internet is becoming fiercer. Incursions by outsiders, criminal acts of insiders, along with careless actions hurt both the information holders and the companies, since the latter might loss business accordingly. That’s why security issue, for both software and hard ware, is important for any online business.
Jashopper.com is facing the problem. Issues they would need to consider include whether they should outsource the information protecting department or grow it as its core competitiveness; which product they should choose (Secom gave it three options); which level of security it would desire as a balance of the cost and benefit. And base its decision on the long term, given its possibility of go public in the foreseeable future.
Analysis
In considering whether Jashopper.com should outsource the information protecting department or not, we should understand the business model, and judge how important the information security is to the company: how important are these things contribute for differentiate Jashopper.com from its competitors. As an online department store, Jashopper.com plays as a medium between retailers and consumers. The privacy information that requires for protection lies in the interaction between consumers and Jashopper.com. From this business model, we notice that information privacy is quite important to assure trust from consumer side. However, the section is not directly build to the value creation of the business, investment should be considered in an effective level, and highest level of quality is not a must. The security issue is a must, but not that core enough for the business that able to differentiate from the others within the industry.
In considering which product to choose and the guaranteed level, we need to take both business needs and external offers into consideration. From the business
Main Issue
Recent years, the issue of personal information leaks over the internet is becoming fiercer. Incursions by outsiders, criminal acts of insiders, along with careless actions hurt both the information holders and the companies, since the latter might loss business accordingly. That’s why security issue, for both software and hard ware, is important for any online business.
Jashopper.com is facing the problem. Issues they would need to consider include whether they should outsource the information protecting department or grow it as its core competitiveness; which product they should choose (Secom gave it three options); which level of security it would desire as a balance of the cost and benefit. And base its decision on the long term, given its possibility of go public in the foreseeable future.
Analysis
In considering whether Jashopper.com should outsource the information protecting department or not, we should understand the business model, and judge how important the information security is to the company: how important are these things contribute for differentiate Jashopper.com from its competitors. As an online department store, Jashopper.com plays as a medium between retailers and consumers. The privacy information that requires for protection lies in the interaction between consumers and Jashopper.com. From this business model, we notice that information privacy is quite important to assure trust from consumer side. However, the section is not directly build to the value creation of the business, investment should be considered in an effective level, and highest level of quality is not a must. The security issue is a must, but not that core enough for the business that able to differentiate from the others within the industry.
In considering which product to choose and the guaranteed level, we need to take both business needs and external offers into consideration. From the business