M2SYS Blog On Biometric Technology

Photo Courtesy of: kexino

Today’s guest post is by Natasha Tasha.

More and more international governments and security-intensive companies are using biometric-enabled identity cards for their employees and professionals. As this technology becomes more widespread, the need to make this technology more mobile, and more accessible is becoming clear. Experts all over the globe are pushing for cloud-based biometrics for greater efficiency and mobility.

With this comes a host of concerns. The main one being security and reliability. With major players in cloud computing making the news with outages and security breaches, critics of cloud computing and biometrics integration have only become more vocal. Still, it’s clear that both large governments and organizations need an efficient way to organize and manage this large amount of data. In fact, it’s also becoming evident that sheer CPU power is no longer enough to manage the petabytes of data that biometrics identity systems require.

The overarching immediate need will be to create large-scale cloud-based applications that could house the massive amounts of biometrics data. One big hurdle comes with migrating these massive databases over to cloud computing applications. But experts are convinced this is not much of a hurdle with the powerful virtualization available through virtual servers and cloud hosting providers.

Additionally, many government agency officials believe that cloud computing applications for biometrics would increase security when it comes to large-scale terrorist watch programs. Cloud biometrics management systems could also provide increased efficiency in social services and criminal watch management. Experts posit that streamlined cloud systems could give government agencies access to an individual’s entire history at a glance. This would dramatically cut down the use and drainage of government resources, as cloud data management systems tend to reduce workloads significantly.

In the private sector, particularly with defense-based corporations, cloud systems would serve a similar function. Since defense companies often work with security-sensitive data, cloud applications could increase efficiency by streamlining efforts to manage data and information connected to security clearance. As would be the case in the government sector, all of this information could be easily accessed in one place so complicated data management processes are seamlessly streamlined.

Government agencies, terrorist watch groups and defense contractors are ready and willing to use this technology. But as with any cloud-based data management system, there is the immediate concern of security. When it comes to defense and government data management, heavy encryption is a key component of any cloud-based data security plan. Still, there are several critics of moving sophisticated biometrics data to the cloud. Many of these critics vocalize concern over whether or not the cloud would increase national security risks with the rise of global and politically charged “hacktivists” who have brought down significant websites, like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as major financial institutions, like Visa, MasterCard, Bank of America, Chase and PayPal.

Cloud computing for biometrics advocates push back on these criticisms with assurance that cloud applications used on the government level have multiple and sophisticated layers of security, which have been developed by cutting edge cloud security specialists all over the globe.

Tasha is writer and blogger, currently exploring cloud computing, virtual servers and other popular tech related trends 

Retail Smart Guys

In celebration of the National Retail Federation’s Annual “Retail’s Big Show Convention” this week, we welcomed a guest post from Dan Jablons at Retail Smart Guys. Dan was recently our guest on the monthly #biometricchat where he talked about the value of using biometric technology in a retail environment, especially at point-of-sale for employees. For a copy of that chat transcript, please click here.

I’d like to tell you that this idea came to me while “contemplating in my study” or something as academic and erudite as that.  Truth is, it just sorta came to me while working with a prospective client.  And after it hit me, I realized that this is the basis for survival for all of us.

The person I was working with was in tears.  Too many bills, not enough sales, and their retail business was in great danger.  This person was in a constant state of unbridled worry, sleepless nights, and economic torture.  I suppose we’ve all been through that to some degree or another, and I really just wanted to help that person through this disaster.

It got me thinking about the causes of such stress and worry.  Granted, sales have been down (although they are picking up in some areas), and times are definitely tougher now than they were years ago.  I suppose there are some people who can just naturally handle the stress better than others, or who can simply shake off the bad news.  But that doesn’t really help the people who need help, who are stressed out and need relief.

That’s when it hit me.  It’s a pretty simple solution, amazingly enough.

Worry and stress happen because of uncertainty.  If you are uncertain that you’ll survive, or how you’ll survive, you will worry because the path to success, freedom, and happier times is not visible to you.  As such, everything you look at becomes a problem, everyone you talk to makes you crazy, and life is just unlivable.  Pretty awful.

So what’s the answer?  The antidote to worry and stress is a solid plan, which followed step-by-step would lead you out of the mess you are in, into success.  Simple, right?

The hard part is coming up with the plan, and I believe that it is a rare individual that can do it alone.  Consider this analogy: if you are lost in the woods, you’d need someone who can see where you are, relative to the main road, to help you find your way out.  You might find your own way out, but you’ll wander those dark scary woods alone for a long time before you make it out, and that’s IF you can make it out.

The plan will come from a variety of resources – for retailers, we collect data from their point of sale system, which helps us see the current situation and all the elements that led to it (what was received, what was sold, what we’re stuck with, etc.).  From there, we can look at the current data and derive a solution that gets the retailer out of trouble.  Sure, it’s not easy, and it’s never a quick fix, but with hard work, patience, and most importantly, a solid plan, you can solve anything.

I’ve actually seen this work by applying it to myself.  If I find myself worried about an action plan, a client, or any other area, I call in the experts.  They help me see what I cannot see.  They help me to know what I don’t know, what I cannot figure out on my own, etc.  It plainly, simply, works.

So if you are a retailer and you are struggling, or are worried or stressed out, get a plan.  Contact me for help.

You can also follow Dan on Twitter @danjab