Insights

The ability to harness the language within your data assets provides a significant competitive advantage for your company. Unfortunately, too often organisations lack the resources to fully leverage their language data. Advances in AI and natural language processing provide the keys to unlocking this data, the challenge is knowing where to start and how to achieve real value.

June 5th

Mental health is often a prickly topic of conversation. Couched in stigma and societal pressure, people don’t traditionally feel comfortable discussing their mental health with others. We wanted to kickstart the conversation by sharing how we at Rela8 Group approach our mental health, manage stress, and avoid burn out.

May 22nd

Whether we want to admit it or not, the tech sector is facing a hiring crisis. No organisation is immune to the threat of a dwindling workforce, but our Technology Leaders Club community is making the issue a priority...

May 15th

We sit down with cyber security leader, Lyzia Van Iterson, to discuss the mental health issues facing the IT industries today.

Post-pandemic, marketing leaders face a new world of lead generation and creative channels to integrate into their marketing strategies. But how are they investing differently now, to not just drive leads, but drive an efficient pipeline for their sales team?

April 24th

Over the course of our virtual roundtables, executive dinners, and live events, we at Rela8 Group have established a vast catalogue of content with the help of our Technology Leaders Club community. This catalogue is an invaluable library of resources for our community, here is just a taste of our offerings for CISOs.

March 17th

April 3rd

Before TLC Reconnect, we sat down with Austin Pierson, the Client Director over at ScienceLogic to ask and answer the simple question - have IT operations let business services get out of control?

March 27th

Some of our highlights from this year's Tech Show and TLC Reconnect...

March 20th

Fundamental to meeting any data protection legislation is knowing your data: what you have, why you have it, how you got it, what you do with it, and where you keep it. Building data awareness through validated data discovery is now an essential element for an effective data security strategy capable of navigating a data-driven landscape, but with new regulations being introduced and the rapid proliferation of data, can businesses keep up?

Fresh from their appearance at TLC Reconnect 2023, we had the chance to sit down with Tessian's Director of Product Marketing to ask if email security is good enough, or if it's time for a change...

March 6th

At the beginning of the month, we asked our Technology Leaders Club community a question – do you think AI is going to become a necessary tool for modern businesses? Here's what you thought...

February 27th

February 20th

We speak to Bugcrowd’s Chief Information and Security Officer, Nick McKenzie, to get his perspective on crowdsourced security testing and why organisations should be racing to get on board.

February 13th

Show London 2023. Rela8 Group Ltd, a leading events and custom marketing agency for the IT, Security and Data technology industry, has joined forces with CloserStill Media’s Tech Show London, the UK’s most important technology event for business, taking place on 8th & 9th March 2023 at ExCeL London.

February 6th

January 30th

January 23rd

After a recent roundtable event held with our partners at HelpSystems, we wanted to challenge our moderator and cyber security expert, James Mckinlay - CISO, to see if he could sum up the discussion and challenges faced by our community in less than a minute – a very tall order!

January 16th

January 9th

Well here we are, at the end of another crazy year, and we’re happy to say that 2022 has been everything 2021 was and more! This year has been chock full of events, new partnerships, and new ways of bringing our community together. 2022 hasn’t been perfect, but despite the turbulence, we at Rela8 Group want to reflect on our year and focus on all the amazing things that have happened.

December 12th

December 5th

November 28th

November 21st

More data is available than ever before, however, with this glut of data comes challenges. We have the enviable position of having access to some of the best CDOs and data experts from across the spectrum of industry and we wanted to use their insights from our events to help guide the data industry with this report.

November 14th

October 31st

October 24th

October 17th

Our 2022 schedule of live events has continued amaze both our business partners and our executive community. Here are some of our favourite moments from the last few months!

We are excited to announce our new partnership with the Chartered Institute of Information Security!

September 26th

We sit down with Rela8 Group Advisory Board member and accessibility champion, Douglas Silverstone, as well as Adi Latif, Accessibility Consultant at AbilityNet to discuss some of the challenges around accessibility and how they can be tackled.

We sat down with cyber expert and moderator, James Mckinlay - CISO, to hear his thoughts on how technology leaders are configuring their operating models for resilience and agility.

September 5th

Few traditional disaster recovery programs are designed for recovery from a data compromising cyberattack. Without focused discussions, detailed planning, backup solution enhancement, cyber recovery tests and exercises, and a comprehensive data recovery program; you are putting your business at unnecessary risk to IT service delivery.

In today's hypercompetitive landscape, businesses need to do everything they can to survive and thrive. Following on from our recent TLC Connect Data event, we sat down with Mike Kiersey, Director of Boomi’s global technology office, to hear his thoughts on the future of modern businesses, the importance of staying competitive, and why organisations should be looking to optimise their data to not only benefit their business, but also their customers.

August 8th

August 1st

On the most recent episode of our TLC Unfiltered podcast we had the pleasure of speaking with Global CISO, Helen Rabe about emails. Specifically the ceaseless deluge of marketing and sales emails that find their way into the inboxes of executive decision makers every day.

July 25th

July 19th

We are excited to announce our new partnership with Decipher Cyber and the Jenny 2.0 platform

While the phrase “digital transformation” can mean any number of things in 2022, the embracing of Cloud technology is an almost universal feature of it. Some have been on the Cloud for years; others are still taking their first tentative steps. Regardless of where an organisation finds themselves on the Cloud journey, there will always be challenges. From managing the increased complexity to communicating value to the board, embracing the Cloud is about driving the mantra ‘business innovation is a journey, not a destination’.

The 7th July certainly wasn’t an average Thursday night for our CISO and IT Security network, as they joined us at the iconic Royal National Theatre’s Buffini Chao Deck for an incredible evening of networking, champagne and canapés, and live entertainment at our second TLC Connect event.

The recent revolution in data infrastructure and application architecture has transformed the way all kinds of organisations, from the traditional to the digital native, work with data. Transformation requires a thoughtful strategy that drives the re-architecting of the enterprise. To truly take advantage of real-time data as the most strategic platform within your company, it must move from the domain of one-off engineering initiatives into a central nervous system for the enterprise.

July 11th

With a staggering amount of sensitive data being created every day, it’s no wonder traditional enterprise Data Loss Prevention solutions struggle to manage. Many enterprise DLP implementations fail because they are too hard to setup, too hard to manage, too disruptive to the end users and get too little support from the business leaders. Walking the line between effective modern DLP implementation and usability is the challenge facing businesses today.

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the CEO of Global Transform, the incredible Dax Grant. On top of being a CEO, Dax sits on numerous councils and boards, working tirelessly to drive positive changes in the tech industry.

The use of data and analytics in the cloud is no longer an aspiration, it’s a reality. Most, if not all, enterprise organisations already have multiple workloads in public and private clouds. The cloud can offer benefits of cost, security, and governance, but also in balancing the relentless demand from the people who want frequent access to the data they need at speed. However, let’s not forget that despite the benefits of cloud, many workloads will remain on-premises now and for the future.

July 4th

Security debt is a serious and common problem for that pervades businesses today, especially with the move to cloud computing and rise of IoT. While organisations might accept the risks they encounter, they often neglect to review them or plan for the future. That risk is compounded when patches are passed from passed from person-to-person through staff changes and/or employee churn. Managing our growing security debt is therefore of critical importance because ransomware is the debt collector, and it will come calling.

A big part of 2022 has been the triumphant return of in-person events. Here are some of our favourite memories from the year so far!

June 13th

Once data is entered and can then be connected safely, securely, and quickly everywhere – you have in place the foundations of integration and the beginning of the “integrated experiences” journey. If only it were that simple. Data readiness, user engagement, and the unified platform are vital to delivering an integrated experience and will become critical to an organisation’s survival. The businesses that will thrive in an increasingly digital and connected society are the ones building a modern tapestry of integrated experiences.

June 6th

Real-time decision support is a success factor for all businesses impacted by the current global uncertainty, as well as the rapid digital transformation of the market. This could impact the responsibility of CIOs who may need to develop data superpowers because existing models of data processes and pipeline may not be adapted to the required speed to insight.

May 30th

It is said that the most efficient way to reduce insider risks is to prevent insider incidents. A prevention-first strategy must also prove effective at rapidly detecting and mitigating the effects of insider threats originating from both malicious and accidental insiders. What if you could secure and protect your users and devices, even BYOD laptops and smartphones, with a method that is focused on earning trust across any end point and continuously validating that trust at every event or transaction?

Every organisation today is concerned about security and the inevitability of a ransomware attack. With multi-generational sprawl increasing the attack surface, recovering from a malicious attack is becoming increasingly difficult.

Introducing our latest Rela8 Group Advisory Board member! We sat down with Douglas to hear why he chose to join our Advisory Board, how he hopes to help the Data industry overcomes the challenges of data innovation, and what advice he would give to other Data Executives in his industry.

The world is a drastically different place now compared to a couple of years ago. Businesses have been forced to make bigger decisions than ever before while moving quicker and more frequently. In retail, being at the forefront of having to adapt to changing customer behaviour and interactions, there is no time more critical than now to make better and faster decisions.

With Wembley Stadium as the stage, we brought together a group of CISOs, CTOs, CIOs, and key industry heads and directors to discuss the responsibilities of being ‘women in tech’, industry double standards, and mentoring the next generation.

May 23rd

Human error is the most common portal for cyber security breaches. So, it stands to reason that human talent is the most valuable defence against attacks. How can organisations reduce risk by making humans the strongest link in the cyber defence line?

May 16th

Language is central to how organisations do business, shaping processes and impacting how they communicate with their customers. To get ahead of the competition, businesses need to be capable of understanding how to realise tangible value from the language data available from its unstructured inputs. The challenge is to leverage massive amounts of data in a consistent and scalable format. The solution to this question can help businesses to power processes, deliver business insight and move forward at a quicker pace.

The rapid and continuous adoption of Cloud applications has been pivotal for digital transformation initiatives and enabling global workforces. Their importance to an organisation, also makes Cloud applications primary targets of cyber criminals to gain illegitimate access to company data and networks. The challenge organisations are facing now – how do they secure a third party platform?

May 9th

End-user computing (EUC) approaches continue to evolve as organisations look to support the needs of a dynamic and changing workplace. Hybrid and multi-cloud approaches have become a more important variable in the context of work-from-home. Platform flexibility remains important but lowering the bar on complexity has become an increasingly key focus for EUC implementations.

May 3rd

Mobile applications are becoming an indispensable platform for organisations but if left unchecked they can provide an easy attack surface for malicious actors. So what steps can businesses take to ensure they don’t hit the news headlines?

25th April

In April we hosted our first TLC TV episode of 2022 and what a return it was! Partnering with Contrast Security, in this episode we looked at DevOps and accelerating the Developer-First security movement.

The ability to harness the language within your data assets provides a significant competitive advantage for your company. Unfortunately, too often this data remains an untapped gold mine as organisations lack the resources to fully leverage their language data. Advances in AI and natural language processing provide the keys to unlocking this data, providing deeper knowledge and insight allowing you to create more differentiated data products and improve audience engagement. The challenge is often knowing where to start and how to employ AI strategies to achieve real value.

11th April

We caught up with James McKinlay - Cyber Security, one of our star moderators and Cyber Security expert, after a recent roundtable to get his thoughts on why modern Data Loss Prevention strategies are becoming more and more critical!

The security of our digital IDs has never been more important: from cloud services that have kept businesses functioning through the rapid shift to remote working, to providing access to essential consumer services. Yet businesses still put their users and customers through undue suffering, leaving themselves exposed to security compromises.

April 4th

It's time we started talking about corporate burnout.

Principal Cloud Solutions Architect and community member, Jeroen Mulder, gives his views on DevSecOps and being the best 'plumber' you can be.

We spoke to DocuSign's Gerrit van der Walt to hear his thoughts on staying competitive with the ideal document workflow, and how businesses might move towards it.

Coming back for our third year, Rela8 Group are thrilled to once again be sponsoring the White Hat Ball to help raise money for NSPCC Childline. Sitting down with Rela8 Group CEO & Founder, Paul Gibson, we ask why giving back is so important, and why the White Hat Ball makes a perfect partner for Rela8 Group.

March 21st

March 14th

Identity and Access Management (IAM) gained notoriety as a business enabler 15-20 years ago. It is seeing a resurgence today because many people now understand that IAM can solve many of the emerging challenges facing businesses today.

March 7th

February 28th

February 21st

February 14th

The Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report shows cloud computing trends. Although 80% of enterprise organisations choose hybrid for greater flexibility and adapting to change, it does add complexity.

February 8th

Cyber security is a field of constant change and evolution. As such, pinning down specific challenges is like chasing shadows! However, thanks to our incredible Technology Leaders Club community, we have access to the insight of some of the industry’s best on what challenges they are concerned about for the start of 2022.

We spoke to Milos Pesic, Global Head of Information and Cyber Security at Marken and our newest Advisory Board member, about joining the board and the challenges facing the cyber security industry today.

January 31st

January 24th

Here at the Technology Leaders Club, we pride ourselves on having our fingers on the pulse of the tech industry. Supported by our fantastic delegate community and vendor partners, we ensure that if something is on the minds of the industry’s best and brightest, we know about it and are already preparing a roundtable discussion to tackle it. With that said, here is a list of the top 10 challenges recently that have our community buzzing:

January 17th

January 10th

Looking back on our 2021 and wrapping up a year that will go down in history for all the right reasons.

For businesses around the world, the pandemic has shown that work is about what you do, not where you do it. The new workplace can now be anywhere, but with that freedom comes concerns for business security. We spoke to Fortinet’s Director of Information Security, Joe Robertson, to get his perspective on the “Anywhere Workplace” and how businesses should be approaching our new normal going forward.

December 13th

December 6th

29th November

22nd November

This month, we hosted our final TLC TV episode of the year, certain we would be ending 2021 with a bang. Partnering with Talend, we looked at data health and the impacts that healthy data can have on businesses, culture, and community.

15th November

8th November

1st November

We spoke to Dan Overton, our newest Advisory Board Member, about joining the Rela8 Group Board and about what can be done to give back. With 16 years of experience in the IT industry, Dan has experienced the boom in cybersecurity first-hand. Dan is now the Deputy EMEA Information Security Officer at Lockheed Martin and is looking to do his part in developing the industry.

25th October

18th October

October 13th

27th September

21st September

13th September

8th September

I know you’re thinking ‘a roundtable doesn’t have sides,’ aren’t you? In this blog we are going to talk about the two sides to a roundtable. Not just any roundtable but a virtual roundtable.

31 August

23 August

16 August

Choosing the right cybersecurity solutions is difficult in a constantly changing cyber-threat landscape. The goal is to stop cyber-attacks before they damage your business.

When the world shifted to working from home, companies saw on average a 71.9% increase in authentications due to remote access. Authentications to virtual private networks (VPN) and remote desktop protocol (RDP) grew by 60%.