When integrating an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system into your company, data security should be a fundamental priority, just as much as functionality, user-friendliness, or ease of integration. After all, your online inventory system may need to house or interact with sensitive business data, financial records, and customer information. As more businesses and institutions adopt cloud-based systems, cybercriminals have become more motivated due to the increasingly target-rich environment.
Prioritizing strong data security safeguards this information from unauthorized access, theft, and even unintentional leaks. In turn, this improved security guarantees business continuity and fewer unplanned outages.
As the world moves into digital systems, having a secure ERP with no downtimes will become an even more important consideration for your customers, which is why your choice of ERP must be a vetted solution like SAP Business One. These systems tend to be better at finding vulnerabilities in cloud environments and fixing them without impacting your business’s operations or frustrating users. Less effective or untested systems can leave your business ripe for the picking, especially when considering the increasing sophistication of today’s cybercriminals.
Regardless of what ERP you invested in, it still pays to follow certain best practices to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Protect your business and customer data with the following strategies:
1. Include All Internal Business Stakeholders in Your ERP Selection
ERPs handle data transfers across your entire organization. However, each team or department may have varying or even competing wishlists for your ERP transition. If you haven’t updated your ERP yet, it’s a good time to get everyone on the same page since conflicts of interest can lead to a bloated setup with multiple vulnerabilities if they aren’t addressed from the beginning.
2. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Adding a second layer of authentication (such as biometrics info or codes sent to mobile devices) makes it harder for unauthorized users with passwords to access your systems since these authentication factors serve as proof of a user’s proximity or ownership of the device being used. MFA is, therefore, critical if you want to shield your ERP against bad actors working offsite.
3. Regularly Update Software and Patch Vulnerabilities
You and your IT teams need to ensure that your ERP and inventory software are up-to-date, including any modifications or third-party apps. Malicious parties will eventually crack any system so implementing security patches to address known vulnerabilities will reduce your ERP’s risk of exploitation.
4. Limit User Access with Role-Based Permissions
Role-based access control (RBAC) helps ensure that a user only has access to whatever data is necessary for their job at a given time. This reduces the window for exploitation and keeps potential bad actors inside your business from having free reign over the data. Be sure to periodically review and update these permissions, especially when employees change roles.
5. Encrypt Data at Rest and in Transit
Employ encryption to keep sensitive data safe both when it’s stored and when it’s being transmitted between systems. This makes it significantly harder for unauthorized individuals to access or interpret data, even if they manage to intercept it.
6. Monitor and Audit System Activity
Regular audits can help you identify unusual behavior, such as failed login attempts or unauthorized access, giving you time to assess potential threats. In particular, consider taking a page from the accounting industry and make sure to audit all key business stakeholders’ activities during their mandatory vacation periods.
7. Require a Secure VPN for Remote Access
Because of the increased risk of “man-in-the-middle” attacks, you must require teams accessing ERP and inventory systems remotely to use a virtual private network (VPN). Using a VPN can further complicate the job of any would-be hacker, making it significantly harder for unauthorized parties to intercept data.
8. Educate Employees on Data Security Best Practices
Not all security breaches are due to malicious intent. Human error is also a common cause of data leaks. While you cannot always remove human error from the equation, you can reduce the risk by regularly training employees. In particular, teach them how to create strong passwords, recognize phishing attempts, and configure their user settings on their ERP and company-issued devices.
9. Only Work with Trusted Cloud and Security Providers
Make sure to only work with reliable, security-oriented cloud and ERP vendors that provide advanced security features and are in full compliance with industry standards. As a bonus, these vendors should also be able to offer plentiful resources so that you and your employees can maximize the security features.
Better ERP Security Starts With the Right Solutions
While implementing these strategies will keep your online inventory and ERP systems safe, there is no substitute for choosing the right ERP suite. Picking one that fully matches your business’s requirements while also providing proactive protection against online threats to your business, your data, and your customers. If you have a unique set of business requirements, only a few options will work out of the box so it pays to look for the right ERP so that you’ll be protected even as you maximize the productivity benefits of integrating such a system into your company.