What are the costs and benefits of developing cybersecurity programs in business?

           When I was an intern for a Fortune 500 company, I was privy to an insider project that did not succeed and had to be sourced out eventually. The project’s goal was to make a website interface easy enough for the non-technical employees of the company to enter computer-related issues, issues relating from physical computer components to software. However, the application website had to be secure and only accessible by employees. Though the company was large and had enough budget and workforce to succeed, the IT workforce was not familiar with developing secured programs from scratch.

           First, there was the issue of knowledge. Many of the in-house IT workforce primary tasks are to help desk related. Therefore, the help desk techs lacked the practice and knowledge to create a program. The cybersecurity experts, on the other hand, were not familiar with the day to day employee technical ability or what the company’s sales priorities were. There was a lack of planning, examples, explaining, communication, and program vision. No one knew what the end project was supposed to look at the end.

           Second, there was the issue of time. Typically, the IT department was busy with tasks and help desk issues, and those who were chosen to create the program were not removed from their regular duties—causing stress and backups in both the daily tasks and the project. At one point, the group of employees tasked with the project had to stay extra hours in the office or come in during the weekend; this meant overtime. The company was not pleased with the overtime, yet there was no change in the scheduling or lessening of daily tasks.

           Third, there was the issue of workforce and priorities. Eventually, those who were tasked with the project were taken out of their regular positions. Their daily responsibilities and tasks were distributed among those who were not involved in the project, which caused strife and stress among everyone. Tensions were high, and patience was stretched thin.

           In the end, the company had to pay for an application/program developer to create what they needed, because the team inside create a bare rudimentary application. An application that did not meet the expectations of the executives and was not user friendly or secure. The cost of the whole endeavor was more than what was planned or desired for the company. Nevertheless, the contractor that took over the project benefitted from the original group’s work and familiarity with the company’s needs and goals. Lesson learned that collaboration, planning, and research are vital to developing programs and keeping costs down with the benefit of business familiarity.