2020 was as unprecedented as everyone told you it was. A once in a generation pandemic upended our lives and our businesses and required us to find solutions to new obstacles as well as existing ones exacerbated by the crisis.

But the important question now is, what can we take away from the year we all want to forget? There were major lessons to be learned from the events of 2020, and by internalizing these lessons, we can properly prepare for the pitfalls of tomorrow. With focus and discipline, our difficult year can propel us to new heights of success this year and beyond.

So, in the spirit of learning, growing, preparing for the future, and ultimately setting ourselves up for success, we’re going to briefly talk about making sure that we’re not leaving behind important lessons from last year.

Are our remote workers truly secure? Can we handle remote work at a massive scale? Is our organization prepared for increased and widespread cyberattacks? Did we retain critical telemetry? What does it tell us about what our security priorities should be? All in all, do we have the most effective and cost-efficient solutions in place for whatever else the future has in store?

Let’s dive in and look at the things you don’t want to forget from 2020:

Lessons Learned

Remote Work Vulnerabilities

Having a largely work from home model thrust upon us was a challenge, but it also helped us learn some great lessons very quickly.

How do our remote workers access our applications and information? Are these avenues secure? Because there was an added emphasis on questions like these due to the sheer number of newly remote employees, many organizations gave dedicated attention to these issues, and worked on remediating any vulnerabilities that may have been discovered in the process.

These lessons and solutions should not be forgotten as we shift back toward hybrid models in 2021. Remote work is beginning to feel less like a trend and more like the new reality for organizations across the globe. Let’s use what we learned in 2020 to continue to improve our remote work processes.

Rapid Cloud Adoption

Playing into how remote workers conduct their operations, but also a pillar of the modern enterprise in general, the next lesson learned was surrounding cloud adoption and the security of cloud environments.

We have talked for years about digital transformation and cloud adoption is crucial for businesses in any industry if they are wanting to thrive in the 21^st century. In order to accommodate a large remote workforce, rapid cloud adoption was crucial in making sure operations could continue in full force.

As many organizations were forced to adopt more cloud practices, they began to see the benefits that cloud operations can bring to their overall business practices. As we move deeper into 2021, we urge businesses to not ease up just because the overall necessity is beginning to wane.

Urgency toward growth and productive operations can be just as valuable as urgency for overall necessities. We know the most successful businesses in the years to come will be those that build about the foundations that were set in the cloud 2020.

Cloud Cost Efficiency

Many organizations consequently learned the costs associated with cloud adoption and found that they may not have been as efficient in their spend as they could have been. With a strategic approach to cloud adoption, businesses can find efficiencies in both operations and associated costs.

Now that there is room to analyze best solutions, it is imperative to take the data from cloud integration in 2020 to help you grow into your overall processes with the cloud in 2021 and beyond.

Many solutions popped up in 2020 that were tailor made to allow for better cost efficiencies in the cloud. Engaging with solutions like these are great launchpads to help you thrive in the years to come.

Data Access for Threat Hunting

With so much more data flowing from so many more devices, there is a lot to keep track of. With solutions like CYDERES using tools like Chronicle to allow to sub-second search latency for all inquiries dating back a full year, organizations were able to better address security risks that may have come from new remote work practices.

Don’t miss that point – 2020’s security data was like a preview of coming attractions to those who are wise enough to see it.

Organizations who can cost-effectively retain a full year of telemetry are seeing how existing problems were quickly and exponentially exposed by the onset of the crisis. Chronicling those red flags allows the proactive to get ahead of vulnerabilities that may have been slow burning but were dragged into the light ahead of schedule.

Being able to access such a large amount of data at such rapid speed, and then plan your security program’s upgrades accordingly will be a game changer in the years to come. We will continue to promote this heavily because we have seen the overwhelming benefits of threat hunting in this way.

Again, as things shift back to hybrid models, this is one thing from 2020 that should stick around.

Looking Forward

These are just a few items that we believe should carry over from 2020 and inform strategy and direction for enterprises in various industries. While we are all ready to move forward from the events of last year, we believe it is truly important to take the time to reflect on lessons learned, and this list may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Throughout a year of incredible hardship, we continued to be so moved by the resiliency of our customers, partners, employers, and community, and we know we are going to come out the other side of this collective experience stronger and ready for the future.

If you are ready to discuss how we can help turn the lessons learned in 2020 into concrete, actionable plans for 2021, fill out the form below to be connected with one of our experts.