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After 128 years of business, a household word, Montgomery Wards, Inc., closed their doors forever and filed bankruptcy. With 258 stores and 28,000 employees in 30 states, Wards fell victim to competition from service-driven retailers like Wal-Mart,...
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Meta Data - In The Arena of Commerce
In the annals of history, mythology and fiction someone has
always been assigned the arduous task of gatekeeper of
information. In ancient Greece, sage sibyls like the Oracle of
Delphi, Pythia veiled her revelations to those seeking the god,
Apollo's favor. To those who could glean approval from the
seer's sacerdotal message, victory and conquest were assured.
Advantageous information is there if you know where to look,
this is data's potential weak point, its Achilles heel, and it's
called meta data.
Meta data is literally "data about data", it's information that
describes another set of data that provides information about or
documentation of other data managed within an application or
environment (1). The metadata information is stored within each
file created.
Computer software from Microsoft Office applications like Word
and Outlook to the widely used graphics programs of Adobe CS's
Version Cue and Adobe Bridge capture this meta data information
to track document use. Metadata describes how and when and by
whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is
formatted.
It tracks the authors, machines, and versions of Office used to
create a document. Many collaboration features, including
comments and revision tracking, result in significant amounts of
metadata being included in documents (2).
Metadata is essential for understanding information stored in
data warehouses and has become increasingly important in
XML-based Web applications. This automatically generated
information is probably more than you or your business wants to
disclose. For example, you create a job proposal template, this
is sent out to each prospect only changing the client's name and
bid price. Each time this document is reused, each person
receiving that over email could access the previous prospects
information loosing jobs to your firm.
The complexities of meta data are even more compounded in
industries like legal, medical and financial fields where
monetary fines are attached for intentionally or unintentionally
sharing private information. Unintentional trade secrets amongst
chemical or pharmaceutical companies could wash away time and
research dollars invested in a project. Between a client and
lawyer, leaked litigation information could derail court
proceedings. Patient information on forms or diagnosis notes can
be used for identity theft. Even your financial security is in
jeopardy if your broker or financial planner is careless with
the electronic files kept in their firm's database.
Each of these potential weak points can be an open chink in your
business's armor. Preventing these weak points of data
transmittal and arming your business intelligently allows you to
lessen the impact of sharing documents with colleagues, clients
and potential clients.
Even in ancient times the arena of commercial competition
outlasting one's rivals. The agoras (malls) of the ancient world
were among the fist to take advantage of mass-marketing from
carved walkways, signage on pillars and placing
Associated Websites
information
kiosks all to out-do their competition. Security in the ancient
world may have been a godly altar or burly man named Herakles
(or Hercules).
Protection of intellectual property, creativity, and innovation
today is as imperative as it was for the ancients. Success in
business means not only creating a viable product or service,
but also protecting innovations you business creates within that
market.
Protecting your digital assets through digital rights management
(DRM) software ensures the possibility of creating future
business endeavors. With the growing number of trojans, viruses
and malware, the need for a company to secure and control its
digital assets is greater than ever before.
Small business entities are an integral part of the American and
global commercial landscape and need to protect their creative
capital:
* Small Businesses produce 13 to 14 times more patents per
employee than large patenting firms.
* Employ half of all private sector employees.
* Pay 45 percent of total U.S. private payroll.(3)
But how can a small or medium sized business invest in
expensive ERM solutions? Rights management solutions can now be
for small to medium-sized businesses or sole-proprietorships
too. SBRM solutions provide businesses of a smaller scale an
equal level of user rights management and encryption previously
available to large corporations and enterprises. ERM or SBRM
software gives content authors the power to determine how
recipients may use their documents and email. For example,
senders can prevent unauthorized distribution (no forwarding,
printing) and prevent unauthorized editing (no cut, copy, paste)
of content, i.e. copy prevention.
Sharing proposals, information, or other businesses assets no
longer has to be one's Achilles' heel. This weak point can be
strengthened and the integrity of a business is kept in tact
through actively using Rights Management tools.
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End Notes:
1.) definition from Dictionary.com
2.) Michael Silver, "Microsoft Office metadata: What you don't
see can hurt you," Tech Republic, 4 March 2003
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-5034376.html#.
3.) Small Business Administration (SBA),SBA Office of Advocacy
Frequently Asked Questions Document "How important are small
businesses," http://www.sba.gov/, October, 2005, 1.
4.) Small Business Rights Management (SBRM) on Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Business_Rights_Management
5.) Copy Prevention on Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_prevention
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About the author:
Ms. Veniegas is an alumni of the University of Washington.
Marilee joined the Marketing team at Essential Security Software, Inc. in 2005.
She also serves as one of the ESS site editors for "I Want My
ESS!" a stolen work and SMB resource site.
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