Clunky Data Access Controls Can Destroy Productivity — So Do This Instead

There are a handful of reasons your company’s employees might be unproductive. Access to data shouldn’t be one of those reasons. Yet clunky data access controls might be squashing employee productivity before your team even has a chance to succeed. 

That’s why companies are turning to fine-grained data access controls that give employees the information they need without forcing them to create less secure workarounds simply to do their jobs. They’re able to get work done more effectively while avoiding compromising sensitive customer data. That minimizes the risk of data getting into the wrong hands, and keeps the company's reputation in good standing.

The Drain Of Setting Up Data Access Controls

Controlling access to data is essential for any company, but it’s often done in a patchwork way as a company grows. As a result, poorly implemented access controls either limit too much of what employees need to see, or they offer access to much more than what employees need. 

That means employees either don’t have what they need to get their jobs done and will start looking for an (often insecure) workaround, or companies will give them unfettered and sometimes inadvertent access to files, apps, data, and personally identifiable information (PII), even when they shouldn’t have that access.

There are several situations where too much access is a bad thing that can hurt your company.  

It takes time and energy to ensure that every employee’s data access controls are correctly instrumented. Your IT team might have to manually go through entire departments or AD groups to properly adjust access levels.

Avoiding that work could lead to bigger problems, like data loss, lawsuits, and financial damage. However, when fixing those issues involves clunky data controls, it puts a damper on employee productivity, as they can’t focus on other tasks. In many cases, the whole company sees decreased effectiveness. If they’re unable to access apps and databases entirely — information they need to do their jobs well — their productivity will suffer.

If decreased productivity were the only issue, it might be easier to overcome. Yet when data access controls are the reason an employee’s productivity slows down, bigger trouble is on the horizon.

When Productivity Grinds To A Halt, Bad Things Happen

Restricting access to entire apps and databases disrupts workers. Think about your reaction to an issue on your own devices. If something’s not working, do you shrug your shoulders and say, “oh, well?” Or do you try to find a way to fix the problem?

When confronted with an issue around data access, most employees will choose the latter option. However, they’re probably not as knowledgeable about security and potential problems arising from a misstep. As a result, they’ll seek whatever solution is easiest.  

Instead of reaching out to IT security to gain temporary access, they’ll take a quicker route. That route often includes uncontrollable workarounds, such as unsecured third-party file sharing sites or requesting sensitive data be sent via personal email.

Remote work only further complicates security. Employees may transfer data to personal devices, such as laptops or hard drives, which leads to data leakage, improper downloading, and inadvertent access. All of that hurts productivity, as employees spend time looking for access to the company or band together to fix a data breach.

Protecting Sensitive Data Should Be Simple

Stop blocking data wholesale or giving away too much information. It only leads to frustration, decreased productivity, and a greater chance of data loss. Instead, why not mask only the sensitive data within the application itself while allowing business to hum along without interruption?

Here’s how: Nullafi’s proprietary data security software sits between applications and endpoints, integrating with existing network technology to redact sensitive data across applications. Imagine being able to:

• See increased productivity and ease of use for all employees, contractors, third parties, and other entities needing access.
• Automatically detect and redact sensitive data in transit before it ever reaches a user’s device.
• Secure data with intuitive controls using natural language, so even managers with minimal technical skills can easily govern data access at the most granular levels.

You can do all of that by simply changing one configuration file in your network. And since our software runs in your environment, there’s no worry of latency, downtime, or third-party data risk.

Ready to make your team more productive? Schedule a demo today. 

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