| |June 20189CIOReviewAt the heart of all technology-based decisions is the need to manage and protect company assetsprocesses will have on each section of the business and manage the ef-fects it will have on the organization, employees and budgets. Aqua, like other regulated businesses, has finite capital available to invest in infra-structure improvements each year, and the responsibility to be fiscally responsible for our customers and shareholders, making the need for the strategy behind these decisions even more critical.All our systems and the efforts behind them must support our really critical mission: to protect and pro-vide Earth's most essential resource.MobilityMobile devices and the ability to work seemingly from anywhere have become essential for the con-tinued success and growth of many businesses. This increased mobility for employees creates the need to have access to corporate assets in the cloud. At Aqua, we have over 1,600 employees and many working out in the field connecting to the network from tablets and similar mobile de-vices. From a logistical and network-ing perspective, Aqua's senior lead-ership team made an investment to ensure that field employees can use tablets for their day-to-day work and have access to a variety of applica-tions and data they may need, in-cluding service orders and customer account information. Like with cloud computing, even though tablets, smart phones and hybrid computer tablets have existed for quite some time, they are now vi-tal to complete work in our industry.Cyber securityAt the heart of all technology-based decisions is the need to manage and protect company assets. Cybersecu-rity is of utmost importance as there are vulnerabilities, especially with the continued growth of the Inter-net of Things (IoT) and the Indus-trial Internet of Things (IIoT), the internet working and connectivity of physical devices, smart devices, buildings and other various electron-ics including meters and sensors.Each point of connectivity, from email to connected network devices and even people walking through the front door, not only enables the exchange of data, but also rep-resents a vulnerability and potential risk. Each connection needs to be protected to ensure that confidential company and customer data remains secure. Once this is complete, the benefit of integrating a more con-nected digital infrastructure is the fact that it allows different groups of employees to effectively utilize data in real time. At Aqua, this means our field employees and corporate office employees can access informa-tion via the cloud and from mobile devices whenever necessary, provid-ing better service and information to our customers. As leaders in our organiza-tions, specifically in technology, it is important that we recognize and understand trends across vari-ous industries, especially our own. It is essential to continually rede-fine company strategy to account for new developments and to bal-ance the new technologies with the investment needed and the risks they present. With this baseline, we'll most effectively serve our cus-tomers, communities, employees and shareholders.
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