Surajdeep Singh, Author at IT Business Edge https://www.itbusinessedge.com/author/surajdeep-singh/ Wed, 25 Oct 2023 20:10:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 Snowflake vs. Databricks: Big Data Platform Comparison https://www.itbusinessedge.com/business-intelligence/snowflake-vs-databricks/ Thu, 14 Jul 2022 19:16:49 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140660 The extraction of meaningful information from Big Data is a key driver of business growth. For example, the analysis of current and past product and customer data can help organizations anticipate customer demand for new products and services and spot opportunities they might otherwise miss. As a result, the market for Big Data tools is […]

The post Snowflake vs. Databricks: Big Data Platform Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
The extraction of meaningful information from Big Data is a key driver of business growth.

For example, the analysis of current and past product and customer data can help organizations anticipate customer demand for new products and services and spot opportunities they might otherwise miss.

As a result, the market for Big Data tools is ever-growing. In a report last month, MarketsandMarkets predicted that the Big Data market will grow from $162.6 billion in 2021 to $273.4 billion in 2026, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%.

A variety of purpose-built software and hardware tools for Big Data analysis are available on the market today. To make sense of all that data, the first step is acquiring a robust Big Data platform, such as Snowflake or Databricks.

Current Big Data analytics requirements have forced a major shift in Big Data warehouse and storage architecture, from the conventional block- and file-based storage architecture and relational database management systems (RDBMS) to more scalable architectures like scale-out network-attached storage (NAS), object-based storage, data lakes, and data warehouses.

Databricks and Snowflake are at the forefront of those changing data architectures. In some ways, they perform similar functions—Databricks and Snowflake both made our lists of the Top DataOps Tools and the Top Big Data Storage Products, while Snowflake also made our list of the Top Data Warehouse Tools—but there are very important differences and use cases that IT buyers need to be aware of, which we’ll focus on here.

What is Snowflake?

Snowflake logo

Snowflake for Data Lake Analytics is a cross-cloud platform that enables a modern data lake strategy. The platform improves data performance and provides secure, quick, and reliable access to data.

Snowflake’s data warehouse and data lake technology consolidates structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data onto a single platform, provides fast and scalable analytics, is simple and cost-effective, and permits safe collaboration.

Key differentiators

  • Store data in Snowflake-managed smart storage with automatic micro-partitioning, encryption at rest and in transit, and efficient compression.
  • Support multiple workloads on structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data with Java, Python, or Scala.
  • Access data from existing cloud object storage instances without having to move data.
  • Seamlessly query, process, and load data without sacrificing reliability or speed.
  • Build powerful and efficient pipelines with Snowflake’s elastic processing engine for cost savings, reliable performance, and near-zero maintenance.
  • Streamline pipeline development using SQL, Java, Python, or Scala with no additional services, clusters, or copies of data to manage.
  • Gain insights into who is accessing what data with a built-in view, Access History.
  • Automatically identify classified data with Classification, and protect it while retaining analytical value with External Tokenization and Dynamic Data Masking.

Pricing: Enjoy a 30-day free trial, including $400 worth of free usage. Contact the Snowflake sales team for product pricing details.

What is Databricks?

Databricks logo

The Databricks Lakehouse Platform unifies your data warehousing and artificial intelligence (AI) use cases onto a single platform. The Big Data platform combines the best features of data lakes and data warehouses to eliminate traditional data silos and simplify the modern data stack.

Key differentiators

  • Databricks Lakehouse Platform delivers the strong governance, reliability, and performance of data warehouses along with the flexibility, openness, and machine learning (ML) support of data lakes.
  • The unified approach eliminates the traditional data silos separating analytics, data science, ML, and business intelligence (BI).
  • The Big Data platform is developed by the original creators of Apache Spark, MLflow, Koalas, and Delta Lake.
  • Databricks Lakehouse Platform is being developed on open standards and open source to maximize flexibility.
  • The multicloud platform’s common approach to security, data management, and governance helps you function more efficiently and innovate seamlessly.
  • Users can easily share data, build modern data stacks, and avoid walled gardens, with unrestricted access to more than 450 partners across the data landscape.
  • Partners include Qlik, RStudio, Tableau, MongoDB, Sparkflows, HashiCorp, Rearc Data, and TickSmith.
  • Databricks Lakehouse Platform provides a collaborative development environment for data teams.

Pricing: There’s a 14-day full trial in your cloud or a lightweight trial hosted by Databricks. Reach out to Databricks for pricing information.

Snowflake vs. Databricks: What Are the Differences?

Here, in our analysis, is how the Big Data platforms compare:

FeaturesSnowflakeDatabricks
Scalability
Integration
Customization
Ease of Deployment
Ease of Administration and Maintenance
Pricing Flexibility
Ability to Understand Needs
Quality of End-User Training
Ease of Integration Using Standard Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Tools
Availability of Third-Party Resources
Data Lake
Data Warehouse
Service and Support
Willingness to Recommend
Overall Capability Score

Choosing a Big Data Platform

Organizations need resilient and reliable Big Data management, analysis and storage tools to reliably extract meaningful insights from Big Data. In this guide, we explored two of the best tools in the data lake and data warehouse categories.

There are a number of other options for Big Data analytics platforms, and you should find the one that best meets your business needs. Explore other tools such as Apache Hadoop, Apache HBase, NetApp Scale-out NAS and others before making a purchase decision.

Further reading:

The post Snowflake vs. Databricks: Big Data Platform Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Jira vs. ServiceNow: Features, Pricing, and Comparison https://www.itbusinessedge.com/it-management/servicenow-vs-jira/ Fri, 17 Jun 2022 17:59:46 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140567 IT service management (ITSM) refers to how IT teams administer the end-to-end delivery of IT services to customers. Moreover, it encompasses all the activities and processes necessary to support, deliver, build, and design these services. The core idea behind ITSM is the delivery of IT as a service. People often misunderstand ITSM as basic IT […]

The post Jira vs. ServiceNow: Features, Pricing, and Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>

IT service management (ITSM) refers to how IT teams administer the end-to-end delivery of IT services to customers. Moreover, it encompasses all the activities and processes necessary to support, deliver, build, and design these services.

The core idea behind ITSM is the delivery of IT as a service. People often misunderstand ITSM as basic IT support. Rather, ITSM teams overlook all forms of workplace technology, ranging from laptops, to servers, to printers and business-critical software applications.

Modern infrastructures are growing more complex by the day, and vital IT systems and services must be completely operational around the clock. Therefore, IT teams are leveraging potent ITSM tools to assist in IT management.

These tools offer a plethora of unique functionalities to support IT teams. Some of the benefits ITSM tools provide include:

  • Reducing business inefficiencies
  • Ensuring business continuity
  • Supporting business operations and efficiency
  • Ensuring IT service delivery is continuous

Businesses of all sizes should consider purchasing an ITSM tool to accomplish work and resolve IT issues. Here is what you need to know about two of the top ITSM tools: ServiceNow and Jira.

Also read: Top ITSM Tools & Software

ServiceNow

ServiceNow ITSM is an innovative, single-cloud ITSM tool that enables you to future-proof your IT infrastructure. With ServiceNow ITSM, you can deliver resilient IT services that increase employee productivity and create fascinating customer service experiences.

Key Differentiators

  • Utilize built-in best practices to quickly secure dissimilar tools to a solitary system of engagement in the cloud.
  • Make use of your shared analytics and data with commended IT service workflows.
  • Use artificial intelligence (AI) to hasten the resolution of issues and enhance the efficiency of agents.
  • Incidents are automatically assigned to the right resolution team.
  • With always-on IT services, shape service experiences for on-premises and remote employees.
  • Deliver high-quality IT services at scale and proactively, while continuously improving business processes.
  • Obtain complete IT infrastructure visibility with analytics in real-time, built-in dashboards.
  • Remove friction across departments with a modern mobile application that runs on a solitary platform.

Pricing: ServiceNow ITSM is available in three packages: ITSM, ITSM Professional, and ITSM Enterprise. Reach out to the ServiceNow sales team to obtain a custom quote.

Jira overview

Jira Service Management by Atlassian is an ITSM tool that empowers business and development and operations (DevOps) teams to collaborate rapidly and efficiently. With Jira Service Management, you can respond to changes and deliver excellent employee and customer service experiences quickly.

Key Differentiators

  • Empower each team, from legal to human resources (HR), to set up a service desk speedily and consistently adapt at scale.
  • Track work across the IT infrastructure through Jira’s open, collaborative platform.
  • Absorb data from other software development tools, and link issues across Jira, so your IT operations and support teams have more contextual information to quickly respond to changes, incidents, and requests.
  • Manage risk while delivering more customer impact.
  • Deploy changes with ease, accelerate critical development work, and eliminate toil.
  • Supercharge Jira Service Management with over 1,000 trusted integrations and applications available on the Atlassian Marketplace.

Pricing: Jira Service Management is available in four packages: Free, Standard, Premium, and Enterprise. At no cost, users can have access to 3 agents and 2GB of storage. The Standard plan offers a limit of up to 5,000 agents and 250GB of file storage at $20 per agent per month, and the Premium plan offers a limit of up to 5,000 agents and unlimited file storage at $45 per agent per month. Those interested in the Enterprise plan will need to contact the sales team for pricing information.

ServiceNow Jira Integration

For wanting to take advantages of the benefits offered by both tools, the integration of Jira with ServiceNow is beneficial for enterprises, enabling them to:

  • Make quicker and better decisions;
  • Leverage the best of collaboration and functionality in the delivery ecosystem;
  • Speed up customer response time;
  • Ensure complete traceability of requirements; and
  • Obtain full context of customer priorities and requirements.

Choosing ITSM Tools

ITSM tools are most heavily used by IT service delivery functions and IT service desks to support the workflows and tasks for processes such as configuration, knowledge, service-level, change, problem, request, and incident management.

Before purchasing an ITSM tool, we advise you to conduct research of your own. Go through the offerings of ITSM tools in detail and purchase one that best fits the profile of your business.

See more ITSM tool comparisons:

The post Jira vs. ServiceNow: Features, Pricing, and Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Top Big Data Storage Tools 2022 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/storage/big-data-storage/ Thu, 16 Jun 2022 16:21:18 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140552 Big Data analytics requirements have forced a huge shift in data storage paradigms, from traditional block- and file-based storage networks to more scalable models like object storage, scale-out NAS and data lakes. Big Data Requires Big Storage Big Data is an all-encompassing term that refers to large and complex sets of unstructured, semi-structured, and structured […]

The post Top Big Data Storage Tools 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Big Data analytics requirements have forced a huge shift in data storage paradigms, from traditional block- and file-based storage networks to more scalable models like object storage, scale-out NAS and data lakes.

Big Data Requires Big Storage

Big Data is an all-encompassing term that refers to large and complex sets of unstructured, semi-structured, and structured data that cannot be processed by traditional data-processing software. These datasets are generated from numerous resources, such as large-scale e-commerce, medical records, image and video archives, and purchase transaction records.

Big Data analysis may reveal associations, trends, and patterns, especially relating to human interactions and behavior. Numerous specially-designed hardware and software tools are available today for Big Data analysis.

The extraction of meaningful insights from Big Data may aid in making critical business growth decisions, such as exploring new, underexplored market themes or the betterment of an existing product or service. Hence, much information technology (IT) investment is going towards maintaining and managing Big Data.

In fact, the Big Data industry is projected to be worth a hefty $77 billion by 2023. To make sense of Big Data, though, the first step is acquiring a Big Data storage tool.

Also read: Best Big Data Tools & Software for Analytics

Why You Need a Big Data Storage Tool

More than 150 zettabytes of data will require analysis by 2025. An organization can only harness the power of Big Data if they have a secure storage solution that can massively scale to meet the Big Data challenge. Big Data storage tools collect and manage Big Data and enable real-time data analysis.

Generally, Big Data storage architecture falls into the following categories:

  • Geographically distributed server nodes such as the Apache Hadoop model
  • Database frameworks such as not only SQL (NoSQL)
  • Scale-out network-attached storage (NAS)
  • Storage area networks (SAN)
  • Solid-state drive (SSD) arrays
  • Object-based storage
  • Data lakes (raw data storage)
  • Data warehouses (processed data storage)

Also read: Best Data Warehouse Software & Tools

Best Big Data Storage Tools

Here, in our analysis and review, are the best Big Data storage tools that are on the market today.

Apache Hadoop

Apache Hadoop is an open-source software library that enables the distributed processing of large and complex datasets across clusters of computers (called nodes) using easy programming models. The framework is designed to scale to thousands of nodes, each offering local computation and storage.

Key Differentiators

  • Apache Hadoop is designed to detect and take care of failures at the application layer, thereby delivering a highly available service on top of computer clusters, each of which may be vulnerable to failures.
  • Apache Hadoop includes these modules: Hadoop Common, Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), Hadoop Yet Another Resource Negotiator (YARN), and Hadoop MapReduce.
  • Hadoop Common refers to the common utilities and libraries that support the other Hadoop modules.
  • HDFS provides high-throughput access to large and complex datasets running on commodity hardware. HDFS is used to scale a single node to thousands of nodes.
  • The goals of HDFS include quick recovery from hardware failures, access to streaming data, accommodation of large and complex datasets, and portability.
  • Hadoop YARN is a parallel processing framework for job scheduling/monitoring and cluster resource management.
  • Hadoop MapReduce is a YARN-based system for the parallel processing of large and complex datasets.
  • Hadoop-related projects at Apache include ZooKeeper, Tez, Submarine, Spark, Pig, Ozone, Mahout, Hive, HBase, Chukwa, Cassandra, Avro, and Ambari.

Pricing: Apache Hadoop is available for free.

Apache HBase

Apache HBase is an open-source, distributed, versioned, NoSQL database that is modeled after Google’s Bigtable. It provides capabilities similar to Bigtable on top of Apache Hadoop and HDFS.

Key Differentiators

  • The goal of Apache HBase is to host large and complex tables (billions of rows and millions of columns) atop clusters of commodity hardware.
  • HBase offers both modular and linear scalability.
  • HBase provides strictly uniform reads and writes.
  • Shards of tables are configurable and automatic.
  • Failure support between RegionServers is automatic.
  • A simple-to-use Java application programming interface (API) is available for client access.
  • BlockCache and Bloom Filters are available for real-time querying.
  • Server-side filters facilitate query predicate pushdown.
  • Apache Thrift software framework and a RESTful web service supports Protobuf, eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and binary data encoding options.
  • Extensible JRuby-based (JIRB) shell support is available.

Pricing: Apache HBase is available for free.

NetApp Scale-out NAS

NetApp is a pioneer in the NAS industry. NetApp Scale-out NAS simplifies data management and helps you keep pace with growth while keeping costs down. The Big Data tool hands you seamless scalability, proven efficiency, and non-disruptive operations within a unified architecture.

Key Differentiators

  • NetApp Scale-out NAS is powered by NetApp ONTAP enterprise data management software.
  • Users can automatically tier cold data to private or public cloud with StorageGrid to maximize capacity on performance tiers.
  • Cloud tier and performance can be combined into one data pool, thereby reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO).
  • Data can be accessed at the edge and across multiple data centers and all major public clouds with integrated caching capabilities.
  • Active IQ uses artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) to automate the proactive optimization and care of NetApp environments.
  • Users can dedupe and compress storage without performance impact.
  • With built-in data security, users can safeguard sensitive customer and company information.
  • Users can encrypt data-in-transit and data at the volume level as well as securely purge files.

Pricing: Reach out to sales for product pricing.

Snowflake for Data Lake Analytics

Snowflake’s cross-cloud platform provides quick, reliable, and secure access to all your data. Snowflake for Data Lake Analytics combines unstructured, semi-structured, and structured data of any format; provides rapid and reliable processing and querying; and enables secure collaboration.

Here is how Snowflake for Data Lake Analytics enables your data lake:

Key Differentiators

  • Large and complex sets of data can be stored in Snowflake-managed storage with encryption at rest and in transit, automatic micro-partitioning, and efficient compression.
  • You can support numerous workloads on unstructured, semi-structured, and structured data with your language of choice (Scala, Python, or Java), on a single platform.
  • With Snowflake’s elastic processing engine, pipelines can be run for low maintenance, cost savings, and reliable performance.
  • Pipeline development can be streamlined using your language of choice (SQL, Scala, Python, or Java) with Snowpark–no additional copies of your data, service, or clusters to manage.
  • An unlimited number of concurrent queries and users can be supported with nearly unlimited, dedicated compute resources.
  • With built-in Access History, you can know who is accessing what data.
  • Snowflake enables collaboration among stakeholders and enriches your data lake with secure, live data sharing.
  • With scalable, row-based access policies, you can enforce row and column-level security across clouds.

Pricing: A 30-day free trial includes $400 worth of free usage. Reach out to the Snowflake sales team for product pricing information.

Also read: 8 Top Data Startups

Databricks Lakehouse Platform

Databricks Lakehouse Platform combines the best of data lakes and data warehouses. The Big Data storage tool delivers the performance, strong governance, and reliability of data warehouses as well as the machine learning (ML) support, flexibility, and openness of data lakes.

Key Differentiators

  • Databricks Lakehouse Platform is from the original creators of Koalas, MLflow, Delta Lake, and Apache Spark.
  • You can unify your data warehousing and AI use cases on a single platform.
  • The unified approach eliminates the silos that traditionally separate ML, data science, business intelligence (BI), and analytics.
  • The Big Data tool is built on open-source and open standards to maximize flexibility.
  • Databricks Lakehouse Platform’s common approach to data governance, security, and management helps you innovate quicker and operate more efficiently.
  • Databricks Lakehouse Platform has over 450 partners across the data landscape, including MongoDB, Tableau, RStudio, and Qlik.
  • The Big Data solution provides an environment for data teams to build solutions together.

Pricing: Fill out a simple form to enjoy a 14-day full trial. Contact the Databricks sales team for product pricing details.

Choosing a Big Data Storage Tool

The Big Data industry is ever-growing and powers numerous business-oriented applications. Tech giants such as Google and Facebook, for example, harness the potential of Big Data to serve targeted advertising and content to users. The first step to analyzing Big Data is securely storing it.We’ve covered some of the biggest solutions in this article, but others are also worth a look. Object storage is something every serious enterprise should be familiar with by now, and it’s also available in the cloud as a service from Amazon, Google, IBM and others. Do your own research and find a Big Data storage solution that best meets the needs of your organization.

Read next: Enterprise Storage Trends to Watch in 2022

The post Top Big Data Storage Tools 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Best Data Profiling Tools in 2022 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/database/data-profiling-tools/ Tue, 03 May 2022 19:51:59 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140426 With the volume of new data now measured in the hundreds of exabytes each day and Web 3.0 becoming a thing, businesses are in need of advanced analytics and big data tools that can turn that data into real-time insights and personalized services for their customers. And for that data to be effectively used for […]

The post Best Data Profiling Tools in 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
With the volume of new data now measured in the hundreds of exabytes each day and Web 3.0 becoming a thing, businesses are in need of advanced analytics and big data tools that can turn that data into real-time insights and personalized services for their customers.

And for that data to be effectively used for decision-making, it must be cleaned, normalized, formatted, and analyzed.

For this purpose, many businesses are turning to data profiling tools, which monitor and clean data to improve its quality, allowing them to secure a competitive advantage in the burgeoning marketplace. One common use of data profiling software is to maximize potential opportunities from sales data, for example.

Also see the Top Data Quality Tools & Software

What is Data Profiling?

Data profiling involves examining source data; understanding its structure, content, and relationships; and creating information summaries that can be used to make critical business decisions.

Data profiling is combined with the extract, transfer, and load (ETL) process and is vital for business intelligence (BI), data warehousing, and data conversion and migration projects.

Types of Data Profiling

The types of data profiling include:

  • Relationship discovery detects the interactions between data sources and establishes links within the data.
  • Content discovery takes a closer look at data and discovers issues in specific rows and columns of datasets. It also leverages techniques like frequency counts, uniformity, and outlier detection.
  • Structure discovery examines the rows and columns of datasets and determines the consistency of data. It also leverages techniques such as validation with metadata and pattern matching.

What are the Steps of Data Profiling?

Data profiling includes the following steps:

  1. Gather data types, patterns, variation, uniqueness, frequency, and length.
  2. Collect statistics and descriptive information.
  3. Check metadata and its accuracy.
  4. Tag data with labels, categories, and keywords.
  5. Identify structures, relationships, and dependencies.
  6. Calibrate the ETL process and data conversion and migration.
  7. Assess data quality.
  8. Assess the risk involved in data integration.
  9. Understand data challenges early to avoid issues.
  10. Determine the validity, completeness, and accuracy of data.

Also read: Top DataOps Tools

Top Data Profiling Tools

Here are five top data profiling tools and software that stood out to us in our survey of the market.

WinPure Clean & Match

WinPure Clean & Match data profiling tool screenshot

WinPure Clean & Match is a data quality, cleaning, matching, and deduplication data profiling software suite for customer relationship management (CRM), spreadsheets, databases, mailing lists, and more.

Key Differentiators

  • The one-click data cleaning mode processes all the clean options across numerous columns simultaneously.
  • The data profiling tool immediately fixes data quality issues. WinPure Clean & Match scans every data list and provides more than 30 statistics ranging from common values and counts to the percentage of filled or empty cells.
  • WinPure Clean & Match features amber and red coloring to bring to light potential data quality problems, including trailing/leading spaces, hyphens, dots, etc., all of which can be fixed from a solitary click.
  • The solution features an intelligent data matching engine that is speedy and accurate.
  • Standard and proprietary algorithms detect abbreviated, miskeyed, fuzzy, and phonetic variations using an in-depth domain knowledge of names that includes multicultural name variations and nicknames.
  • Data matching reports are created automatically and can be emailed, printed, or exported.

Pricing: WinPure Clean & Match is available in four editions: Community, Small Business, Pro Business, and Enterprise. The Community edition of WinPure Clean & Match is free while the Enterprise edition is feature-laden and ideal for enterprise use. Those interested can take advantage of a free trial or reach out to the WinPure sales to request a demo.

DemandTools

DemandTools data profiling software screenshot

DemandTools by Validity is a secure and versatile data profiling tool that effectively cleans and maintains your CRM data. By providing report-ready data in less time, DemandTools enhances the effectiveness of your revenue operations.

Key Differentiators

  • All aspects of data can be managed in minutes, rather than months, by leveraging repeatable processes.
  • Records can be automatically assigned, standardized, and deduped as they come in from integrations, end-user entry, and spreadsheets.
  • Clean data can be obtained to enhance the performance of support, marketing, and sales as well as the retention and revenue they generate.
  • Users can better understand how weak or strong data is and where to focus remediation efforts with the data quality assessment feature
  • With data migration management, data integrity can be maintained during record deletion, exports, and imports.
  • The email verification feature helps verify email addresses in your CRM to maintain seamless communication with customers.
  • Other features include duplicate management, user management and standardization, mass modification, and business insights.

Pricing: DemandTools starts at $10 per CRM license per month. Before purchasing the data profiler, you can make use of a free trial.

Introhive Cleanse

Introhive Cleanse data profiling software dashboard screenshot

Introhive Cleanse is a data profiling tool that provides an on-demand manner to maintain the accuracy of your prospect and customer data.

Key Differentiators

  • With Introhive Cleanse, users can clean up CRM data simply and efficiently.
  • Accounts and contacts can be enhanced and enriched with clean and compliant data in real time.
  • Introhive Cleanse eliminates waiting for bouncebacks, armies of data stewards, and batch updates.
  • With Introhive Cleanse, users can enjoy data quantity and quality.
  • Users can identify stale contacts, merge data dupes, and maintain relevance.
  • Using clean data, sales can prospect efficiently, and marketing can increase the effectiveness of campaigns.

Pricing: Those interested can book a demo at the earliest. Contact the Introhive sales team for pricing details.

RingLead Cleanse

RingLead Cleanse screenshot

RingLead Cleanse by Zoominfo is a data profiler that uses patented duplicate merging technology to discover and eradicate duplicates inside a CRM and marketing automation platform (MAP).

Key Differentiators

  • The RingLead Deduplication merging module permits users to have full control of how duplicates merge into a solitary record.
  • Any custom or standard object can be deduped while leveraging best-practice templates and an adaptable drag-and-drop configuration for merging and matching duplicates.
  • Users can take advantage of advanced fuzzy matching criteria for high match rates.
  • With the mass delete feature, users can locate and delete junk data files in a few simple clicks.
  • Along with single table deduplication, RingLead Cleanse enables users to locate and merge duplicates at the cross-object level.
  • Batch normalization templates can be customized to unify data to a single format, proper-case data, and fix data errors and typos.
  • With the mass update feature, existing records can be modified without complex manual work.

Pricing: You can enjoy a free trial of the complete RingLead platform. Reach out to the RingLead sales team for pricing information or to schedule a demo.

Openprise Data Cleansing Automation

Openprise Data Cleansing Automation data profiling tool screenshot

The Openprise Data Cleansing Automation platform helps clean and format data; normalize field values; dedupe accounts, contacts, and leads; match leads to accounts; and more to make all data go-to-market ready.

Key Differentiators

  • Openprise bots can be deployed to monitor and clean data in real time.
  • The data profiling tool normalizes data according to set specifications.
  • Openprise consistently deduplicates leads, contacts, and accounts.
  • The data profiling tool can deduplicate any object that has been built.
  • Lead-to-account matching enables users to analyze numerous fields to establish a match across multiple languages.
  • Other features include contacts and accounts segmentation, data enrichment, and data unification.

Pricing: Reach out to the Openprise sales team for product pricing details or to request a demo.

Choosing a Data Profiling Tool

A data profiler cleans, analyzes, monitors, and reviews data from existing databases as well as other sources for a variety of data-related projects. The procedure enables businesses to extract maximum value from garnered data and make effective decisions for business growth.

When making a data profiling tool purchasing decision, be sure to go through product catalogs, evaluate their features, contrast pricing plans, and analyze peer-to-peer reviews to make sure you get the tool that’s right for your needs and business.

Read next: Best Data Analytics Tools for Analyzing & Presenting Data

The post Best Data Profiling Tools in 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Best Enterprise 5G Network Providers 2022 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/networking/5g-network-providers/ Wed, 06 Apr 2022 21:40:36 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140324 Explore our list of 5G network providers that will supply your enterprise with the next generation of wireless. Explore providers now.

The post Best Enterprise 5G Network Providers 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
What is the 5G Network?

5G is the fifth generation mobile network that is the new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. The 5G network is designed to connect everyone and everything, including devices, objects, and machines.

5G wireless technology is meant to deliver a uniform user experience to a larger user base, increased availability, tremendous network capacity, enhanced reliability, ultra-low latency, and higher multi-Gbps (gigabits per second) peak data speeds.

Why is the 5G Network Important?

5G wireless technology will offer unprecedented connection speed as well as numerous features that were not available in previous generations of wireless technology.

5G uses edge, cloud, and software-defined technology to broaden the wireless spectrum and increase bandwidth, which ensures you can connect more devices to a network simultaneously. Owing to its ultra-low latency, 5G technology continues to grow in popularity for both general and enterprise use.

The use cases of 5G technology cover a wide range, from live streaming to smart cities, smart factories, autonomous vehicles, and drones. Since 5G network access is not widespread at the moment, many enterprises are resorting to private 5G networks and benefiting from greater security and less latency compared to public 5G networks.

Also read: 5G Cybersecurity Risks and How to Address Them

Top 5G Network Providers

Ericsson Private 5G

Ericsson logo

Ericsson Private 5G fosters innovation possibilities and real-time, data-driven enterprise automation. The 5G business internet network provides several features, including high network security, automation of operations, remote control of any process, real-time control of every business process, a flexible design, and high-performance demand handling.

Key Differentiators

  • Ericsson Private 5G is a next-generation private network built to modernize and digitalize business process operations and infrastructures.
  • The private network is designed to support a wide array of deployment needs, requirements, and sizes. 
  • Ericsson Private 5G is a scalable and future-proofed private network that is easy to install and comes with pre-integrated components.
  • The end-to-end security of the private network ensures the privacy of data.
  • The 5G network provides secure and robust communication with consistent latency.
  • Ericsson Private 5G can manage the high-performance requirements of modern smart facilities powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. 
  • By employing Ericsson Private 5G, enterprises can unlock use cases and applications such as augmented reality (AR), edge computing, automation, and advanced manufacturing.

Pricing: Reach out to the Ericsson sales team for pricing details. 

AirScale Cloud RAN

Nokia logo

AirScale Cloud RAN by Nokia enriches the potential of existing enterprise cloud infrastructure with 5G wireless connectivity in real time. The characteristics of the 5G provider include openness, flexibility, and agility.

Key Differentiators

  • AirScale Cloud RAN helps enterprises commence their digital transformation with 5G wireless connectivity.
  • With radio access network (RAN) virtualization, you can use shared edge infrastructure for edge cloud deployments.
  • This architectural evolution to RANs introduces 5G radio capacity for a variety of innovative services and technologies that enable the establishment of new revenue and business models.
  • AirScale Cloud RAN enables close collaboration with public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud.
  • Shared cloud infrastructure enables the efficient and cost-effective usage of network resources.
  • The 5G network provider enables the co-hosting of enterprise applications in the on-premises cloud at the edge of the network.
  • AirScale Cloud RAN enables the automation and simplification of network operations.

Pricing: Contact the Nokia sales team for pricing information.

AT&T Business Mobility

AT&T Business Mobility provides secure, reliable, and quick 5G network coverage. With services built for productivity and flexibility, AT&T Business Mobility helps improve the efficiency of your employees and how they communicate with customers.

Key Differentiators

  • You can obtain tailor-made solutions depending on your 5G business necessities.
  • Select the right 5G wireless connectivity plan for each employee depending on the services they need.
  • With the help of a broad portfolio of wearables, tablets, and smartphones, you can mobilize your business and help your employees collaborate and work efficiently.
  • Business tools such as email marketing, online fax, web solutions, and data backup enhance the performance of your mobile workforce.
  • AT&T ActiveArmor provides 24/7 proactive wireless network security.
  • You can benefit from high-definition (HD) and 4K ultra high-definition (UHD) video streaming.
  • AT&T Business Fast Track benefits you in times of congestion, as it assigns a higher priority to eligible business data.

Pricing: AT&T offers three 5G wireless plans: AT&T Business Unlimited Elite, AT&T Business Unlimited Performance, and AT&T Business Unlimited Starter. AT&T Business Unlimited Elite is ideal for enterprise use and costs $40 per month per line when you purchase six lines.

Samsung’s CBRS Solutions

Samsung’s Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) solutions provide ideal installation options to empower enterprises with a simpler introduction of private 5G networks and facilitate quick network deployment.

Key Differentiators

  • Samsung is equipped with CBRS equipment that can encompass both indoor and outdoor environments, which enables enterprises to select the optimal solution for an environment and services that need a private 5G network.
  • Samsung’s complete CBRS portfolio can facilitate a quick and seamless 5G deployment.
  • The 5G provider offers concurrent support of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G.
  • For enterprises that want to operate an LTE network, Samsung offers an easy software upgrade path for a smooth transition to 5G New Radio (NR).
  • The CBRS Massive MIMO Radio is a vital solution that supports large data capacity, wide bandwidth, and high speed.
  • Other solutions include the CBRS Radio and the CBRS Outdoor Small Cell.
  • Samsung’s CBRS solutions make possible several use cases in the hospitality, residential, logistics, and utility sectors.

Pricing: To learn more, please reach out to Samsung’s sales team.

Also read: Best Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) 2022

AWS Private 5G

AWS Private 5G is a 5G cellular provider that allows you to simply scale, manage, and deploy a private cellular network, with all the required software and hardware provided by AWS.

Key Differentiators

  • AWS Private 5G enables you to build a private cellular network to take advantage of the benefits of 5G technology while maintaining the device controls, granular application, and security of a private network.
  • Get your 5G network up and running in days with automated setup and no complex integrations or long planning cycles.
  • You can connect to thousands of machines and devices with high bandwidth and low latency.
  • Safeguard your private 5G network with granular access controls for each connected device, integrated with existing IT policies.
  • Pay only for the throughput and capacity you use, add devices with a few clicks, and scale the capacity of your network on demand.
  • The use cases of AWS Private 5G include delivering reliable enterprise connectivity, enabling business-critical applications, and running a smart manufacturing facility.

Pricing: Contact the Amazon sales team for further information.  

Choosing a 5G Network Provider

5G technology is the new global standard of mobile networks and is expected to enhance the way people work and live. It is set to offer a much quicker connection speed than previous mobile networks.

That said, we advise you to visit the website of each 5G provider and review features, compare pricing plans, scrutinize peer-to-peer reviews, and purchase a 5G internet provider accordingly.

Read next: Top Infrastructure Monitoring Tools 2022

The post Best Enterprise 5G Network Providers 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
AppDynamics vs Dynatrace: Monitoring Tool Comparison https://www.itbusinessedge.com/it-management/appdynamics-vs-dynatrace/ Wed, 30 Mar 2022 15:31:00 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140311 AppDynamics and Dynatrace are both monitoring tools. Compare the features and capabilities of these two tools now.

The post AppDynamics vs Dynatrace: Monitoring Tool Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Monitoring is necessary for organizations to ensure that the system in use is running efficiently. The information technology (IT) infrastructure of organizations is continuously growing and monitoring its various aspects can be quite laborious and pose difficulties if not done correctly. 

When it comes to development and operations (DevOps), monitoring and observability play a crucial role in the performance of a team. Regardless of the size of an organization, you cannot ignore the necessity for a tool to help monitor IT infrastructure.

A monitoring tool continuously keeps track of the status of IT infrastructure to detect problems, defects or failures and to improve them. 

There are monitoring tools for applications, website and Internet usage, performance, security, databases, networks and servers and it is ideal to incorporate a solution that covers multiple aspects of IT infrastructure monitoring. 

Read on to learn about the continuous monitoring offerings of AppDynamics and Dynatrace.  

Also read: Best DevOps Monitoring Tools for

What is AppDynamics monitoring?

AppDynamics by Cisco is a business-first observability platform that quickens your digital transformation with the insights you require most. The full-stack observability tool provides complete visibility, intelligent insights and automated action.

Key Differentiators 

  • Mutualize full-stack performance with key business metrics and rapidly mitigate problems before they affect the bottom line.
  • Ensure a flawless user experience at every touchpoint by visualizing the digital experience between your users and the business. 
  • Spot every application issue in real time.
  • Visualize and optimize each component of your IT infrastructure.
  • View the external networks your applications rely on to collect insights and swiftly resolve problems with any Internet Service Provider (ISP), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Domain Name System (DNS), or third-party provider.
  • The monitoring tool enables you to detect security and application code vulnerabilities in double-quick time with unified security, performance, and business insights. 

Pricing: In addition to a 15-day free trial, AppDynamics is available in four packages: Infrastructure Monitoring Edition, Premium Edition, Enterprise Edition, and Real Time Monitoring. Enterprise Edition is ideal for business observability and costs $90 per month, per central processing unit (CPU) core. You can request a custom quote as well. 

What is Dynatrace monitoring?

Dynatrace is a unified monitoring platform that provides full-stack observability. Dynatrace provides application performance monitoring, cloud, container, and infrastructure monitoring, artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps), digital experience monitoring and business and performance analytics.

Key Differentiators 

  • Dynatrace monitors and analyzes your IT infrastructure and eradicates the need for multiple monitoring tools. 
  • Deliver more value, collaborate efficiently, innovate quicker and ensure application performance.
  • Reap the benefits of advanced observability across your IT infrastructure with continuous auto-discovery.
  • The monitoring tool’s AI continuously looks for issues and spots the root cause.
  • Enhance user experiences by ensuring every application is efficient, fast, functional and available.
  • Enable more efficient business and IT collaboration by gaining real-time visibility into business key performance indicators (KPIs). 

Pricing: Dynatrace’s Full-Stack Monitoring package costs $69 per month, for 8GB per host. 

Also read: Dynatrace vs Splunk: Monitoring Tool Comparison

Dynatrace vs AppDynamics: What are the differences?

Here is how the monitoring tools compare:

FeaturesDynatraceAppDynamics
Meets Requirements
Real-Time Monitoring
Ease of Use
Ease of Setup
Ease of Administration
Ease of Doing Business With
Session Replay
Behavioral Analysis
Usage Monitoring
Database Monitoring
Application Programming Interface (API) Monitoring
Service and Support
Willingness to Recommend
Overall Capability Score

Choosing Monitoring Tools

Continuous monitoring tools play a crucial role in maintaining the health of your IT infrastructure. AppDynamics and Dynatrace are among the best monitoring tools on the market today and offer full-stack observability. While we have discussed the key features of each monitoring tool, you should dive further into the offerings of each product.

Compare both solutions thoroughly and choose one that best represents your organization’s needs.

Read next: Best System Monitoring Software Tools

The post AppDynamics vs Dynatrace: Monitoring Tool Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Best Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) 2022 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/security/managed-security-service-providers/ Thu, 17 Mar 2022 17:30:00 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140243 MSSPs manage and maintain a company's security and compliance requirements. Explore top providers now.

The post Best Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
A managed security service provider (MSSP) helps manage and sustain an organization’s security and compliance necessities. Read on to learn all you should know about the best MSSPs available today. 

What is a Managed Security Service Provider?

An MSSP provides outsourced management and monitoring of security systems and devices. Common services include antivirus protection, vulnerability scanning, virtual private network (VPN), intrusion detection, and managed firewall services.

These security-as-a-service providers utilize high-availability security operation centers (SOCs) to provide around-the-clock security services to lessen the number of operational security staff an organization needs to hire, train, and maintain to keep up a sustainable security posture.

How to Choose a Managed Security Service Provider?

As cybersecurity threats mount and as companies move into an increasingly virtual setup of work and employment, security management is growing complex. Several organizations are turning to MSSPs to help them tackle the expanding, complex threat landscape of today.

With the variety of cybersecurity service providers on the market, it may be a challenge for some companies to choose one. Organization’s should become familiar with their specific needs and review MSSPs that offer threat intelligence capabilities to match them.

Here are the top 10 MSSPs on the market.

Also read: Best MSP Software: Managed Service Provider Tools

Top Managed Security Service Providers

Secureworks Managed Security Services

Secureworks logo

Secureworks’ Managed Security Services provide advanced technology and threat intelligence to protect your expanding network perimeter around-the-clock.

Key Differentiators

  • Secureworks offers two managed security service solutions: Taegis ManagedXDR and Taegis ManagedXDR Elite. 
  • Managed iSensor IPS provides 24/7 network maintenance, management, and monitoring.
  • Secureworks offers around-the-clock expert analysis, correlation, and real-time monitoring of security activity.
  • Dedicated vulnerability program management minimizes vulnerability administration and maintenance issues.
  • Vulnerability scanning helps discover information security and network vulnerabilities and helps mitigate risk.
  • Secureworks enables companies to achieve PCI compliance.
  • Web application scanning helps discover and prioritize web application vulnerabilities.
  • This MSSP enables companies to manage, document and define security policies.

Pricing: Talk with a Secureworks expert to determine your security needs and discuss pricing plans accordingly.

Trustwave Managed Security Services

Trustwave logo

Trustwave Managed Security Services is an MSSP that helps companies make IT security operations more efficient, fight new cybersecurity threats, and overcome skill shortages.

Key Differentiators

  • This MSSP possesses a wealth of expertise in advanced security technologies and is of great use to organizations with limited budget resources and staff.
  • Global threat intelligence from the Trustwave SpiderLabs team helps businesses respond to and recover from issues, identify new risks, diminish the attack surface, and protect against advanced security threats.
  • Managed detection and response (MDR) is powered by the Trustwave Fusion platform and Trustwave SpiderLabs team.
  • Continuous security monitoring and management of technology is available to maintain their availability and health.
  • Managed security and compliance allows businesses to reduce cybersecurity risks.
  • Trustwave offers a policy-driven and trust-based approach to application control and management.
  • Managed database security is powered by Trustwave DbProtect.

Pricing: Reach out to the Trustwave sales team to discuss pricing information. 

AT&T Cybersecurity: Managed Security Services

AT&T logo

AT&T Cybersecurity: Managed Security Services provides advanced threat intelligence to help make it safer for your organization to innovate.

Key Differentiators

  • AT&T Alien Labs provides up-to-date, continuous threat intelligence.
  • The MSSP offers advisory, risk, and strategy services to help you plan and implement IT security-driven operations.
  • With AT&T Cybersecurity’s MSS, you can achieve efficiency within a budget, simplify management, and reduce your on-premises security footprint.
  • Around-the-clock monitoring from the AT&T Global Security Operations Center helps take the burden of hiring several IT security personnel off your shoulders.
  • The MSSP offers several cutting-edge cybersecurity tools and technologies to tackle cybersecurity threats.
  • You can stay up-to-date with the latest compliance and threat trends.
  • Managed services include network security, endpoint security, and threat detection.

Pricing: Complete a simple form to request a quote.  

Symantec Managed Security Services (MSS)

Symantec logo

Symantec Managed Security Services (MSS) by Broadcom is an all-encompassing, advanced threat detection service powered by big data analytics. It enables businesses to prioritize and respond to mission-critical incidents and build a sturdy security monitoring program.

Key Differentiators

  • The Symantec Global Intelligence Network (GIN) hands Symantec MSS complete visibility into the global cybersecurity threat landscape.
  • MSS analytics engines process over 160 billion logs daily, searching for malicious patterns of activity.
  • The Symantec SOC technology platform makes audit preparation simpler and aids compliance reporting.
  • Symantec’s Integrated Cyber Defense (ICD) brings together partners, services, and products to bring down the complexity and cost of cybersecurity.
  • Symantec enables businesses to maintain a seamless and consistent security posture across multiple clouds.
  • The MSSP provides numerous managed endpoint detection and response capabilities.

Pricing: Reach out to the Symantec sales team for details.

NTT Managed Security Services logo

NTT Managed Security Services

NTT Managed Security Services helps optimize and protect organizations with advanced analytics and threat intelligence. The MSSP helps convert data into knowledge and provides complete visibility of your security posture.

Key Differentiators

  • The MSSP analyzes, verifies, and validates data and alerts you on both known and unknown cybersecurity threats.
  • NTT snsures full legal, regulatory, and best practice compliance to protect your IT infrastructure.
  • Security device management services and support services are available.
  • The full lifecycle Vulnerability Management Service enables improved protection and stronger compliance.
  • Cloud-based vulnerability management and scanning tools protect your organization’s system and data around-the-clock.
  • The MSSP takes care of all false-positive alerts, enabling greater in-house IT security team productivity.

Pricing: Connect with NTT for pricing information.   

IBM logo

IBM Managed Security Services

IBM’s managed security services provide several benefits, including holistic threat management, next-generation security technologies, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, proactive managed security, ongoing security insights, and programmatic security.

Key Differentiators

  • Threat management protects mission-critical assets from vulnerabilities.
  • Detect, prevent, protect, and respond to endpoint threats around-the-clock.
  • With managed cloud security, you can secure your entire hybrid cloud.
  • In today’s remote-first and distributed environment, managed endpoint protection protects enterprise endpoints with encryption, data loss prevention (DLP), and antivirus software.
  • Operate and deliver ongoing optimizations and improvements to your identity and access management program.
  • The MSSP offers managed firewall services.
Verizon logo

Pricing: Contact the IBM team for further information.

Verizon Managed Security Services

Verizon’s Managed Security Services—Premises is a flexible MSSP that helps protect assets that are critical to your organization’s mission. 

Key Differentiators

  • With the MSSP, you can monitor threats around-the-clock to reduce risk and maintain the integrity of your applications and data.
  • Provides around-the-clock monitoring and management is available for the security devices in your organization at various locations.
  • Threat data in the form of events or logs is collected from security devices in real-time and sent to the Security Analytics Platform to escalate high-priority incidents.
  • The Unified Security Portal quickly reviews incident information and provides a real-time view of the security posture of serviced devices.
  • With Log Analytics and Incident Analytics, you can dive deeper into incident trends.
  • The MSSP offers intelligence-driven security analysis and monitoring.

Pricing: Talk to a Verizon sales expert for pricing details. 

Atos logo

Atos Managed Security Services

Atos’ managed security services provide high-velocity threat detection, confinement, and response to protect your organization from the continually evolving threat landscape of today.

Key Differentiators

  • Atos’ MDR Service is built on the power of edge computing, big data analytics, and AI.
  • The Atos MDR Service provides automatic containment, full-service response, and multi-vector threat detection and hunting.
  • Atos’ SOC monitors and anticipates evolving cybersecurity threats in real time. 
  • The Atos SOC proactively analyzes patterns to automate the security control response and discover emerging threats.
  • Computer emergency response team (CERT) services include security governance services, from policy creation to forensics investigations, incident management, and vulnerability management. 
  • The benefits of Atos’ managed security services include cost-effective security operations, access to highly knowledgeable subject matter experts, and proven AI capabilities.

Pricing: Reach out to an Atos sales expert for more information.  

Lumen logo

Lumen Managed Security Service

The Lumen Managed Security Service enables you to protect your organization and data by mitigating the impact of malicious cybersecurity threats.  

Key Differentiators

  • The MSSP offers around-the-clock monitoring and management, analysis, and incident response services to support your IT infrastructure. 
  • Device management features include managed firewall, intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems, endpoint security, unified threat management (UTM), and web application firewalls.
  • Network and cloud-based security features include secure cloud, DNK sinkholing and email filtering services, network-based firewalls, and DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) mitigation.
  • The Lumen Managed Security Service provides threat detection, monitoring and reporting, intelligence feeds, and reputation monitoring.
  • Incident response and recovery features include malware detection and removal, incident analysis, log management, and security information and event management (SIEM). 
  • The benefits of the MSSP include the elimination of inefficiencies, the addition of layers of security to protect your organization, and the ability to enhance your core business by focusing IT security staff and resources on more pressing security matters.

Pricing: Talk to the Lumen sales team for pricing information.

Wipro Managed Security Services

Wipro logo

Wipro’s managed security services are provided in a security-as-a-service model that offers cost-effective and seamless management of IT security operations.

Key Differentiators

  • The MSSP offers continuous, real-time IT environment protection without compromising the performance of your organization. 
  • Wipro’s MSS makes operational and IT choices that improve efficiency and enhance security capabilities at the same time.
  • The MSSP’s Cyber Defense Centers are spread across 16 locations and are powered by advanced technology to offer cost-effectiveness and scale.
  • Wipro’s MSS offers operations and management of IT security environments through a SOC.  
  • Services include antivirus operations, firewall operations, penetration testing, advisory on prevention measures, unauthorized access detection, behavior analysis, and security monitoring.
  • Standout features include managed application security, managed digital trust, managed cloud and infrastructure security, and managed security risk and compliance.

Pricing: For pricing details, reach out to the Wipro team.   

Choosing an MSSP

MSSPs perform numerous IT security-related processes and lessen internal staffing needs within an organization. In this guide, we scrutinized the top MSSPs available on the market today.

Before purchasing an MSSP, you should conduct thorough research. Visit the websites of the discussed managed security service providers, examine their features, compare pricing plans, and analyze customer reviews. Once you have arrived at an informed conclusion, purchase the MSSP of your choice.

Read next: Top Managed Detection & Response (MDR) Service Providers

The post Best Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Okta vs. Azure AD: IAM Tool Comparison https://www.itbusinessedge.com/security/okta-vs-azure-ad/ Tue, 15 Mar 2022 13:51:56 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140233 Okta and Azure Active Directory are identity and access management tools. Compare these two software tools now.

The post Okta vs. Azure AD: IAM Tool Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Identity and access management (IAM) is a set of applications, tools, and policies that specify and maintain who has access to what resources and services in an organization.

In development, security, and operations (DevSecOps), this involves access to logs, internal networks, platform-as-a-service (PaaS) models, internal and external Wikis, continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, code repositories, and even Slack. Today, 95% of cybersecurity breaches are a result of human error.

IAM restricts the use of enterprise resources and services to the people that require access to them. IAM software is designed to manage identities of employees and their access via levels of authentication and permission. The aim of IAM software is to streamline the maintenance of employee accounts and access privileges.

The principal features of IAM tools include:

  • A reporting and logging system for access and auditing history
  • Tools for revoking, modifying, monitoring, and granting access privileges
  • A database of employee identities and their access privileges

In this guide, you will learn all you should know about Okta and Azure AD and how they compare as identity and access management tools.

Also read: IAM Software: Auth0 vs. Okta

What is Okta?

screeenshot of Okta

Okta is an IAM solution that provides employee and customer identity capabilities to help secure digital communication with your employees and customers. 

The IAM tool offers a plethora of features, including single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), application programming interface (API) access management, advanced server access, and universal directory.

Key Differentiators 

  • Securely implement SSO to cloud applications in weeks, rather than months, by leveraging over 7,000 prebuilt integrations, including DocuSign, Confluence, Zendesk, Workday, Box, Slack, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
  • A universal directory for all devices, groups, and users provides a single, consolidated view.
  • With dynamic service access management brings identity to the modern server infrastructure. 
  • Extends permission and authentication policies to APIs with API access management abilities.
  • Adaptive MFA ensures secure and smart access to applications and accounts. The feature protects accounts from credential theft and fraud and protects customer-facing and enterprise applications that house confidential information.
  • The IAM software’s sturdy user authentication system safeguards customer data. 
  • User management abilities enable collection, storage, and management of customer profile data at scale to give customers customized experiences.
  • Connect vendor, partner, and customer identities seamlessly.
  • Automate identity procedures at scale with Okta Workflows.
  • Other features include automated access management, lifecycle management, intelligent security, and centralized access management.

Pricing: For product pricing information, please reach out to the Okta sales team. You can commence a free trial before you purchase the product.

What is Azure Active Directory?

screenshot of azure active directory

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) by Microsoft is an enterprise-grade, complete IAM software with integrated security that provides numerous features such as SSO, MFA, and conditional access to protect against cybersecurity attacks. 

Key Differentiators 

  • The solution comes with built-in, comprehensive security and compliance.
  • SSO simplifies access to your applications from anywhere.
  • Conditional access and MFA help safeguard confidential data.
  • A simple, quick sign-in experience keeps your employees productive, minimizes friction, and reduces the time required to manage passwords.
  • A solitary identity control plane allows complete visibility and control of your applications, whether they are on-premises or in the cloud. 
  • Simplified identity governance grants authorized users access to resources and services.
  • Identity protection capabilities help discover likely vulnerabilities affecting your organization’s identities, set up policies to counter suspicious actions, and take suitable action to settle them.
  • Privileged identity management (PIM) helps monitor, control, and manage access within your organization.
  • Reporting and monitoring capabilities help gain insights into the usage and security patterns in your information technology (IT) environment.

Pricing: Azure AD comes in four packages: Free, included with Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions, Premium P1, and Premium P2. Reach out to the Microsoft sales team to request a quote.

Okta vs. Azure AD: What are the Differences?

Here is how Okta and Azure AD fare when compared:

FeaturesOktaAzure AD
Ability to Understand Needs
Ease of Use
Ease of Deployment
Ease of Administration
Ease of Doing Business With
Product Direction
Authentication User Experience
Supports Required Authentication Systems
SSO
MFA
Self-Service Access Requests
Smart/Automated Provisioning
Role Management
Policy Management
Access Termination
Remote Access
Scalability
Service and Support
Willingness to Recommend
Overall Capability Score

Choosing IAM Tools

Identity access management tools guarantee the right people and identities in your organization have access to confidential resources and services. Both Okta and Azure AD are tremendous IAM tools.

To determine which solution better suits your necessities, conduct a deep dive into their features by visiting their respective websites and checking peer-to-peer reviews.

Read next: Best Identity Access Management (IAM) Solutions & Tools

The post Okta vs. Azure AD: IAM Tool Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Ansible vs. Terraform: DevOps Tool Comparison https://www.itbusinessedge.com/development/ansible-vs-terraform/ Mon, 28 Feb 2022 20:44:32 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140182 Ansible and Terraform are configuration and infrastructure DevOps tools. Compare the features of these two tools now.

The post Ansible vs. Terraform: DevOps Tool Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Today, rapid delivery of software with constant iterations is necessary to effectively compete in the software development market and cater to ever-increasing customer demands. The siloed nature of development teams and operations teams often hinders interoperability.

The development and operations (DevOps) model focuses on uniting both teams to make the process of developing and publishing applications more efficient and quick. DevOps software enables teams to automate the software development procedure.

This is performed by implementing a technology stack and tooling that provides engineers with more control of the management of sophisticated development environments at scale. While the need for a hardy DevOps tool is paramount, identifying a solution that best meets your interests is a tiresome process.

In this guide, we will delve into what Ansible and Terraform have to offer. This should make it easier for you to choose a viable DevOps solution.

Also read: Top DevOps Trends to Watch in 2022

What is Ansible?

screenshot of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform delivers labor-saving information technology (IT) automation that enables DevOps teams to focus their time and energy on more important tasks.

The DevOps software’s use cases include endpoint protection, orchestration, network and security automation, continuous delivery, application deployment, configuration management, and provisioning. 

Key Differentiators 

  • Automation Execution Environments are defined, consistent, and portable environments packed as containers for executing Ansible playbooks (YAML syntax) and roles.
  • With Ansible Content Collections, you can simplify the procedure of deploying the latest certified modules.
  • Ansible Content Tools makes creating and deploying execution environments easier. 
  • As the control plane for the Ansible platform, Automation Controller helps systemize how automation is initiated, deployed, delegated, and audited.
  • With Automation Mesh, you can automate at scale, in a cloud-native way. The feature gives you flexibility in planning sophisticated, distributed, or remote automation deployments along with visibility, control, and reporting capabilities. 
  • Red Hat Insights for Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform enables automations to run efficiently and optimally and helps determine where specific jobs are lacking. The feature also enables reporting on projects across the IT infrastructure.   
  • Automation Services Catalog helps you provision, manage, and retire automation resources for delivery and modeling. 
  • Automation Hub is the place to find and use content provided by Red Hat and its technology partners.

Pricing: You can enjoy the benefits of a 60-day trial, free of cost. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is available as a Standard edition and a Premium edition. Contact the Ansible team to determine which edition is better suited to your needs and for a custom quote.

What is Terraform?

screenshot of Terraform

Terraform by HashiCorp is an open-source infrastructure-as-code software tool that offers a uniform command-line interface (CLI) workflow to manage several cloud services. The DevOps tool codifies cloud application programming interfaces (APIs) into declarative configuration files.

Key Differentiators 

  • HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) enables you to write concise descriptions of resources using expressions, arguments, and blocks. 
  • Use infrastructure as code to manage the complete lifecycle—build new resources, destroy those that are no longer required, and manage existing ones.
  • Before provisioning or changing infrastructure, you can check whether the execution plan for a configuration meets expectations by running the command “terraform plan.”
  • With the command “terraform apply,” you can apply changes to numerous cloud providers to obtain the needed state of the configuration. 
  • Proactively download and install modules from the catalog with the command “terraform init.”
  • Enhance performance for large infrastructures, keep track of metadata, and map real resources to your configuration. 
  • With CDK for Terraform (experimental), you can define infrastructure code in familiar languages, such as Python, Java, and C#.

Pricing: The DevOps software tool is open-source and available in three editions—Terraform CLI, Terraform Cloud, and Terraform Enterprise.   

Ansible vs. Terraform: What are the Differences?

Here is how Ansible and Terraform DevOps software compare:

FeaturesAnsibleTerraform
What is it?IT infrastructure automation toolOpen-source infrastructure-as-code software tool
SyntaxYAML HCL
Use CasesBuild and deploy automation to help an organization accelerate, orchestrate, and innovateProvision and maintain cloud-based IT infrastructure
ProsYAML syntax is easy to understandAgentless operationMulti-vendor capableSeveral resources to leverage and a large communityProvision and maintain IT infrastructure across multiple public clouds and servicesBy provisioning infrastructure as code, increase automation and reduce human errorTest proposed changes before application
ConsCould be slow when gathering large quantities of informationSomewhat difficult to learn initiallyThe use of HCL could hinder adoption

Choosing DevOps Tools

A potent DevOps software is an important constituent of the toolkit of any DevOps or development, security, and operations (DevSecOps) team. A DevOps tool helps automate numerous labor-intensive development processes, such as provisioning, continuous delivery, application deployment, endpoint protection, and orchestration.

It is important to choose a DevOps based on your business’s needs. Before making a purchasing decision, navigate to the websites of the DevOps software discussed in this guide, assess their features, and consider peer reviews.

Read next: Best DevOps Monitoring Tools for 2022

The post Ansible vs. Terraform: DevOps Tool Comparison appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Best DAST Tools 2022: Dynamic Application Security Testing https://www.itbusinessedge.com/applications/dast-tools/ Tue, 22 Feb 2022 20:46:55 +0000 https://www.itbusinessedge.com/?p=140155 DAST Tools evaluate the security of web applications through simulated outside attacks. Explore top tools now.

The post Best DAST Tools 2022: Dynamic Application Security Testing appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>
Dynamic application security testing (DAST) tools assess the security of web applications by simulating external attacks. In this guide, we will survey the best DAST software on the market today.

What is DAST?

A DAST tool is an application security (AppSec) solution that in essence uses similar techniques that a cybercriminal would use to find potential weaknesses in web applications, while they are in use. A DAST tool is also referred to as a DAST test or a black box test, as it is performed without a view into an application’s architecture or internal source code.

The vulnerabilities DAST software can look for include configuration mistakes, application-specific problems and input/output validation issues, which could render a web application vulnerable to SQL injections or cross-site scripting. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cybercrime is up 600% and the need for AppSec tools to help developers create secure code is evident.  

SAST vs. DAST: What is the Difference?

Listed below are the key differences between static application security testing (SAST) software and DAST software:

SASTDAST
White box testingBlack box testing
Analyzes the source code without running the applicationAnalyzes the application by running it – does not require source code or binaries
The test can be executed when code is deemed feature-completeThe test can only be executed after the software development life cycle (SDLC) is complete
Since potential vulnerabilities can be found earlier in the SDLC, it is simpler, quicker, and thereby less expensive to remediate themIt is more expensive to fix vulnerabilities and remediation is often pushed into the next cycle
Cannot find environment-related and runtime errorsCan discover environment-related and runtime issues
Generally supports all kinds of software, such as web applications, web services and fat clientsGenerally supports web applications and web services only

Also read: Application Security Code Reviews: Best Practices

Top DAST Tools and Software

Veracode Dynamic Analysis

Screenshot of Veracode Dynamic Analysis

Veracode Dynamic Analysis is Veracode’s flagship DAST tool. The solution enables you to discover runtime vulnerabilities in web applications and application programming interfaces (APIs). 

Key Differentiators

  • The Veracode Dynamic Analysis engine crawls and audits hundreds of web applications and APIs at the same time, thereby enhancing performance and reducing time to results.
  • You can scan web applications and APIs from a single interface and behind a firewall.
  • Orchestration of pre-release or post-production scans is possible. You can scan critical web applications and APIs in test or staging environments. 
  • Veracode’s purpose-built API user interface (UI) eradicates scan tool re-training.
  • You can schedule scans for specific time frames.
  • With the DAST software, you can simply set up authentication for web applications and APIs.
  • Obtain in-depth remediation guidance for web applications and APIs to escape the scan noise and focus on critical matters.
  • Tickets in JIRA with patch recommendations — no PDFs.
  • The tool empowers security teams to roll-up reporting by individual applications, teams and business units to view trends and deficiencies. 

Pricing: Schedule a demo today by filling out a simple form. 

Burp Suite Professional

Screenshot of Burp Suite Professional

Burp Suite Professional by PortSwigger is a fast and reliable web security testing toolkit. With the software, you can automate repetitive testing procedures, test for OWASP Top 10 web application security risks and modern web hacking techniques. 

Key Differentiators

  • Expert-designed manual and semi-automated security testing tools enable smart automation. You can optimize workflows and thereby save time. 
  • The DAST tool enables you to scan feature-strewn modern web applications, JavaScript and APIs for security vulnerabilities and record complicated authentication sequences. 
  • Minimize false positives with out-of-band application security testing (OAST) to find ‘invisible’ vulnerabilities.  
  • Productivity features like a powerful search function and project files enhance reliability and efficiency. 
  • You can produce reports and share findings with end users. 
  • Access hundreds of pre-written BApp Store extensions and create your own extensions with access to the DAST tool’s core functionality. 
  • You can customize scan configurations with Burp Suite Professional. 

Pricing: You can purchase a 1-year Burp Suite Professional subscription for $399 per user. The subscription cannot be shared between multiple users, even if a single user is using the software at a time. 

WhiteHat Sentinel Dynamic

screenshot of WhiteHat Sentinel Dynamic

WhiteHat Sentinel Dynamic by NTT Application Security is an industry-proven DAST tool. The Software as a Service (SaaS) platform helps you discover vulnerabilities in your websites and web applications quickly and accurately. 

You can test for OWASP Top 10 web application vulnerabilities and 28 in all, including injection, SSL injection, SQL injection, application misconfiguration and content spoofing.   

Key Differentiators

  • As WhiteHat Sentinel Dynamic is a cloud-based SaaS platform, you can scale rapidly and easily to meet security needs. 
  • You can safely scan on your production server—you do not need a separate test environment. This saves time and capital.
  • Continuous and on-demand risk assessments allow you to scan for vulnerabilities on the go.
  • The solution is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology to enhance the efficiency of false-positive discovery and reduce verification time. 
  • Obtain verified remediation advice from the NTT Application Security Service Delivery team.
  • A Security Index score helps you determine the overall state of web application security.
  • Combining the DAST tool’s AI technology with Service Delivery advice ensures near-zero false positives. 
  • You can leverage reporting and analytics capabilities for in-depth visibility into the security of websites and web applications.  

Pricing: Reach out to the NTT Application Security team for product pricing details and to request a demo.  

Qualys Web Application Scanning

screenshot of Qualys Web Application Scanning

Qualys Web Application Scanning (WAS) helps discover and remediate security gaps in web applications and APIs. The fully cloud-based DAST solution is simple to employ and manage and scales to thousands of assets.

Key Differentiators

  • The solution discovers and catalogs all web applications in your network and scales to thousands of applications. 
  • You can tag web applications with your own labels and use those labels to limit access to scan data and control reporting.
  • Qualys WAS dynamic deep scanning covers all web applications and APIs in your information technology (IT) infrastructure and gives you real-time visibility of OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. 
  • With the solution, you can continuously detect code security issues early and regularly, test for quality assurance and produce detailed reports. 
  • The DAST tool scans websites and identifies and reports malware infections for immediate remediation. 
  • From a central dashboard, you can initiate actions directly from the interface and view malware infection trends, infected web pages and scan activity. 
  • You can integrate with other security and compliance systems such as IDS, ERM and SIEM via extensible XML-based APIs. 

Pricing: You can schedule a demo or contact the Qualys sales team for pricing information. 

Also read: 

Acunetix

screenshot of Acunetix by Invicti

Acunetix by Invicti is an all-encompassing web application security scanner that enables you to speedily discover and remediate the vulnerabilities that place your web applications at risk of external attack. 

Key Differentiators

  • Acunetix combines DAST and interactive application security testing (IAST) to detect over 7,000 vulnerabilities, including OWASP Top 10 risks, exposed databases and out-of-band vulnerabilities. 
  • Obtain actionable scan results that reveal your vulnerabilities in minutes. The solution automatically prioritizes high-risk vulnerabilities. 
  • You can scan multiple environments simultaneously and schedule recurring or one-time scans.  
  • With Acunetix, you can eliminate false positives and pinpoint vulnerability locations.
  • Acunetix experts provide remediation advice so that your developers can resolve security flaws themselves.  
  • You can run automated scans almost anywhere, including unlinked pages, multi-level forms and complex paths, password-protected regions, JavaScript and HTML5 and single-page applications (SPAs).

Pricing: You can get a demo or quote by reaching out to their sales team.   

Choosing DAST tools

Through simulated outside attacks, dynamic application security testing tools gauge the security of web applications. The application security solution is a must-have in an increasingly unsafe IT space, which (unfortunately) houses several cybercriminals and cybercrime organizations. 

In this guide, we delved into the top DAST tools available today. Dive deeper into their utilities by visiting their product pages, exploring their features and pricing plans and analyzing peer-to-peer (P2P) reviews on leading research and review websites. Purchase a DAST software only after having performed due diligence. 

Read next: Best Encryption Software & Tools for 2022

The post Best DAST Tools 2022: Dynamic Application Security Testing appeared first on IT Business Edge.

]]>