CW+ Premium Content/Computer Weekly

Today’s supply chains could be compared to the ancient silk road on the basis of the length of the chain, the multiple touchpoints and the variety of products. But where the silk road became the lifeblood of ancient civilisations for these reasons, the complexity of modern supply chains could be their very downfall, jeopardising functionality and, consequently, organisations’ reputations. Today, fulfilment software, IT service providers and business process outsourcing (BPO) are just a few examples of supply chains that still rely on interconnected IT systems with varying degrees of access to various parts of the IT estate to process, share and store data. The pandemic has also driven organisations to accelerate their digital plans and reach out to their customer-base in this new world to trade and remain competitive. However, the subsequent heightened cyber risk is making this a tricky road to navigate, driving increased regulation, disruption, escalating fines and the high costs of resolving an issue internally – in one case ...