Summary
The role of IT and ICT has increased extraordinarily over the past decade, with the recent environmental issues, particularly the spreading of the coronavirus, have incentivized companies to transfer most of their activities into the digital context. As a result, IT projects have become a critical aspect of any organization. Introducing additional digital tools into the corporate setting while also maintaining the company’s safety from digital threats has become one of the vital goals for any organization (Savas & Deng, 2017). In turn, statistical analysis as the means of managing a vast amount of data represents an untapped potential for any IT manager.
IT Management
When addressing the concept of statistical analysis purely from the perspective of an IT manager, one will recognize the role of the specified tool in managing an increasingly broad and diverse range of data associated with the organization or related to it. Specifically, the global economy setting suggests the need to manage BIG Data successfully. The use of Big Data in the corporate setting is essential to build a strong connection to the target community, increase the extent of customer engagement, and adjust the product or service to the needs of the target demographic. A meticulous and accurate analysis of Big Data introduces a massive competitive advantage into the corporate setting and allows an organization to propel itself to the top of the market by being able not only to satisfy customers’ immediate needs but also to predict future changes in demand and the specifics of the market (Savas & Deng, 2017). In turn, the application of the statistical analysis entails a broad range of opportunities for evaluating and interpreting the Big data as precisely as possible (Savas & Deng, 2017). Therefore, with the help fi statistical tools, an IT manager can contribute to the performance of a company and create a framework that will allow it to improve the performance of its other departments, om promotion and marketing to human resource management to public relations (Savas & Deng, 2017). Thus, ample opportunities for embracing the complexity of Big Data is one of the major reasons for considering using statistics for an IT manager.
Another essential function that statistics plays in the environment of IT management concerns the opportunity to identify problems in the data processing. Namely, by introducing statistical tools into the context of IT management, one may consider deploying the only offered tools as the device for isolating problems in data processing quickly and incorporating appropriate strategies into the process, respectively. Furthermore, statistics allows for determining how well a product performs in the market in question, particularly specifying the extent of problems that buyers have with it. As a result, in case of an evident problem with the quality of data management, an IT manager can use statistical results to introduce immediate changes. The specified opportunity is likely to have an undeniably positive influence on a range of domains of ca company’s performance, including marketing, manufacturing, PR, and customer relations, to name just a few.
Moro importantly, the incorporation of statistical analysis into the range of tools that an It manager can use in the workplace is likely to inform the further choice of corporate risk management strategies. Particularly, the use of statistical tools such as correlation and regression modeling can allow an IT manager to improve the company’s financial risks assessment framework and incorporate the opportunities for making predictions concerning the changes in the extent of risk and the availability of the necessary options (Savas & Deng, 2017). Therefore, with the help of statistical analysis, such as ANOVA, Student’s t-test, or Spearman’s RS calculations., an IT manager can help forecast changes within the target market and, therefore, support the rest of the departments, including the one responsible for risk management and prevention team. The described outcome is also highly positive from the perspective of interdisciplinary collaboration since it encourages collaboration between IT managers and other departments.
Cybersecurity
The link between statistics and cybersecurity might not seem as evident as the connection between statistical analysis ends the role of an IT manager. However, the efficacy of cybersecurity is also notably high for enhancing organizations’ digital security. Specifically, the introduction of the ANOVA test into the realm of cybersecurity allows for addressing the presence of network vulnerabilities, which is critical for keeping security levels high (Zolnavari et al., 2019). Namely, the study conducted by Zolnavari et al. (2019) mentions that the use of ANOVA can support the further enhancement of machine learning as a vital tool in increasing the rates of cybersecurity (within an organization. Specifically, according to the results of the study, ANOVA is a multilateral framework, namely, the tool that encompasses a broad range of different variables, thus, delivering particularly accurate analysis outcomes. For this reason, the integration of statistics into the set of skills that an IT manager can develop will lead to a significant improvement in chances for enhancing cybersecurity within an organization.
Additionally, the use of statistical analysis is likely to serve a crucial role in the management of network data and the IT infrastructure within a firm. Namely, by applying the tools such as Student’s t-test and correlation and regression tests, an IT manager will be able to classify information, manage IoT data, and locate the observed deviations from the expected outcome. As a result, minor issues that would have passed unnoticed on most occasions would be spotted and utilized accordingly to identify a potential threat. Thus, respective precaution measures can be introduced so that the threats associated with DoS attacks and the related concerns can be mitigated successfully.
To illustrate the role that statistical analysis plays in cybersecurity for an IT manager, it would be reasonable to share a personal example encountered in the workplace recently. Since monitoring the levels of cybersecurity and identifying emergent threats is a vital part of an IT manager’s job, it is critical to be able to spot a discrepancy in the available data and introduce a tool for mitigating risks immediately. However, based on the way in which the presented information appeared, nothing signaled the presence of a risk. It was only after the statistical analysis. Namely, ANOVA, was applied so that the discrepancy in question was identified, and a threat to the company data was recognized. Due to the need to incorporate a wide variety of factors and variables into analysis to notice the problem at hand, the superficial assessment of the situation did not assist in isolating the issue. Thus, if it had not been for the use of the ANOVA statistical tool, the organization would have been exposed to a threat that could have resulted in a massive data leakage.
The situation described above indicates the importance for an IT manager to consider using statistical analysis as a tool for enhancing cybersecurity. Although the use of traditional tools for ensuring security without the knowledge of statistics might seem like a possible solution at first, a further assessment of the current situation with the increase in the range of threats that organizations face in the global market proves that the adoption of statistical analysis will help to reinforce the quality of security. Namely, the application of the statistical analysis will allow viewing the situation from several angles, thus, giving an IT manager new perspectives and pointing to the threats that would have been unnoticed otherwise. For this reason, the introduction of statistical analysis into the corporate IT security setting must be deemed as vital.
Due to the multiple opportunities for manipulating an enormous amount of data and performing an analysis that will serve as the basis for a credible prognosis, as well as a chance to reinforce the levels of cybersecurity, statistics is vital for an IT manager. Specifically, the application of statistics to cybersecurity suggests that the threat of cyberattacks is reduced significantly. Therefore, the integration of statistical analysis into the realm of cybersecurity represents a crucial step in enhancing the safety of an organization and the security of its data. Moreover, for an IT manager, the application of statistical analysis to the available data will help to elicit essential conclusions regarding the further management of Big Data and the processing of an increasingly large range of information.
References
Savas, O., & Deng, J. (Eds.). (2017). Big data analytics in cybersecurity. CRC Press.
Spatz, C. (2019). Exploring statistics tale of distributions (3rd ed.). Outcrop Publishing.
Zolanvari, M., Teixeira, M. A., Gupta, L., Khan, K. M., & Jain, R. (2019). Machine learning-based network vulnerability analysis of industrial Internet of Things. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 6(4), 6822-6834.