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In today's digital economy, data is a critical asset that drives growth, enhances decision-making, and maintains a competitive edge. Enterprises increasingly leverage data to innovate, optimise customer experiences, and streamline operations. According to McKinsey, data-driven enterprises are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times as likely to retain them, and 19 times more likely to be profitable.
However, the rapid growth in data volume and complexity presents unique challenges. A study by DATAVERSITY highlights that enterprises are now dealing with data from numerous sources, necessitating advanced data management strategies. This explosion of data underscores the need for proficient data analytics tools and platforms like Splunk, which can handle vast amounts of information and extract actionable insights.
Closing the Splunk Skills Gap with Tesserent
Splunk needs correct implementation, ingest optimisation, monitoring, and upgrades to ensure enterprises gain maximum benefits. The tech world faces a significant imbalance between the availability of skilled technical talent and the demand for it, especially for Splunk experts. The complexity and specialisation required for proficiency in Splunk, the high cost and time investment in gaining certifications, and the need for practical experience contribute to this skills gap.
Tesserent effectively bridges the Splunk skills gap through its comprehensive consulting and assessment services. As an Elite Partner with Splunk, Tesserent offers expert guidance on best practices, ensuring optimal deployment and management of Splunk environments. Our services include detailed architecture reviews, performance tuning, and data collection health checks, helping maintain efficient and secure Splunk operations. Tesserent also provides ongoing training and operational support to address skill gaps, ensuring businesses remain resilient and data-driven.
‘At Splunk, we rely on Tesserent as a trusted pair of hands for our larger strategic work because of their unparalleled expertise and commitment to excellence. Their deep understanding of our needs and consistent delivery of high-quality solutions make them an invaluable partner in our ongoing success." - Ray McIntyre, Partner Development Manager, ANZ, Splunk
The Splunk Skills Gap: Key Organisational Challenges
Project Delays
Splunk projects can face delays without the necessary expertise, leading to missed deadlines and increased costs. The complexity of Splunk's setup and maintenance requires a deep understanding of its architecture and functionalities, which many IT teams may lack. A recent survey by Springboard highlighted that 70% of corporate leaders report a critical skills gap in their organisation, negatively impacting business performance.
Suboptimal Performance
A lack of skilled professionals often results in poorly optimised Splunk deployments, reducing the system’s effectiveness and efficiency. Proper tuning and configuration ensure that Splunk delivers maximum value from the data it processes. According to Splunk, the shortage of skilled professionals capable of fine-tuning their systems means many organisations are struggling to leverage their deployments' full potential while maintaining a strong security posture.
Increased Risk
Inadequate Splunk management can expose organisations to security vulnerabilities and compliance risks. Effectively detecting, investigating, and responding to security threats is a significant challenge, with multiple security tools and high volumes of data overwhelming under-sourced and underskilled security teams. Compliance with various Australian regulations, such as the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 and the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme, adds complexity to security management. Organisations often need help with real-time threat detection and response due to the complexity and volume of security events.
Effective use of Splunk requires not only technical skills but also an understanding of the evolving security landscape and regulatory requirements. Many organisations face challenges in maintaining a skilled workforce to manage these risks.
Resource Drain
Internal IT teams may be stretched thin trying to manage Splunk along with their other responsibilities, leading to burnout and reduced productivity. This situation can significantly burden already under-resourced teams, exacerbating the skills gap further. The Springboard survey noted that nearly 40% of leaders say the skills gap at their company has worsened in the past year, with internal resources being significantly impacted.
Leading Australian Retailer Calls on Tesserent to Bridge the Skills Gap: A Case in Point.
One of Australia's largest retail chains faced a significant operational challenge when its payment gateway experienced issues. This problem prevented customers from completing their purchases, resulting in lost sales and dissatisfied customers. The retailer needed a robust solution to enhance operational visibility and prevent such incidents from recurring.
Challenge
The retailer's primary challenge was the inability to identify and resolve issues within its complex IT environment quickly. The specific problem was related to its payment gateway, which, when malfunctioning, left customers with full shopping carts unable to complete their transactions. This incident highlighted the Splunk skills gap within the internal team and the urgent need for better real-time monitoring and faster issue resolution capabilities.
Solution
Tesserent, leveraging its expertise in Splunk technologies, stepped in to provide a comprehensive solution. Our services included:
Data Integration and Onboarding: Tesserent worked closely with the retailer's in-house security team to identify critical data sources and integrate them into Splunk. This included data from the payment gateway and other related systems.
Custom Dashboards and Alerts: Tesserent developed tailored dashboards to provide real-time insights into the health of the payment gateway and other key systems. Custom alerts were also set up to notify the IT team of potential issues before they could escalate.
Continuous Monitoring and Maintenance: Tesserent's team remained embedded with The retailer, offering ongoing support and maintenance. This ensured that any new data sources or system changes were promptly integrated into Splunk, maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the monitoring solution.
Results
Enhanced Visibility: The retailer significantly improved its ability to monitor and understand its IT environment. The custom dashboards provided real-time insights that allowed for quicker identification of issues.
Reduced Downtime: By implementing Splunk and Tesserent's ongoing support, the retailer was able to reduce the downtime of its payment gateway, ensuring a smoother customer experience.
Operational Efficiency: Integrating various data sources into a single platform enabled our client to streamline their operations, making managing and maintaining their IT infrastructure easier.
Addressing the Splunk Skills Gap
It’s no secret that the tech world is grappling with a significant imbalance between the availability of skilled technical talent and the demand for it, particularly for Splunk experts. The complexity and specialisation required for proficiency in Splunk, the high cost and time investment in gaining certifications, and the need for practical experience across various platforms all contribute to this widening skills gap.
Tesserent effectively bridges this gap, providing businesses with the expertise to optimise their Splunk environments. We offer flexible delivery models, whether you need support on a half-hourly basis or a full-time on-site Splunk engineer. Our ongoing training and operational support ensure businesses remain resilient and data-driven, addressing skill gaps while ensuring robust data management and enhanced cybersecurity capabilities.
Bridge the Skills Gap and Unlock Full Splunk Potential with Tesserent
Don’t let the Splunk skills gap hinder your organisation’s growth. Contact us now to schedule your Splunk Health Assessment and ensure your data analytics and cybersecurity capabilities are fully optimised.
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Security Specialist
Tesserent is a full-service cybersecurity and secure cloud services provider, partnering with clients from all industries and all levels of government. Let’s talk.
