Hanzo to tackle the increased “people risk” that dynamic and unmoderated content on collaboration platforms poses to organisations after the massive pandemic-induced shift to work-from-home.
New York, NY, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hanzo, the company known for its pioneering technology in dynamic web content preservation from enterprise collaboration applications, complex websites, and social media, today announced being selected to receive a grant from the Sustainable Innovation Fund with Innovate UK to extend its flagship Hanzo Hold product to address workplace risk.
COVID-19 has accelerated existing trends to both ‘work from home’ and ‘work anywhere’. Hanzo’s project aims to reduce information security and HR risks created by inappropriate staff behaviour on collaboration platforms.
The adoption of collaboration tools such as Slack is fundamentally changing the way people interact with one another. However, even after employees return to traditional offices, the use of collaboration platforms will continue (as will the risk of abuse) including both IT and behavioural risks.
‘Working from anywhere’ usually means taking hardware, and the information on that hardware, outside of the controlled environment of an office. This increases the risk that data may leak from an organization. This can include intellectual property, such as patent applications or embargoed press releases, as well as personal information, including financial details and national insurance numbers of employees.
Moreover, without proper policies and monitoring, online communications between employees can change how they interact with each other, potentially creating space for communications that could be considered discriminatory, racist, or harassing in nature. These communications unchecked can contribute to a hostile work environment and create risk for the organisation.
“Organisations want to retain control over data, security, and protect their employees but are ill-equipped today to tackle the complexities of collaboration software,” said Hanzo CTO, Denis Maurin. “For information security, human resources and compliance, identifying risks early is paramount to reducing risk and is an opportunity to solve a costly and substantial unmet organisational need.”
Aidan Randle Conde, Lead Data Scientist at Hanzo, commented, “Collaboration platforms lack powerful built-in capabilities for advanced content analysis. Analysis of collaboration content over time can help identify atypical patterns of behaviour. These can then be quickly assessed to determine if subsequent actions are warranted to protect employees and organisations, and support safe work environments that might include workplace training, policy enforcement, or further investigation.”
Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £191 million to fund single and collaborative research and development projects as part of the Sustainable Innovation Fund over the next two years. The aim of these competitions is to help all sectors of the UK rebuild after the effects of COVID-19.
The Sustainable Innovation Fund is funding 1,103 projects, 1189 UK businesses, and totalling over £130 million in support across the UK.
Innovate UK Executive Chair Dr Ian Campbell said:
“In these difficult times, we have seen the best of British business innovation. The pandemic is not just a health emergency but one that impacts society and the economy.”
“Hanzo, along with every initiative Innovate UK has supported through this fund, is an important step forward in driving sustainable economic development. Each one is also helping to realise the ambitions of hard-working people.”
Hanzo recognises that we live in an interconnected world, with many organisations working in multiple nations and jurisdictions. As the world becomes more connected, economies become more intertwined globally, and large organisations increase their reach into new markets. Although the innovation funding is British, its impact reaches far beyond the borders of the UK.
Hanzo is in a uniquely strong position to meet the needs of businesses that use Slack and other enterprise platforms. Hanzo has always been a remote-first company, and we want to help other companies find the benefits of working remotely while mitigating against possible risks.
You can learn more about Hanzo’s project here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/933304/Competition_Results_-_The_Sustainable_Innovation_Fund_Round_1__Temporary_Framework_.pdf
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth. We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation. For more information visit www.innovateuk.ukri.org
About Hanzo
Hanzo provides modern ediscovery and compliance software for enterprise organisations. Our solutions empower legal and compliance teams to efficiently manage the preservation, targeted collection, and review of dynamic content from enterprise collaboration applications, social media, and complex websites. Hanzo is SOC 2® Type 2 certified, demonstrating Hanzo’s commitment to data security and serves large corporations across the globe—giving them control, visibility, and context over their data to reduce cost and mitigate risk. Learn more at hanzo.co and follow updates on Twitter: @gethanzo or on LinkedIn.
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Sarena Regazzoni Hanzo, Inc. 5034074208 [email protected]