AUSTIN, September 20, 2016 -- As the Midsize Enterprise Summit Fall conference wrapped up the event in Austin, hundreds of IT leaders and CIOs cast their ballots to nominate the top-performing technology suppliers and solution providers.

“If this doesn’t come through, I’m going to be gone.”

 That’s what Union Pacific CIO Lynden Tennison told me a few years ago, describing a massive undertaking he was leading to overhaul the iconic railroad company’s transportation-management system. Based on initial estimates, the project, dubbed NetControl, would cost at least $200 million over the course of a decade or so.

A monopoly is simply an advantage you have for a temporary period of time.  You could be the only grocery store within a 10-mile radius or the only process consultant or the only financial consultant who is an Italian (not in New Jersey) that belongs in the local chamber of commerce. Think of yourself and your business.  There are unique things about you and your business that give you a monopoly. What is your monopoly and how are you taking advantage of it? 

Cyberthreats against corporations are constant and evolving. Even the most security-conscious can leave the tiniest opening that is enough to let the worst criminals gain access. And it just takes one vulnerability to bring a business, and its reputation, down. According to a recent report, Trojans continued to be the main source of malware (51.5%), beating out the venerable crew of viruses (23%), worms (13%), PUPs (11%), and spyware (2%).