Page 477 - Handbook of Modern Telecommunications

4-8 CRC Handbook of Modern Telecommunications, Second Edition

organizations also understand that bad statements display a clean image, are uncluttered and might
appear attractive, but with key information missing, sequence awry, and the what-to-do-next hidden,
readers will struggle with this form, may default to expensive dialogs with customer service, probably
make mistakes with responses or payments, and generally wish they had chosen another product. The
good gets it right—the correct information is in the right order, important messages are highlighted, it
is easy to read and remains uncluttered.
Design is an important aspect of creating a good document, but only if as much attention is paid to
the content as well. It is the combination of the two that results in spectacular output. The following is
advice for creating good documents (BROD06):

• Contact information: Ensure that contact details are clearly indicated. Position them in their
own section on the page and distinguish between general customer service and specific contacts,
if necessary. Keep corporate addresses well hidden if you do not want your customers to call.
Remember, make it easy to contact the right number, the first time.
• Key information: Any key information should be highlighted so that it stands out from the rest of
the text or numbers. This can apply to dates for payment, amounts, call numbers, advantages of
responding, and even the consequences of not responding. Tools are available, such as embolden-
ing, italicizing, increasing font size, decreasing font size, white space, and color.
• Sequence: Get the information into the right sequence; otherwise, you will annoy those who have to
follow it. They will make mistakes, liabilities will be tested, and there will be no repeat business.
• Educational messages: Take a little more time to explain to the readers what certain terms mean,
or what various options are open to them, or what to do next. It saves time, improves the customer
service, and preempts calls, which can cost a lot.
• Focused messages: If possible, address the customer using personalization. Identify the customer.
Target by age, ethnicity, marital status, and geography for a more focused message, and you will
get a more focused response.
• Corporate identity: There is no reason why the elements of a corporate identity cannot be incor-
porated in company statements and invoices, which will be seen by many more customers. Select
the right fonts and logo. Altogether, apply the same rigors to your variable data documents as you
do to the offset material so that the output will look inviting.
4.1.3.2 Data Leak Prevention
In most enterprises, there are several access control mechanisms, such as firewalls, encryption, permis-
sion, and access control lists. But data and information still get lost due to authorized users. Data leak
prevention products give IT visibility into where protected data rest and how it moves through the enter-
prise, letting organizations make informed choices about security infrastructure implementations. But
they may also create a honey pot of sorts, so access to them must be closely monitored. Businesses will
benefit from the ability to enforce policy proactively, and these products provide significant regulatory
compliance solution alternatives. But they may become data bottlenecks at the perimeter as policy viola-
tions are quarantined until somebody responds and releases these violations. Prevention policies and
tools protect intellectual property, a vital part of any organization, but one that varies by company.
New research indicates that while most companies are investing in technology and policy to secure
sensitive data from attacks, the threat of data loss at the hands of their own employees is what should
have the attention of most companies. In addition to severely damaging a company’s reputation, leaked
customer or corporate data can potentially result in legal action if the business violates regulations.
Information today flows through and beyond organizations more easily than ever before. Content is
proliferating at an amazing rate; the volume of unstructured business content is estimated as doubling
every three months. Relying on end users to enforce information retention and security policies is no
longer sufficient. The leakage of privacy-sensitive personal information has been shown to have signifi-
cant negative consequences on an organization’s brand, reputation, and customer trust as well as legal,