Tag Archives: training

Thinking of Hiring a Cultivation Consultant? Here’s What You Can Expect

By David Perkins
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Hiring an experienced cultivation consultant is yet another cost, amongst the laundry list of never-ending expenses in the setup of a regulated, recreational grow. However, in the big picture it can actually save you a significant amount of time and money by providing you with the information you need to formulate a realistic budget, profitable cultivation site and a well-trained workforce. This article will explore just some of the many benefits a cultivation consultant can provide to your company.

An experienced consultant will have a vast array of knowledge to ensure the success of your company. One important area they can advise you on is budgeting. With years of experience cultivating, in both medical and recreational markets, an experienced consultant will have knowledge of not only start-up costs, but also hidden costs you must prepare for in advance. They will also be able to advise you on strategies to avoid future costs and problems. There may also be expenses in the build-out of your cultivation site you have not considered. For example, you may need a waste water treatment plan if you have any fertilizer run off that will flow to a sewage drain. It is important to know all possible costs when securing your investment or planning out your budget for the year.

Setting up a large-scale cultivation site in a regulated market can be extremely costly. Gone are the days of putting up a few lights in a closet; growing in a regulated market requires a larger scale, and therefore, larger costs and more complications. A consultant experienced in design and implementation of such large-scale, intricate cultivation plans will provide you with the knowledge you need to properly set-up and maintain your facility in order to ensure your company’s success. They will also know the tips and tricks to save you money along the way.

Something as simple as a centralized irrigation distribution zone can save you a lot of time and money.

A good consultant will be able to advise you on the design of your facility to ensure that the layout supports productivity, and that there is a proper workflow. It is important to hire a consultant before you get started with the build out of your facility, as it will be much more costly to have to correct mistakes in your design later on down the road. An experienced consultant will implement superior facilities layout and design to avoid future problems at the outset. Something as simple as a centralized irrigation distribution zone can save you a lot of time and money.

Once you have created the proper space, cultivation planning is important to avoid unnecessary problems from arising, which will ultimately delay profit. A well thought out cultivation plan will help you plan for success. A consultant will know what does and doesn’t work. For example, some equipment will run off an app on your phone; while convenient, there are some that don’t perform well which could end up costing the entire crop. These are things you want to know and work around, before you spend money unnecessarily.

An experienced consultant will have previously worked in various types and scales of cultivation sites, and from that experience will be able to teach you which processes and techniques work, and which ones don’t. Someone with less experience may believe that watering plants by hand would be an easy method to keep your garden irrigated, but it is actually the most time-consuming labor task (and therefore extremely costly), while an automated watering system can be very simple and cost-effective to install.

Some equipment will run off an app on your phone; while convenient, there are some that don’t perform well which could end up costing the entire crop

A skilled consultant can provide necessary training for your employees. Let’s face it, this is an entirely new industry, and therefore, most people applying for entry-level jobs at a cultivation site are unskilled. However, the best path to success when dealing with large-scale cannabis cultivation is to have skilled, happy employees. Educating and properly training your employees is essential. It helps to teach employees not only how to complete a task, but to help them understand why they are doing a given task. This will give your staff the skills and confidence they need to complete the task properly. Unskilled hands in your garden can jeopardize the success of your cultivation.

Don’t make the same mistakes others have made. Hiring a cultivation consultant can help you to avoiding problems before they occur. A professional consultant has the knowledge required to predict issues and problems before they occur, or implement a solution when corrective measures are necessary. Oftentimes issues can be avoided just by knowing the cause and effect of decisions and the potential outcomes they will have.

A cultivation consultant should also have a wide network of professional contacts to help you address any issues or problems that arise. Having a network of professionals to employ when necessary is critical for ensuring the success of every project. For example, wholesale contacts for cultivation equipment can help you not only to get the best price, but also ensure you are using the best equipment possible for your situation.

If you are still unsure about whether or not you need a cultivation consultant to help plan out your grow, or fix your grow if you’ve encountered problems, feel free to contact me to discuss your needs. I assure you there are ways I can save you money, improve your yields, and help your company be more successful in this ever-changing market.

Metrc Takes Contract for Maine’s Tracking Software

By Aaron G. Biros
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Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP), the government agency in charge of regulating their cannabis industry, announced today a six-year contract for traceability software with Metrc LLC. According to the press release, the software will be used for the newly formed adult use market, which is just a few months away from going live with legal sales.

Maine’s OMP was previously under contract with BioTrackTHC as their software provider before switching to Metrc with this new contract. The software is cloud-based and uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on plants and products to track cultivation and distribution of cannabis products throughout the state. The software is commonly used across the country in states that have legal cannabis markets. It essentially prevents diversion to the black market, allows for a transparent supply chain with clear chain of custody tracking and it increases recall readiness.

Erik Gundersen, Director of Maine’s OMP, says Metrc is helping to make a smooth launch of the adult use market. “We are excited to partner with Metrc,” says Gundersen. “Metrc is an industry leader, and their team is committed to delivering a product that will allow us to proceed with the launch of our adult use program later this spring.”

Over the next few months, Metrc and OMP plan on helping the industry familiarize themselves with the new software. The two organizations will go on the road in March, giving licensees training and answering questions. Metrc will then offer online training and evaluations followed by credentialing licensees showing they are proficient with the software.

Jeff Wells, CEO of Metrc, says they are excited to get to work. “We’re excited to partner with the OMP to help launch the state’s adult-use marijuana market,” says Wells. “2020 is another significant year for cannabis industry growth, and we look forward to serving the OMP, local cannabis businesses, and the people of Maine.”

The agreement is a six-year contract with a value of roughly $540,000. License holders pay a $40 monthly fee to access the system, which helps support training and technical support, according to the press release.

California Suspends Almost 400 Licenses

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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On November 1st, the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) sent notices to 394 businesses in California that their licenses will be suspended until they comply with certain traceability system requirements. This story was first reported by John Schroyer at Marijuana Business Daily.

On Wednesday, November 6th, the number of licenses suspended dropped to a total of 385, including 63 retailers, 61 delivery services, 47 microbusinesses, 185 distributors and 29 transportation licenses. That’s almost 5% of all the cannabis business licenses in California.

According to Alex Traverso, spokesman for the BCC, licensees were given plenty of opportunities to fix their errors. Businesses were given notice that they needed to enroll in Metrc within five days following their provisional licensing. The BCC gave those businesses a reminder roughly three months ago and sent an additional warning in late October regarding the deadline.

It’s a relatively easy fix for those trying to get back in compliance. The rationale behind suspending the licenses is that those businesses need to undergo a mandatory traceability system training so they know how to use Metrc and get credentialed. Enroll in the Metrc system, get credentialed and your license should be restored.

“It’s relatively simple to get your license out of suspension,” Traverso told KPBS News. “These are growing pains. I think we knew it was going to be a process and it was going to take some time, and that it was going to be an adjustment period for a lot of people who have been doing things one way for some time now.”

Traverso added that about 80 businesses enrolled in the Metrc system as soon as they received the notice that their license is suspended. Those licenses should be restored to active shortly, Traverso said.

Aphria, Inc. Implements Quality Management Systems

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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According to a press release published today, Aphria Inc. has implemented Rootstock Software’s cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions and ComplianceQuest’s Enterprise Quality Management System (EQMS). Aphria, one of the largest cannabis companies in the world, trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Rootstock’s cloud ERP software includes things like order processing, production management, supply chain management, lot and serial number trackability and traceability, compliance reporting, costing and financial management. ComplianceQuest’s EQMS software provides support for GMP compliance and can help improve efficiencies in operations. The EQMS focuses on quality and risk management across Aphria’s business platforms, from sourcing to manufacturing to supply chain management.

Aphria is using the entire EQMS platform, which includes software to handle documents, training, changes, inspections, nonconformance, corrective actions (CAPA) and customer complaints which integrates to Rootstock’s ERP. According to the press release, the company is currently working to roll-out audit, equipment, incident and supplier management functions and will be fully live with the entire quality system in the next few months.

According to Tim Purdie, chief information officer & chief information security officer of Aphria Inc., both platforms delivered on their implementation. “Grounded in the scalability of the force.com platform, CQ transformed our quality management operating capabilities overnight and we are delighted at the fully integrated partnership result,” says Purdie. “We now have fully digital real-time informatics and ability to implement change in a highly transparent manner to meet the demands of our high growth business.”

Adding that Rootstock ERP will help facilitate their company’s production, inventory and supply chain management, Purdie says both platforms will enable Aphria to be increasingly responsive to market needs. “Aphria is setting the standard as a worldwide leader in the cannabis industry through a diversified approach to innovation, corporate citizenship, strategic partnerships and global expansion,” Purdie says. “With these system implementations, we’re now technologically equipped to take our competitive advantage to new levels of market leadership.”

Massachusetts Implements Responsible Vendor Training Program

By Aaron G. Biros
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According to a press release published earlier this week, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission approved Cannabis Trainers as one of the state’s first vendor training providers. The training program, Sell-SMaRT™ is the world’s first state-approved cannabis vendor training.

Regulations in Massachusetts require all licensed growers, managers and employees that handle cannabis to take a responsible vendor training class through a certified provider by January 1, 2020.

The Sell-SMaRT™ program was originally developed for licensees handling cannabis in Colorado. In 2015, Colorado regulators granted the program the first ever certification for its Responsible Vendor Program in cannabis. Since then, almost 4,000 people have taken the Cannabis Trainers class, which has been customized for six states, including Massachusetts.

Maureen McNamara, founder of Cannabis Trainers

Maureen McNamara, founder of Cannabis Trainers, built on two decades of experience in alcohol vendor training before she started the training program for cannabis. “Massachusetts is really setting a new standard with its training requirements,” says McNamara. “We’ve worked hard to customize the Sell-SMaRT™ program for the state’s needs, and we appreciate the Cannabis Control Commission’s recognition of that. We’re excited to help inspire a cannabis workforce in the state that is responsible, compliant and committed to excellence.”

Meg Sanders, CEO of Canna Provisions, a Massachusetts cannabis company, says the program helps her employees learn the rules thoroughly. “Cannabis Trainers trained all of my Colorado employees, and my entire team in Massachusetts as well,” says Sanders. “I know every time Cannabis Trainers meets with my staff, we walk away smarter and better prepared to help our customers.”

Agilent Partners with LSSU on Cannabis Chemistry & Research

By Aaron G. Biros
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Back in August, Lake Superior State University (LSSU) announced the formation of a strategic partnership with Agilent Technologies to “facilitate education and research in cannabis chemistry and analysis.” The university formed the LSSU Cannabis Center of Excellence (CoE), which is sponsored by Agilent. The facility, powered by top-of-the-line Agilent instrumentation, is designed for research and education in cannabis science, according to a press release.

Chemistry student, Justin Blalock, calibrates an Agilent 1290 Ultra-High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph with a 6470 Tandem Mass Spectrometer in the new LSSU Cannabis Center of Excellence, Sponsored by Agilent.

The LSSU Cannabis CoE will help train undergraduate students in the field of cannabis science and analytical chemistry. “The focus of the new LSSU Cannabis CoE will be training undergraduate students as job-ready chemists, experienced in multi-million-dollar instrumentation and modern techniques,” reads the press release. “Students will be using Agilent’s preeminent scientific instruments in their coursework and in faculty-mentored undergraduate research.”

The facility has over $2 million dollars of Agilent instruments including their UHPLC-MS/MS, UHPLC-TOF, GC-MS/MS, LC-DAD, GC/MS, GC-FID/ECD, ICP-MS and MP-AES. Those instruments are housed in a 2600 square-foot facility in the Crawford Hall of Science. In February earlier this year, LSSU launched the very first program for undergraduate students focused completely on cannabis chemistry. With the new facility and all the technology that comes with it, they hope to develop a leading training center for chemists in the cannabis space.

Dr. Steve Johnson, Dean of the College of Science and the Environment at LSSU, says making this kind of instrumentation available to undergraduate studies is a game changer. “The LSSU Cannabis Center of Excellence, Sponsored by Agilent was created to provide a platform for our students to be at the forefront of the cannabis analytics industry,” says Dr. Johnson. “The instrumentation available is rarely paralleled at other undergraduate institutions. The focus of the cannabis program is to provide our graduates with the analytical skills necessary to move successfully into the cannabis industry.”

Storm Shriver is the Laboratory Director at Unitech Laboratories, a cannabis testing lab in Michigan, and sounds eager to work with students in the program. “I was very excited to learn about your degree offerings as there is a definite shortage of chemists who have experience with data analysis and operation of the analytical equipment required for the analysis of cannabis,” says Shriver. “I am running into this now as I begin hiring and scouting for qualified individuals. I am definitely interested in a summer internship program with my laboratory.”

LSSU hopes the new facility and program will help lead the way for more innovation in cannabis science and research. For more information, visit LSSU.edu.

Food processing and sanitation

Key Points To Incorporate Into a Sanitation Training Program

By Ellice Ogle
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Food processing and sanitation

To reinforce the ideas in the article, Sanitation Starting Points: More Than Sweeping the Floors and Wiping Down the Table, the main goal of sanitation is to produce safe food and to keep consumers healthy and safe from foodborne illness. With the cannabis industry growing rapidly, cannabis reaches a larger, wider audience. This population includes consumers most vulnerable to foodborne illness such as people with immunocompromised systems, the elderly, the pregnant, or the young. These consumers, and all consumers, need and deserve safe cannabis products every experience.

GMPSanitation is not an innate characteristic; rather, sanitation is a trained skill. To carry out proper sanitation, training on proper sanitation practices needs to be provided. Every cannabis food manufacturing facility should require and value a written sanitation program. However, a written program naturally needs to be carried out by people. Hiring experienced experts may be one solution and developing non-specialists into an effective team is an alternative solution. Note that it takes every member of the team, even those without “sanitation” in their title, to carry out an effective sanitation program.

Sanitation is a part of the Food and Drug Administration’s Code of Federal Regulations on current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in manufacturing, packing or holding human food (21 CFR 110). Sanitation starts at the beginning of a food manufacturing process; even before we are ready to work, there are microorganisms, or microbes, present on the work surfaces. What are microbes? At a very basic level, the effects of microbes can be categorized into the good, the bad, and the ugly. The beneficial effects are when microbes are used to produce cheese, beer or yogurt. On the other hand, microbes can have undesirable effects that spoil food, altering the quality aspects such as taste or visual appeal. The last category are microbes that have consequences such as illness, organ failure and even death.In a food manufacturing facility, minimizing microbes at the beginning of the process increases the chance of producing safe food.FDAlogo

Proper sanitation training allows cannabis food manufacturing facilities to maintain a clean environment to prevent foodborne illness from affecting human health. Sanitation training can be as basic or as complex as the company and its processes; as such, sanitation training must evolve alongside the company’s growth. Here are five key talking points to cover in a basic sanitation training program for any facility.

  1. Provide the “why” of sanitation. While Simon Sinek’s TEDx talk “Start with why” is geared more towards leadership, the essential message that “Whether individuals or organizations, we follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to.” Merely paying someone to complete a task will not always yield the same results as inspiring someone to care about their work. Providing examples of the importance of sanitation in keeping people healthy and safe will impart a deeper motivation for all to practice proper sanitation. An entertaining illustration for the “why” is to share that scientists at the University of Arizona found that cellphones can carry ten times more bacteria than toilet seats!
  2. Define cleaning and sanitizing. Cleaning does not equal sanitizing. Cleaning merely removes visible soil from a surface while sanitizing reduces the number of microorganisms on the clean surface to safe levels. For an effective sanitation system, first clean then sanitize all utensils and food-contact surfaces of equipment before use (FDA Food Code 2017 4-7).
  3. Explain from the ground up. Instead of jumping into the training of cleaning a specific piece of equipment, start training with the foundational aspects of food safety. For example, a basic instruction on microbiology and microorganisms will lay down the foundation for all future training. Understanding that FATTOM (the acronym for food, acidity, temperature, time, oxygen and moisture) are the variables that any microorganism needs to grow supplies people with the tools to understand how to prevent microorganisms from growing. Furthermore, explaining the basics such as the common foodborne illnesses can reinforce the “why” of sanitation.

    Food processing and sanitation
    PPE for all employees at every stage of processing is essential
  4. Inform about the principles of chemistry and chemicals. A basic introduction to chemicals and the pH scale can go a long way in having the knowledge to prevent mixing incompatible chemicals, prevent damaging surfaces, or prevent hurting people. Additionally, proper concentration (i.e. dilution) is key in the effectiveness of the cleaning chemicals.
  5. Ensure the training is relevant and applicable to your company. Direct proper sanitation practices with a strong master sanitation schedule and ensure accountability with daily, weekly, monthly and annual logs. Develop sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), maintain safety data sheets (SDS’s) and dispense proper protective equipment (PPE).

Overall, sanitation is everyone’s job. All employees at all levels will benefit from learning about proper sanitation practices. As such, it is beneficial to incorporate sanitation practices into cannabis food manufacturing processes from the beginning. Protect your brand from product rework or recalls and, most importantly, protect your consumers from foodborne illness, by practicing proper sanitation.

Soapbox

Third-Party Cannabis Safety Audits & How to Prepare in 7 Steps

By Tyler Williams
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Unlike the food industry, the cannabis industry is still in its infancy. Which means there is not a push from retailers demanding cannabis farmers, extractors or manufacturers to get third-party audits. In fact, most grow operations supply into their own dispensaries. So why should a cannabis farmer, extractor or manufacturer get a third-party audit? Third-party audits are crucial to maintaining product safety and quality by providing a third set of eyes to verify what is working and what is not. Besides regulatory requirements and customers requiring your facility to get a third-party audit, there are numerous other benefits to receiving an audit. Some of these benefits include:

  • Improvement to product safety
  • Improvement to product quality and consistency
  • Meeting regulatory compliance
  • Eliminating potential risks and possible recalls
  • Marketing advantages over competitors who are not audited by a third-party
  • Improvement to consumer confidence and an increase to brand loyalty

How to Prepare for a Third-Party Audit

Working for a certification body, I am in the unique position to see numerous sites go through the certification process. In this position I have seen both extremes: Sites that spend 6-8 months and a lot of resources preparing for an audit, as well as sites that wait until the day before to even look at the audit standard. Unfortunately, the latter is almost always going to fail the audit. Here are seven steps for preparing for your next third-party audit.“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”– Benjamin Franklin

  1. Start Preparing Early

Think of your third-party audit as a college exam one month away. You could start studying for the exam now and get a real understanding of the material or you could wait until the day before to start your no-sleep, energy drink-fueled, 24-hour cram session. We all know which preparation method will get a better score on the exam. Now let’s apply that same strategy to your third-party audit. Once you have decided what audit is best for your site and have those specific standards in your hand, the clock starts ticking and you should already be preparing for the audit, whether it is one month or six months away.

  1. Get Management Commitment

It is essential to the entire cannabis safety and quality system to have commitment from top down. Without this, the site will not get the resources (people, equipment, money, time, etc.) they need to pass a third-party audit. Management commitment is so important that it is often seen as its own section in most modern audit standards. It is very easy for third-party auditors to identify when there is a lack of management commitment in a site. Therefore, if you don’t get management commitment, then you are already starting off the audit on a bad note.

  1. Create a To-Do-ListGMP

Think of the entire audit checklist or standard as your long to-do list. Some things, like attaining a certificate of analysis (COA) from a supplier, may only need to be done annually. While other things, such as ensuring employees are following Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), will need to be done continuously throughout day to day operations. Go through the audit checklist and separate what needs to be done annually, semiannually, quarterly, monthly and continuously throughout day to day operations. This will give you a list with all of the frequencies of each different requirement.

  1. Teamwork“Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.” – John C. Maxwell

The preparation of an audit should never rest on the shoulders of one person. Yet this is something I tend to see too often in both food and cannabis facilities alike. Your site should establish a cannabis safety and quality team of multidiscipline personnel that have an impact on product safety and quality. Once the team is established, various tasks from the to-do-list can be disbursed among all the members of the team. Collaboration is key to successfully preparing for a third-party audit, especially when the timelines are very stringent.

  1. Training

Training is essential to preparing for your third-party audit. This is what closes the gaps between what the safety and quality department have developed and what your front-line employees are applying. All employees should know what part of the audit standard applies to them. Additionally, employees should be trained on interview questions that the auditor might ask them during the audit. Helping them prepare for these types of questions will help ease their nerves and allow them to answer the questions with self-assurance when it comes time to the actual audit.

  1. Conduct Internal Audits

Conducting internal audits is not only a great way to prepare for your third-party audit, it’s a requirement. You should always use the audit checklist to observe your documents and facility to see where there are gaps. If possible, the person or team conducting the internal audit should never review their own work. Additionally, all issues or non-conformances should be noted, evaluated, corrected and closed out.

  1. Third-Party Pre-Assessment or Mock Audit (Optional)

A third-party pre-assessment or mock audit is the closest thing you can get to an actual audit. This is where a company would come in and evaluate your site to the specific standards and give a formal report over any deficiencies found during the assessment and how to fix them. This is a great way to test your preparedness before the actual audit.

Top 5 Cybersecurity Threats To The Cannabis Industry

By Lalé Bonner
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Is your cannabis business an attractive target for cyber criminals? With the influx of investment to this market and new businesses opening frequently throughout the United States, the legal cannabis industry is a prime target for cyber criminals.

Never share personal information (login and passwords, social security numbers, payment card information, etc.) over email.Cannabis industry hackers pick their targets by vulnerability, exploiting consumer or patient data to darknet black markets and forums. The impact can be devastating to both the business and their consumers. With new laws on protecting consumer and patient data on the horizon, businesses that do not adequately protect that data, could face stiff fines, in addition to losing the trust of their customers.

So, how do these attacks present themselves? Recent studies implicate employees as the “weakest link” in the cybersecurity chain due to a lack of cybersecurity best practices and training. Implementing safeguards and providing employee training is imperative to the cybersecurity health of your business.

Now, let’s identify the top 5 cybersecurity threats to the cannabis industry and some valuable tips for protecting against these criminal hacks:

PhishingPhishing is a form of cyber-attack, typically disguised as an official email from a trustworthy entity, attempting to dupe the recipient into revealing confidential information or downloading malware. Don’t take the bait! 91 percent of cyber-attacks start as phishing scams, with most of these lures being cast through fraudulent emails.

  • Tips: Do not download attachments from unknown senders!
  • Never share personal information (login and passwords, social security numbers, payment card information, etc.) over email.

Password ManagementPassword complexity is key to protecting against cyber breaches. When it comes to data hacking, 81 percent of breaches are caused by stolen or weak passwords. With a password often being the only barrier between you and a data breach, creating a complex password will dramatically decrease those password-sniffers from obtaining your sensitive information.

  • Tips: Create passwords that are at least 12 characters in length – include letters, numbers and symbols (*$%^!), and never use a default password. This will fend off brute-force attacks.
  • Change passwords every six months to a year, keeping them complicated and protected. For IT Managers, make using a password manager mandatory for all employees. (Pro-tip: LastPass is free).Be cautious with network selection as hackers set up free Wi-Fi networks that appear to be associated with an institution.

Public Wi-FiBeing able to connect in public spaces, while a modern marvel of convenience, leaves us wide open to cyber-attacks. Whether you are in an airport or café, always err on the side of caution.

  • Tips: Be cautious with network selection as hackers set up free Wi-Fi networks that appear to be associated with an institution.
  • Browse in a “private” or “incognito” window to avoid saving information. If you have a VPN, use it. If not, then do not handle any sensitive data.

BYOD: Beware of Bad Apps: Using personal devices for work has become the norm. In fact, approximately 74 percent of businesses have bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies or plans to adopt in the future.

With these platforms providing greater access to mobile apps, comes greater responsibility on the part of the end user.

  • Tips: Password protect devices that will be used for work (and, any device in general).
  • Only download applications from a trusted, authorized app store. Do not use untrusted play apps.
  • Mobile device protection is recommended for any device being used on a business network.

Whether it is an app from an unauthorized website or a lost/stolen device that was not password protected, cyber criminals do not need much to compromise critical data.Avoid logging into a SaaS application on a public computer or public Wi-Fi network.

SaaS Selectively: Keep Sensitive Data Safe: SaaS (Software As A Service) are cloud-based software solutions and chances are you are using one of these SaaS solutions for work purposes. IT is typically responsible for implementing security controls for SaaS applications, but ultimate responsibility falls on IT and the end user jointly. Here is what you can do to help keep these solutions safe:

  • Tips: Avoid logging into a SaaS application on a public computer or public Wi-Fi network.
  • Never share your SaaS login credentials with unauthorized persons over digital format or in person. Lastly, if you need to step away, always lock your screen during an active session.

While these tips will help keep your consumer/patient data from falling into the wrong hands, always have a plan B- backup plan! Your plan B must incorporate saving important data to a backup drive daily. Most likely, there is already a backup protocol in place for your mission-critical work data; however, for sanity’s sake, back up your BYOD devices as well.