Security in a decentralised environment

Illinois Tool Works was founded in 1912 and has a long history of involvement in community activities. It is a diverse manufacturing company comprising around 600 separate companies spread across 48 countries and employing more than 50,000 people. Entrepreneurism is exceptionally important to the culture of ITW - it has purchased most of the companies that make up its diverse manufacturing portfolio over the years and it has developed a policy of leaving them to get on with their own business, without too much influence from the mother ship. ITW prides itself on what it calls its '80:20' approach - 80% is the core business of a company, which they leave as it is, but the remaining 20% of the business can enjoy the benefits of being part of a large, centralised organisation.

Because the companies have been purchased in an ad hoc manner, most are operating their own messaging and communications networks - whether this be an in-house solution they have developed, a publicly available service or a third-party managed solution. However, ITW realised early on that this presented its own challenges just in keeping all communication networks up and running - especially since many of the companies in the portfolio were purchased during the internet bubble and many found themselves left high and dry when their e-mail service providers went out of business as the bubble burst.

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