Author: Paula Diaz

ITJuana Celebrates Pride Month

ITJ celebrates Pride Month

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 4 Comments on ITJ celebrates Pride Month

At ITJ, diversity and inclusion are intrinsic values within our culture. We have built a diverse community with members from various backgrounds that are celebrated for their unique life experiences, perspectives, and preferences. We are proud of the richness of culture that this diversity creates in our everyday environment, and the perspective and values that every member of our company brings to the table.

During LGBTQ Pride Month, we honor this community and the impact its members have had on the fight for equal rights, work safety and inclusion, and the celebration and respect of all sexual orientation. In spite of the celebration, there is a long way to go for equal rights for the LGBT community. 

Pride is celebrated every June in honor of the Stonewall Uprising, which took place on June 28th 1969 in Manhattan after NY police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Grenwich Village. The raid set off a riot and became a catalyst for the gay rights movement around the world.

A year after the Stonewall Uprising and from then on, Pride has become a celebration in which marches and parades have transformed the event from a memorial to their current embodiment as colorful celebrations. Pride parades commemorate the past while serving as acts of resistance against those seeking to deprive the LGBTQ community of the rights it has fought so hard to gain. 

In spite of the celebration and advances that the LGBT movement has broken through, there is still a long way to go. Homosexuality is still illegal in 35% of UN member states and fewer than 30 countries recognize same-sex marriage. In many parts of the world, it is still ilegal to donate blood if you have a same sex partner. Same-sex activity can be a capital offense in Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Only 28 countries around the world have legalized same-sex marriages.

At ITJ, we are proud to hold members of the LGBT community within our staff. We believe every person’s value should be respected and maintained, independent of their sexual orientation. We have found diversity in our teams to be a source of creativity, resourcefulness and problem-solving, and we aren’t the only ones. Josh Bersin recently found that companies that hold standards of inclusivity are 1.7 times more likely to be leaders in innovation, no matter the market. When team members feel accepted and respected, projects and companies thrive. Deloitte Australia’s research also shows that inclusive teams outperform their peers by 80% in team-based assessments. Our own experience has shown that cultivating an inclusive and respectful environment brings out the best in our team members and colleagues. 

Though the fight for equal rights that Pride month represents is far from over, we will continue to communicate our stance through our decisions at ITJ by establishing a LGBT internal community that helps create a sense of awareness with workshops, talks and other activities that support inclusion and diversity within the company.

About ITJ

ITJ is a trusted partner in building the finest software engineering teams in the Americas. For more information, visit www.itj.com.

IOMT and medical device cybersecurity ITJ

IoMT and Medical Device Cybersecurity

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 6 Comments on IoMT and Medical Device Cybersecurity

Medical device cybersecurity is a term used to classify the tools and mechanisms that prevent cyber attackers from gaining unauthorized access to or control over medical devices and the data they generate. 

What is IoMT?

Smart monitoring medical devices are part of Internet of Medical Things— the types of medical devices that send patient’s information to healthcare professionals via internet connection. IoMT devices allow rapid and flexible analysis of medical data by updating doctors about the state of patients glucose, temperature, or heart rate automatically without having to schedule a visit. 

IoMT is big. According to a recent Deloitte survey, the overall IoMT market is expected to grow from $41 billion in 2017 to $158 billion by 2022. As the Internet of Medical Things industry grows, it is important to be aware of the possible threats that transmitting patient information through smart devices can represent, and how medical devices cybersecurity is protecting and controlling who receives the data. 

Medical Cybersecurity

While Internet-connected medical devices are revolutionizing the way healthcare providers monitor and treat patients, the digital and automatically generated data also creates opportunities for attackers to try to steal highly personal information by executing cybersecurity attacks, holding patient information hostage, or even trying to interfere with the device by controlling it remotely.

Smart medical devices store and generate patient information through the combination of sensory inputs and software. The types of data stored can include personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI) or payment card industry (PCI) data. Cyber attackers may try to gain access with the purpose of withholding valuable information from healthcare providers, hospitals or insurance companies, forcing them to pay a ransom to regain access to it. 

According to the National Vulnerability Database, 18,353 vulnerabilities were reported in 2020. That’s almost 3 times the volume of vulnerabilities reported five years ago, and higher than any year in the previous two decades.

Having a cybersecurity defense plan for medical devices is critical for any organization that uses the internet of medical things, or IoMT, to assist in healthcare operations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates medical devices and works hawkishly to reduce cybersecurity risks. The FDA shares this responsibility with device manufacturers, hospitals, health care providers, security researchers, and other government agencies.

If the FDA finds a weakness in software or hardware that could pose a risk, it may issue a safety communication: a recommendation with data about the vulnerability detected as well as recommended actions patients, providers and manufacturers can take to protect their information. 

The future of medical cybersecurity

Medical device manufacturers play an essential role in protecting the infrastructure of global healthcare. As we move into a more connected medical future and ensure products are used safely and securely, manufacturers must take an active role in sharing information about the latest emerging threats, new vulnerabilities in technologies, and what patients can do to stay safe. 

About ITJ

ITJ is devoted to serving fast-growing and high-value market sectors, particularly the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), working with innovative medical device companies looking to improve people’s lives. With a unique BOT (build, operate, and transfer) model that sources only the best digital talent available, ITJ enables companies in the US to create technology centers of excellence in Mexico. For more information, visit www.itj.com.

5 Reasons to Nearshore with ITJuana

5 Reasons To Nearshore with ITJ

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 2 Comments on 5 Reasons To Nearshore with ITJ

Here’s a fact that will surprise no one: The tech industry is one of the fastest-growing in the US— worth 1.6 trillion dollars and is on a path to reach $5 trillion by the end of 2021.

However, it has one clear obstacle: a serious shortage of tech talent. In a recent survey, 76%  of US company CIOs have recently said they struggle to find, hire and retain software engineering professionals. The job application success rate between being interviewed and getting hired is between 2% and 3.4%. For a tech company with a timely project at hand, recruiting processes with such a low retention rate can make the difference between staying on top of the competition and losing a precious window to launch a new feature or product.

Nearshoring is a proven way to remain competitive by hiring qualified talent within the same time zone, but residing in locations with lower costs of living. ITJ serves fast-growing and high-value market sectors by creating qualified teams, saving companies precious resources in time and recruiting by creating large, low cost, high performance centers for software engineering.

Haven’t heard of us yet? Here is a list of 5 reasons to nearshore with ITJuana.

  1. We specialize in MedTech

For the past three years, ITJuana has been serving fast-growing market sectors with a particular focus on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). ITJuana has been working with innovative medical device companies looking to improve people’s lives. This specific sector is one of the fastest-growings in the tech industry, predicted to reach $176 billion by 2026. 

  1. Faster Hiring Processes

In the US, finding, filtering, and hiring the right talent can take months. The average time for ITJuana to hire engineers is 37 days. We only hire the best bilingual talent from Mexico, as well as from elsewhere in LATAM, and are totally committed to developing the next generation of engineers through our partnerships with top educational institutions and the ITJuana trainee program. 

  1. Better qualified teams

ITJuana enables companies to create world-class software engineering centers of excellence in Tijuana, MX. Our services assist companies of all sizes to access purpose-built, fully managed, lower cost, and innovative software development, testing, and operational support teams. These hubs integrate seamlessly with our client’s resources and align with their business strategies. Our unique Nearshore model works with the highest quality software engineers, data scientists, and creative designers from across Mexico and Latin America. 

  1. Continuous Growth

We care passionately about both our clients and our staff, so the professional teams we create are purposefully only composed of full-time client-dedicated employees, allowing us to attract and retain the best engineering talent while reliably delivering the highly productive, quality services our clients seek. Understanding your company culture is important to us, because we know you may need to further grow your staff in the future. We want to make sure that the people that continue to join your team are not only fully qualified, but aligned with your values and goals. This is why we maintain ongoing relationships with our clients and take extra care to immerse our talent in their company culture.

5. Lower staff turnover

Our stance against subcontracting shows our team where we stand and allows our clients to plan for the long run. As a result, we hold a staff turnover rate of less than half the industry average.

Unique to the industry, we firmly believe in our mantra of “our team is your team” so much so that our clients have the option to transition the engineering teams we build for them into their own organizations when they are ready and choose to do so. 

Write to us at keith.ryland@itj.com to know more about what ITJuana’s Centers of Excellence can do for your team.

About ITJ

ITJ is a trusted partner in building the finest software engineering teams in the Americas. For more information, visit www.itj.com.