TIP Capital, a telecom and tech equipment finance company, engages in a lot of business conversations with customers involving sensitive information. Email, instant messaging and voice calls are secure enough for some conversations, but others require a more private medium. TIP Capital's CIO, Jeffrey Emrich, recently deployed a confidential messaging system that eliminates messages after they've been read. The encrypted messages are not recorded, and they can't be copied, saved or printed. In an interview with FierceCIO, Emrich talked about the drivers for this technology and the reactions from executives who have used it.

FierceCIO: What was the main catalyst for deploying a confidential messaging system?

Jeffrey Emrich: We needed a way of enhancing our communication between our executive staff. When they're traveling in airports and unsecured locations, it's really difficult to carry on a conversation without being heard. We have a lot of sensitive and delicate information around our clients. We want to make sure we keep client information private. 

FCIO: Who drove this technology acquisition initially?

Emrich: We had heard about this product [from VaporStream], and we started a small trial. It was very easy to use. One of the big features that drove me to this product was ease-of-use.  If you deploy something that's not reliable, that product is not going to get used.

FCIO: What was the initial feedback from users?

Emrich:  We did have a learning curve.  In the beginning when we first deployed it we were trying to equate it to an email message, and that got confusing for some of my users. We did get a little pushback. We've just continued the training. It was slow getting started, but once our executive staff started using it they could see the value. 

FCIO: Do you use it in more of an email or IM capacity?

Emrich: A lot of times our executive staff would not communicate in email for certain sensitive issues--they would just wait until they were in person or on the phone. Now they're using Vaporstream in those situations. It's really allowed our executive staff to have more flexibility, and they can conduct business from wherever they are. 

FCIO: What have been the main benefits of confidential messaging?

Emrich: We're a lot more productive, a lot more efficient. We're able to make decisions in a short amount of time and keep our business rolling, and that's what it's all about for us--keeping our business moving forward and not saying, "I can't make that call right now." I think our executive staff feels a lot more comfortable now that this information won't come back to bite us and we can have those candid conversations.

FCIO: What devices have you deployed the technology for?

Emrich: We've deployed it in two ways. There's the desktop application, which I find myself using the most. The majority of the executive staff and senior management use it on their BlackBerries. 

FCIO: How hard of a sell was it?

Emrich: Once I explained the situation, the executive staff agreed that we do need something and it wasn't that difficult of a sell. Before we actually received the application and started working with it, we had quite a few discussions about the social implications. In the past, system administrators were always very keen on screening information, filtering and being able to verify who is doing what when, and that's gone now. It wasn't an overnight "yes, we love it!" It was more of a progression. It was over time, and it was getting them comfortable with the technology and getting them comfort with what it can do for us. I'm one of those old system admins who, in the past, believed you needed to track and monitor those activities, and for me [the challenge was] getting past that hurdle.

FCIO: What has been your experience with data leaks?

Emrich: Luckily we have not had much experience with actual leaking of data. I'm always trying to be aware of my surroundings and I convey that to my executive staff. We have training on security issues revolving around laptops and mobile phones. There are plenty of big names out in the news, and we don't want to be one of them.

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