Avoid ‘One Size Fits All’ Answers to Complex Situations – Cloud Is Not One Thing.
A major business driver today, there’s more to the cloud than the over-hyped issue regarding its safety. The cloud has a huge impact on all types of businesses that chose to migrate to off-premise, cloud based technologies. Cloud computing is uniquely susceptible to the perils of myths due to the nature, confusion and hype surrounding it. These myths slow things down, impede innovation and induce fear, thus distracting from real progress, innovation and outcomes. These misconstrued facts impede innovation and instill unnecessary fear among CEOs, hindering them from using a possible technological advancement that can be key to progress.
Despite the globally agreed upon formal definition of the cloud, multiple perspectives and agendas continue to mystify the subject matter even more. Here, we list down the cloud security myths that continue to circulate and provide the real information you need to make an informed decision for your business.
MYTH 1: The cloud is inherently insecure.
Perhaps the top myth that has to die is that data is not secure in the cloud. Cloud computing is perceived as less secure. This is more of a trust issue than based on any reasonable analysis of actual security capabilities. It is no surprise that security concerns remain at the forefront of the factors inhibiting CEOs from considering operating on cloud. But this is also one of the biggest myths surrounding cloud.
The truth is that the risks are the same as those faced by traditional IT solutions – assuming these traditional solutions are all up-to-date and licensed correctly – many on-premise servers and solutions are simply left until an issue arises – many established companies are running illegally licensed servers which have not been updated by service packs for 5 – 10 years! – yet to many this is not a risk (until someone realises and breaches their systems) The main difference is that when operating on cloud, security is not a company’s lone burden but a shared responsibility with its cloud hosting provider. That being said, a good provider must have multiple security measures in place—from dedicated firewalls and up-to-date encryption to intrusion detection systems and accredited data centers.
MYTH 2: It’s cheaper to run on cloud.
While prices are dropping, especially for infrastructure as a service (IaaS), not all cloud service pricing is coming down (for example, most software as a service [SaaS]). Assuming that the cloud always saves money can lead to career-limiting promises. Saving money may end up one of the benefits, but it should not be taken for granted.It is not always cheaper to run on cloud but it is certainly more cost efficient. If it’s necessary for your servers to run 24/7 the whole year round, chances are you’ll get the same computing power cheaper using the same dedicated server. The best thing about the cloud is that it answers to varying demands and workload. It also enables companies to switch servers off during lower demand periods to limit infrastructure costs. This automatically improves cost efficiency by matching cost pattern to revenue pattern.
MYTH 3: Everything can be automated on cloud. There is no need for support.
The great thing about the cloud is that everything can be automated from the infrastructure layer upwards.Many cloud based systems are left inadvertently unsecured because the customer does not know that they need to do something to secure them, as they assume that the provider has done what an in-house security staff would traditionally have done by default. Cloud security requires the same discipline for security of any data center, Cloud data centres are as resilient as any, but the weakness comes if the policies, processes and tools aren’t regularly monitored by the IT operations staff responsible. Generally, everything on the cloud provider’s network and in their data centers is covered at a low level. However, everything above the hardware layer and lower network layers is the customer’s responsibility.
MYTH 4: The cloud costs jobs.
There is no correlation between IT resources and the cloud. The reality is that the increasing shift to the cloud will require a host of cloud experts whose skills and savvy will be needed to maintain and strengthen its growth and development.
MYTH 5: You can ignore Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and be more secure.
The BOYD movement is here to stay. Non-support of it and implementing policy on it does not mean a company will be at less risk of data breach. Deploying a mobile content management solution (MCM) because protecting the data will ultimately define a business’ security and compliance requirements.
MYTH 6: Shifting to cloud is a hassle and not worth it.
While the cleaning of existing data and architectural development may be required especially if a company’s working on old servers, migrating to cloud should be relatively hassle-free if you have a trusted and experienced hosting provider. It is possible to make the shift quickly and smoothly with minimal downtime. The intermittent inconvenience cannot outweigh the long-term benefits of the greater efficiency, cost effectiveness of a future-proofed business.
MYTH 7: The cloud can damage the environment.
In reality, cloud computing is the way to go green. On-site data centres use about twice as much power than is actually needed once cooling, lightening and maintenance are factored into the equation. In contrast, hosting with a provider delivers the very latest in power-efficient technology.
MYTH 8: We Need One Cloud Strategy or Vendor
Cloud computing is not one thing and a cloud strategy has to be based on this reality. Cloud services are broad and span multiple levels (IaaS, SaaS), models (“lift and shift,” cloud native), scope (internal, external) and applications. A cloud strategy should be based on aligning business goals with potential benefits. Those goals and benefits are different in various use cases and should be the driving force for businesses, rather than any attempts to standardise on one offering or strategy.
MYTH 9: Cloud data isn’t saved on mobile devices
It’s surprising to still hear people speaking about cloud deployment as if using this service means you are not saving any enterprise data on mobile devices, and that this might make device data protection a moot point, apps that are connecting to devices are always caching data, and that cached data is stored on your employees’ mobile devices. This data can be breached and hacked and therefore must be protected.
In conclusion, dwelling on the myths surrounding the cloud will only prevent your organisation from realising the benefits. Cloud computing is an opportunity to minimise financial risk for a new project or investment. Part of overcoming the fears of the cloud is knowing what is real and not when you make that move. For many companies the first move to the cloud will be a migration to Office365.
