Concerning Cloud Security

With the cloud expanding rapidly, in Ireland and abroad, it starts to become interesting to see what current and potential cloud users consider as being the prohibiting factors for moving company data into a cloud or hosting environment.  For the sake of eliminating confusion, I’m for the purpose of this topic, merging cloud and hosting into one.  I will refer to it as the outsourced solution.  The considerations, or should I say, areas of contention are the same for both solutions.

CompTia recently released the latest trends in regards to moving into an outsourced environment – 58% of CIOs state that they will not put confidential company data into an outsourced solution, and 56% will not stored credit card data in the cloud.  I can certainly understand the latter, given the recent scares within banking and gaming communities, where credit card details have been compromised.  However, the risk of storing data in an outsourced solution are equal to a locally hosted solution.  It could potentially be argued that local/in-house solutions might be less secure than outsourced solutions, because IT departments might not have the skills or funding to support and secure the infrastructure.

In an outsourced environment, the responsibility falls on the company providing the storage, and they need to apply latest security technology, be at the forefront of hacking techniques and monitor systems 24/7 to ensure that their client data is secure.

When digging a little further into the CompTia report, almost all had moderate or serious concerns in regards to the current risks in cloud security.  In fact, 55 percent said those concerns were greater now than ever.

So, how can hosting providers mitigate or address these concerns.  More importantly, how can Evros and DigitalPlanet ensure that your concerns are addressed and encourage you to consider moving into our hosted environment?

The next post will be released shortly, which is based on a short Q&A session with our consultants, hoping to address the majority of your concerns in regards to moving into an outsourced environment.