Friday 18 April 2014

Five things to look for in a Cloud Provider when it is a question of security

- Internal technology services which lack resources, efficiencies and rigor are main candidates for the cloud

- You need to know the business as well as the regulatory needs which are around the data and the needs to be moved to the cloud

- You need to know the security and the privacy commitments of your cloud provider along with the responsibilities you retain

Cloud computing is actually changing the way companies do business worldwide. Technology has been a facilitators for a long period of time for business processes, so cloud computing is usual in this matter. There are few technologies, which has been adapted as quickly or have had the wide reading ripple effects of a cloud computing.

There are many things which fuel up cloud growth from its ease of use to its low initial investment. But a key driver for enterprises has been the method cloud computing offers technology services in a less expensive and a more efficient manner than it had previously been possible.  This can allow enterprises to focus on the core business and can leave the management of IT services to cloud providers who are experts in technology services.

While this easy access to information offers lots of benefits, it even introduces many concerns. Security and such related operational risks do rank among the top concerns for companies which consider to move to the cloud.

Security is a main concern with most of the new updated technology, but by their nature, cloud computing impacts not just what is in the cloud but also the security of the entire enterprise. If the cloud is the weak link in the security, the entire enterprise would definitely feel the vulnerability.

Data security other than privacy, compliance and risk need to be the primary focus for any enterprise which has a cloud computing component of its IT services. A company needs to know the criticality and the sensitivity of the details which are managed within a cloud service and then, ensure that the cloud provider has the appropriate controls to protect it properly.

Move of the 'Right' Apps to the 'Right' Cloud

An inherent part of building a cloud ecosystem means you actually allow your cloud provider to be a custodian of your important and crucial details. It depends on the provider capabilities that an enterprise would improve the entire security compared to what it might, if not, resource on their own. So, what does an enterprise need to do for ensuring that it is getting the precise security that it requires from a cloud ecosystem?

First and foremost, it is crucial to move the right kind of technology services and details to the right kind of cloud. The very first query to ask whenever one is developing a cloud strategy is not about the technology at all. It is " which business problems can be solved by moving them to the cloud?"

Before you consider what kind of cloud service you would use, you need to evaluate what technology services would offer you the most instant benefit when moved to the cloud.

What is a prime candidate for the cloud? You need to look for internal technology services which lack rigor, efficiencies or resources. There are some applications which will be better maintained in the cloud, like the enterprise which do not have the resources to maintain or to secure that application. To send these services to the cloud can reduce the risk tremendously and can even deliver a more robust solution than its development in-house.

It is very essential to understand the business and their regulatory needs around the data which a buyer needs to move to the cloud for a cloud strategy to be successful. In knowing these needs would narrow the cloud choices in initial stage. Later, during the vendor selection procedure, it would enable you to be clear on your own expectations and your enterprise's needs, which can even allow you to evaluate each vendor as per their own merits. You need to keep in mind that not all of the cloud providers are similar in the security services that they offer, and so you need to know your needs and map them to the provider's capabilities which can ensure that you select the best fit service for your risk tolerance and regulatory requirements.

It is quite interesting to know that the cloud providers themselves are varied in their own weaknesses, strengths other than their overall quality. It is crucial to start with the kind of cloud which can best suit your needs before you evaluate the vendors.

When you are done with your assessment needs, you can look for the available cloud offering kinds. There are very less general cloud kinds which you can consider like private on-premise, Software as a services which run in a public cloud and manage private cloud. Each has their own set of merits, demerits and such associated security implications. A private on-premise cloud is designed for exclusive use of one organization. It resides on-premise in the data center and is entirely controlled and even managed by internal IT.

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