Public cloud services offer enterprises unprecedented ways to save operational and capital expenses, while simplifying IT management. So it's no surprise that, according to research firm Gartner Inc. , organizations worldwide will spend $72 billion over the next four years on services that offer development infrastructure, computing and storage resources, and software applications over the Internet on demand.
All this comes at a cost. Cloud services, especially public clouds, also come with a series of warning labels that can’t be ignored.
These dangers aren’t always obvious. It is true that public clouds have a much larger attack surface than private clouds or datacenters. Still, it may surprise many users to hear that some of the greatest dangers of using these services originate, not with the cloud provider, although some do, but within the enterprise itself.
There are organizations that neglect to check the fine print of pricing, the terms of data access with the cloud provider, and service level agreements. There are firms that ignore the basics of security, thinking that access management and encryption are unnecessary when dealing with a cloud service. There are companies in which business managers have gone rogue, setting up their own relationships with cloud providers outside the realm of IT.
Dangers originate with the service provider as well: Some lack malware protection; and there are issues related to keeping virtual resources safe. The physical plant also presents challenges: Who knows who's getting their dirty paws on customer data inside a building where many companies have their digital crown jewels stored in a "cloud" of real servers and software?
Until enterprises deal with all of these public cloud challenges, they won't be able to reap the many benefits these services can bring. So we've created this report to help enterprise managers identify the risks of public clouds and nail down the best solutions.
Read the report sequentially, or click specific pages listed below. And please share your thoughts with us on the message board!
Dangers Arising From the Enterprise
Dangers Arising From the Service Provider
— Written by Mitch Wagner, Editor in Chief; Mary Jander, Executive Editor; and Kim Davis, Senior Editor, Internet Evolution
Next Page: Danger No. 1: Ignoring the Basics
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