Cloud security has been and will continue to be under fire. If data is out there on the cloud you can bet there are always going to be people that want to get it. A company needs to be vigilant in staying up with new security measures to best protect their data. Let's not forget though that there are plenty of data breaches that occur in datacenters, not the cloud. Regardless of where you pit your data security needs to be A #1.
Like everything else, cloud computing too has its pros and cons. While the technology can prove to be a great asset to your company, it could also cause harm if not understood and used properly.
In my opinion, cloud computing is a great opportunity for small businesses to off-load the hassle and costs of IT management – as long as they can live with the disadvantages. Security issues related to having their business data 'out' on the Internet seem to be the number one concern of business owners.
Much of a company's data, which is supposedly "off the cloud", is essentially stored on multiple servers, sometimes spanning across several countries. This means that if a certain center develops and issue and cannot be accessed, it might pose a serious problem for the company involved. This problem would intensify if the data is stored in a server of a different country.
This being a potential issue, companies need to discuss it with their providers much in advance of beginning work on cloud computing. The company needs to clarify if the provider can totally guarantee service availability even during periods of bandwidth interruption and similar other issues.
To remotely accomplish what you suggest is to place each company's data on a physically separate server -- and, that would not be feasible financially. Virtual servers are not secure, it now has been proven.
Storing information in the cloud could make the company vulnerable to external threats. As you are well aware, nothing on the Internet is completely secure and hence, there is always the lurking possibility of stealth of sensitive data.
All types of company data must be accounted for in this process, including official intellectual property such as patents, trademarks and other copyrighted material; as also operating processes, source codes, user manuals, plans, reports and the like. Though the latter processes are not actually considered as intellectual property, their loss would definitely cause damage to the business and the company's reputation at large.
Most importantly, an effective data protection strategy complies with enterprise privacy requirements as stipulated by the law. The other reason is that maintaining an effective data protection policy helps the company take a complete inventory of all their data processes, intellectual property and so on; thus also helping create a comprehensive security strategy for the same.
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
Businesses often struggle to decide which domain to use. When it comes to purchasing a domain name, you have plenty of extensions to choose from, ranging from .com and .net, to .me, and even .mobi. But which one should you pick?
I've been writing about how the next evolution of the Internet might just be an advertising revolution, and how corporate IT can stay involved as the enablers and providers of the technologies that make this possible.
In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M.
The smartphone market reached a significant milestone, a breakthrough that may cause vendors to celebrate but could strain the capabilities of IT service desks.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE