Cloud computing has for some years now grown exponentially. For many, living without cloud has even become unimaginable. The question is not anymore “to be or not to be” in the cloud, but rather how, for what functions and how far. The era of cloud computing as a simple storage solution is gone: today’s cloud solutions cannot only store data but also applications and online services that ensure the vital functions of the company (CRM, accounting, project management…).
Studies clearly show that the cloud is seen as a way to reduce costs and improve the flexibility and productivity of IT resources.
In a study carried out by Rackspace (a Cloud Solutions Provider), 56% of the companies surveyed believe that the cloud has enabled them to increase their profits. And 52% of the startups say they would not have been able to cope with IT investments without using cloud solutions.
Advantages and drawbacks of cloud computing
Costs
A company that stores its customer database in the cloud instead of doing it on its own servers, saves investments in its own infrastructure. The costs could be minimized as a first step, and they could then evolve based on the needs and the actual use of the service.
Evolution
The renting of space on the net can be very flexible and can allow a quick reaction when it comes to increasing or decreasing f the required space, depending on the current needs. The cloud is a real opportunity for startups that want to grow quickly without having to make major IT investments. The Start-up Security Kit from CASES will help them ensuring their security.
Ease
With the cloud, the installation and the update of the servers are no longer a problem. The administration costs are reduced to a minimum… But the customised configuration options are often fewer.
Ubiquity
Using the cloud allows one to work almost from anywhere, regardless of where one is located and the terminal used…Provided you have an Internet connection.
Security
The cloud can be an advantage in terms of security. Cloud service providers are taking important steps to secure data and we can generally assume that data security is higher in the cloud than on a local server. The problem is that the data centers of the Cloud providers are also a prime target for hackers, given the large amount of data that reside there. And it is sometimes difficult to verify the effectiveness of the security measures implemented by the provider. The contract with the latter must therefore be read carefully.
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- Is the connection with the Cloud encrypted?
- Is the data stored on the cloud encrypted?
- Does the connection to the cloud use a strong authentication (double authentication)?
- Is the destruction of out-dated data guaranteed?
- Does the cloud service allow you to restrict the access (IP address filtering…)?
- Does the cloud service let you monitor access and can alert you in case of questionable use again?
- Does the cloud service let you monitor the accesses and can alert you in case of questionable usage?
- The applicable jurisdiction in case of a dispute with the service provider complies with your needs and requirements?
Independence
Cloud or not, the relationship with an IT service provider always entails a certain dependence. How can you transfer data to another provider? What’s happening if a supplier goes bankrupt? It is better to have clear and verified answers to these questions before transferring sensitive data to the cloud.
Availability and connectivity
According to the data classification that will be stored in the Cloud, the criteria of availability and connectivity should be kept in mind.
Availability is normally expressed in percentage: an availability of 99.99% indicates that the service could be available for less than one hour per year. If the availability is only 99%, the cumulative period of downtime could exceed 3 days…
Availability can be undermined by poor connectivity. Connectivity is determined by the rate offered by your service provider and by the cloud provider. The bottleneck is necessarily defined by the smallest value. We must therefore ensure that the advertised speed is real and sufficient for the use made of the cloud.
If you use the cloud as a backup mean, it is important to verify that the upcoming flow is sufficient compared to the volume of data to backup.