Despite increasing adoption in cloud computing, many companies are still hesitant about making the leap to the cloud due to concerns about security. In fact, a recent cloud computing survey revealed that security and compliance are the top inhibitors for cloud adoption.
But when you take a look at some of the statistics around security and compliance, it’s hard not to blame them:
- 69% of cloud providers do not feel that security is their responsibility
- The cost of non-compliance is 2.65 times higher than the cost of compliance
- More than 22.9 million records were exposed in 2011 due to external hacking (ITRC)
- 80% of unplanned outages are due to ill-planned changes made by operations staff or developers
These type of numbers make it all the more understandable why many companies are still under the perception that clouds are not secure enough for demanding e-business applications, especially ones handling sensitive client data.
However, as the last stat above reveals, much of the risk comes from a lack of expertise or dedicated resources to fully commit to knowing the ins and outs of not just cloud computing, but security and compliance as well.
Looking to fill that gap, we recently launched a next-generation suite of secure eBusiness Cloud Services, so that companies no longer have to worry about compliance and security in the cloud. We’ve seen too many companies risk noncompliance as a result of lacking standard security best practices and tools to manage their cloud environment. On the other hand, there are also companies spending unnecessary amounts of time, money, and resources to manage compliance when they should be focusing that attention towards innovation and growing their business.
Different companies have different needs, which is why we realize the importance of flexibility as well. Whether a customer needs just one server with iron-clad security or a robust and scalable enterprise wide system, our eBusiness Cloud Services are designed to provide a solid foundation of protection for a wide range of use cases. By using standard builds, we find it helps minimize risk of unintentional errors or noncompliance. Of course, spending time to understand various vertical markets, and making sure we understand the unique industry challenges and regulations (such as PCI and HIPAA) also play an important role in accomplishing that as well.
Compliance is a daunting task in itself. And when you add cloud computing to the equation, it can get even more complicated, time-consuming, and in turn, expensive. If you’d like to learn more about what options exist to secure a cloud and how you can ensure compliance in the simplest, most cost-effective way possible, check out our latest white paper: “Riders on the Storm: How to Reduce Risk and Ensure Compliance in the Cloud.”
Image Credit: FutUndBeidl
About the Author: As Vice President of Product Management at Layered Tech, Kevin Van Mondfrans (@VANMONDFRANS | +Kevin Van Mondfrans) is responsible for driving the Layered Tech portfolio of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and managed service offerings. With more than 20 years of experience product development and marketing, Kevin has been delivering innovative computing, storage, cloud and service offering with companies such as HP, Dell, and Savvis.
Customers are often faced with choosing between greater business agility or highly secure and compliant-ready environments. We do not think this is a fair trade-off. No customer should be forced to forgo the full promise of cloud to achieve running in a secure and compliant environment. Nor should a client need to sort through piles of log data to keep themselves compliant when outsourcing to a cloud service provider. We are addressing this very quandary.
