Many SMBs fear that once they upload their company data to the cloud, anyone can access it and do what they like with it. While it is a legitimate fear by working with a good quality cloud specialist, security and loss of control doesn’t need to be a concern.
One of the most common issues about control comes with the thought of handing over your data for someone else to manage. Yet this is what most companies do every day already. They hand over their data to the IT department to manage.
It may be within the building, but it is still the responsibility of someone else to manage it. Many businesses treat departments as different organisations, so using an external vendor is not so different.
There is more than one cloud
The second point around control is that it’s not always public, there are three main types of cloud solution, public, private and hybrid.
The public cloud is a one size fits all solution sold by the majority of vendors. Your resources use shared servers in data centres and offer a turnkey cloud solution. They are safe and secure using as much security as it’s possible to use.
A private cloud provides the hardware and physical resources and leaves the configuration to you. You can add your own encryption, security measures and configure it how you need to. This is more secure but also more expensive.
Hybrid cloud is a mixture of both public and private and allows you to take the best of both worlds to create a solution that suits you.
Transparent control
A good cloud services provider will address all the concerns you have with regards control and your data. Quality vendors will deliver complete transparency in order to alleviate your fears. They will tell or even show you where your data is stored, how it is protected, how it is backed up, what disaster recovery options there are and how everything is encrypted, secured and audited.
Encryption is standard across the majority of cloud providers. You get the only copy of the encryption key, so not even the provider can read your data.
Essentially, if you work with a quality cloud vendor, trusting your data to them is no different than trusting your own IT department. They both offer the physical infrastructure, security, secure storage and support you need to remain productive. They are just located in different places.
The idea of losing control when moving to the cloud is a myth. Don’t let it stop you from using cloud solutions to benefit your business.
There are hundreds of ways your organisation can benefit from cloud computing. Contact Excalibur to learn how.
