Some considerations about the CSA Survey.

Cloud Computing is one of the top trends for IT and it’s expected to grow in the upcoming years. However, cloud solutions stil meets a large number of security concerns, particularly data security concerns. And even if we are perfectly aware that a good use of cloud respects the safety of systems and data, the reason of this certainty are not so easy to explain when you are “face-to-face” with a worried businessman with legal responsibilty towards his own clients.

It’s not a coincidence that according to the survey report “How cloud is being used in the financial sector” (CSA – Cloud Security Alliance, March 2015) , financial services firms appears to be the most apprehensive about adopting cloud computing. Here follows a list of major concerns:

• confidentiality of data (60% of respondents)
• loss of control of data (55 % of respondents)
• data breaches (55% of respondents)
• data loss ( 42% of respondents)

In spite of these worries, Jim Reavis, CEO of the CSA, told SCMagazine.com that cloud computing has become a requirement for doing business in the financial sector, and that it has shown to be superior to other solutions in certain instances, fo example in “replacing the extranet with cloud to collaborate with business partners, such as with mortgage lending, where banks, mortgage brokers, appraisers and real estate agents all work with the same documents”.

As experts of cloud computing projects, we have seen all the concrete advantages that cloud solutions can bring to mid-sized companies who are often faced with the complexity of large companies but do not have as many internal resources to manage them. Outsourcing of IT services in the cloud means:

• Release from complexity of infrastructure and application management;
• Get all the benefits of next-generation solutions without heavy investment in infrastructure;
• The tranquility of having certain costs and maintenance service of excellence.

Any single case is different from another, but there are few “evergreen” tips that a firm should take when considering the opportunities of cloud:

• find the right partner: you are not just outsourcing IT services, you are looking for somebody to take care of your systems and data. Choose well.

• Security and efficiency must be two faces of the same medal; “secure” doesn’t have to mean “complicated” or “slow”.

• Consider also the adoption of virtual platforms. Virtual security appliances are agile, powerful, and can be deployed anywhere in your infrastructure.

• Create a security policy for your employees and your network: the safety of systems belongs to people in the first place,. Continuously update your security policies, both your users and the IT infrastructure.

If you’d like to explore all the opportunities that cloud computing could bring to your business, contact us: Unlocked ITNovation delivers cloud services within defined projects, which go beyond the pure concept of the repository cloud services.