Cloud – Is it secure? - Blog

Cloud – Is it secure?

Zeus Taller | December 8, 2015 at 3:48 pm

It’s the all familiar question in mind when “Cloud” appears in a sentence. The IT industry keeps growing, even continues to be an all-around source for solutions. Despite this, we still find concerns and issues about cloud.

All right, let’s put an end to this: Is cloud personal-files ready?

A market research done by Gartner, as of 2015, 7% of personal data was stored in Dropbox, a cloud storage provider. Not surprisingly, that number climbed to 36% by 2016. This means, more and more businesses trust cloud for personal information.

Box, a cloud storage service for small businesses is on another side of the story. Twenty-five percent (25%) of their users highlights “Security concerns” on a survey. Regardless of the scale and maturity of the service, security is the issue the users are seeking after.

Truly, firms are very keen on the storage service they invest into. Having sensitive files that can be accessed through the net means open doors for security threats. Nonetheless, “the richer the pot of data, the more cloud service providers need to do to protect it,” says IDC research analyst David Bradshaw.

Threats are getting stronger, so are security measures by even two-folds

Cloud solutions are ever-adaptive, thanks to the nature of progressive technology. These adaptation aspect enables the cloud to determine which next security step to make. Further, this provides the leverage to predict which security concern will next surface.

The threats for sensitive files (i.e., hacking, stealing, among others) are turning into opportunities by any means. As a matter of fact, based on Global security Services Market 2015-2019 report, cloud based applications lead the charge for growing demand of security.

Large companies, like Google, continue to invest a lot of resources in cloud technology. Those big enterprises recognize the reputation for security as the determinant for success. “Google practices a defense-in-depth security strategy, by architecting security into our people, process and technologies,” as the company spokesperson said. “Security is built into the DNA of our products,” he added.

IBM, SAP, EMC, and Cisco and other leading technology companies has created an “Open Cloud Manifesto,” which calls for consistent security and monitoring services in Cloud. Small companies are following suit.

Healthy dilemma is good, but having a trusted cloud backup system is better

At the end of the day, choose any backup system or lose the game. The strongest holding-back factor for people is not the security but the complacency mindset “disaster is afar, I am comfortable here.” The question is, will you be able to recover your documents whenever a local calamity strikes?

In line with this, Boston Computing Network has interesting set of figures:

6% of all PCs will suffer an episode of data loss in any given year. At a conservative estimate, data loss cost US businesses $11.8 billion in 1998. (The Cost Of Lost Data, David M. Smith)
30% of all businesses that have a major fire go out of business within a year. 70% fail within five years. (Home Office Computing Magazine)
31% of PC users have lost all of their files due to events beyond their control.
34% of companies fail to test their tape backups, and of those that do, 77% have found tape back-up failures.
60% of companies that lose their data will shut down within 6 months of the disaster.
93% of companies that lost their data center for 10 days or more due to a disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year of the disaster. 50% of businesses that found themselves without data management for this same time period filed for bankruptcy immediately. (National Archives & Records Administration in Washington)
Companies that aren’t able to resume operations within ten days (of a disaster hit) are not likely to survive. (Strategic Research Institute)
Every week 140,000 hard drives crash in the United States. (Mozy Online Backup)
Simple drive recovery can cost upwards of $7,500 and success is not guaranteed.

Have Cloud Backup than sorry

A single repository of sensitive files seems dangerous in reference to the statistics above. It is wise to invest in a good cloud service backup. Since disaster may come any minute now, it is a priority to start looking for one now. Business News Daily has factors for a good document management:

Ease of use
On-premise or cloud-hosted
File cabinet structure
Search capabilities
Scanning options
Editing abilities
Collaboration tools
Security measures
Integration options
Workflow abilities
Mobile access
Customer service
Cost

In conclusion, flawless security concerns will be out of the question when business survival is in the brink of disaster any moment now. The scrutiny over a backup system is good but that’s not how businesses go any further. What are you going to do with your documents? Do not wait and become the next victim of data disaster. Have an oversight and invest in a secure Cloud backup system now.

If you’re looking for a Document Management Application to back up your files, and a cost-efficient system to start with, try Enadoc. Request for a quotation now!