Establishing a strong infrastructure for cloud computing services
Friday, October 28, 2011 4:37:28 PM
Software-as-a-Service has been the most popular portion of cloud computing thus far, as many businesses have found cloud-based emails systems to be especially helpful in improving flexibility for employees and reducing costs. In fact, a recent eWeek article explained that Gartner projects the cloud to represent more than half of all enterprise email seats by 2020, and about 10 percent within the next two years.
However, Infrastructure-as-a-Service has been an increasingly popular facet of cloud computing, especially because of the cost savings it offers. Silicon Republic recently explained the ways in which businesses can prepare their own infrastructure for a switch to IaaS, in addition to championing the overall benefits a switch to IaaS and SaaS can provide to businesses immediately.
The report focused on Irish organizations, and cited a recent study of 212 Irish businesses that revealed more than 80 percent were concerned about the security of cloud computing services. Still, the source notes that more than half of the same respondents said that cloud computing is a major priority in their IT strategies, and 45 percent felt that an adoption would give them an advantage over competitors.
"From a technical perspective, the flexibility and scalability are persuasive arguments, while from a financial perspective, keeping everything under a capex umbrella is just as persuasive," Andrew Maybin of a Belfast and Dublin-based firm explained to the source. "And, from a green perspective - because the infrastructure resides in an efficient data center - that means a lower carbon footprint."
Silicon Republic stresses the importance of establishing and maintaining strong and stringent service level agreements with the cloud vendor.
"Firms can sometimes underestimate the work that is required," Guido Marchetti of a cloud provider told the news provider. "When looking to work with third-party providers, you must investigate the implications of, for example, moving an exchange server into the cloud and some of the knock-on implications. For example, will your local printers continue to work with these applications after you move to the cloud?"
The Cloud Security Alliance, a non-profit group comprised of high-ranking cloud executives, developed a Security, Trust and Assurance Register to improve the security policies of providers and standardize industry practices. Additionally, STAR will act as a comprehensive guide for prospective consumers to use when shopping for a provider.
Further, Silicon Republic explains that IT departments will be tasked with establishing a strong infrastructure to facilitate the adoption of third-party provided services.
-McAfee Cloud Security
