Simply put, cloud computing is computing based on the Internet. Where in the past people would run applications or programs from software downloaded on a physical computer or server in their building, cloud computing allows people access to the same kinds of applications through the Internet.
A recent survey conducted by SAP, market leader in enterprise application software, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, revealed that data security is among the top three concerns for those considering operating in the cloud. But no one can contest that the cloud is here to stay. By 2015, SAP Cloud aims to be a €2 billion annualised business that connects over two million companies and automates over $1 trillion in inter-enterprise commerce globally.
Despite many myths that pervade around the topic of cloud security, as well as cloud’s relevance for Africa, security in the cloud is improving rapidly, quite a feat if one considers the growing number of mobile devices that are entering the business environment.
The same cloud platform which helps companies secure unparalleled business rewards at a fraction of the price of traditional IT naturally comes with some risk. Globally, organisations which are security savvy have realised that external threats are only part of the overall picture. On numerous occasions security breaches have been caused by a mistake on the part of an employee. In this context, education is critical and the first point of protection for any corporate. Maintaining appropriate network access controls is clearly important too.
SAP acknowledges that threats are more targeted, sophisticated and destructive now more than ever before. Amongst other things, there is a growing focus on cyber-espionage and phishing techniques.
Across the globe CIOs, CSOs and even IT managers face the same problem of not knowing the exact location of the data (company and customer information, and records) in the cloud. This is because virtualisation technology creates multiple copies of the data and in many cases the data can reside on partner and third-party servers.
It is obviously of paramount importance to handle data with utmost discretion and deliver services that allow business critical processes to run securely. Of primary importance has always been the protection of customers against unauthorised data access and misuse, as well as confidential data disclosure.
But to make cloud computing safe and viable, organisations must address a broad array of issues; in addition to employee education, information needs to be classified and tracked more effectively, computing environments need to be more scalable and extensible, and cooperation across enterprises must improve.
Understanding the enormous possibilities that cloud can offer requires an in-depth appreciation of business processes as well as IT systems, connection points, and processes. This will help the IT department track the flow of relevant data, and thus be able to deploy the right combination of tools and strategies so as to be able to provide maximum protection.
An effective strategy requires more than simply identifying and classifying data into tiers. It is essential for the IT department to understand the value of specific data sets and the potential cost of a data breach. Vulnerabilities in the business can affect everything from brand image to sales, share price, to employee morale.
With cloud computing the perception of Internet security has changed at the fundamental level. And, at SAP we realised that trust is the #1 asset and brand value in cloud computing. Data security and data privacy is part of the DNA at SAP – and to earn customer’s trust is our objective.
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