Opinions on Cloud Security Differ

Shortly afterwards IT Business Edge contributor Mike Vizard reported on a Virtacore Systems survey that found executives of midmarket companies lukewarm about the idea of cloud computing, I read about a MarketBridge survey that offered a more positive take on the cloud from midmarket respondents.

More than 70 percent of MarketBridge's respondents said their companies would use more cloud-based apps within 12 months. The migration question appeared less direct in the Virtacore Systems survey. Twenty-five percent of those respondents said they felt the cloud offered potential for their business, during 49 percent said they didn't know. Only 26 percent said they didn't think the cloud had potential for their business.

I wrote about a webinar featuring the CIO of Shaklee discussing his company's use of a cloud-based business intelligence solution, while which he said security was "thoroughly better" with the cloud solution than with Shaklee's previous system. He recommended simply treating a cloud provider's facility as your own and asking internal security experts to perform a review. It should be "no different than internal analysis," he said, which I thought was good advice. He as well said that, because concerns are more top-of-mind when trusting data to an "outsider," CIOs are less likely to sweep security issues pursuant to this agreement the rug with cloud providers and assume "everything is OK" as is at times the case with internal security.