Too Good to be True?: The Truth about Cloud Data Security

“If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

This adage has often been a guiding principle for the overcautious. Those who are more enterprising, however, find guidance in the words of Albert Einstein, who is believed to have said that, “a ship is always safe at the shore, but that is not what it is built for.”

In the world of information technology, the shore is on-site applications, and the sea is cloud computing. Even with the much-touted benefits of cloud computing, many remain hesitant to make a transition from on-site applications to remote servers.

The economies of scale, reduced spending on infrastructure, increased accessibility, streamlined processes, and robust flexibility offered through the cloud can’t transcend the one issue that every IT administrator is most concerned about: security.

The fear of storing an organization's information on an off-site server can be more powerful than the benefits of doing so. As a result, IT administrators struggle to decide whether to leverage the opportunity of the cloud or keep their systems and software safely on-site.

Here are some facts that might help them make an informed decision:

• On-site and remote servers both come with security risks. No IT system is entirely risk-free, and the same risks present in traditional computing exist with cloud computing.
• Data privacy in the cloud is still an issue, but it also remains a legitimate concern in traditional computing systems.
• Cloud computing has introduced new threats. The very nature of the cloud exposes it to an increased number of people, which increases the number of potential threats.
• Cloud computing increases the risk that data can be lost, stolen, and damaged because the more data there is in a shared common space, the more opportunities there are for mistakes to be made.
• Data protection (or stewardship) in the cloud is ever-improving. As more organizations transition to cloud computing, more companies are investing time and resources into improving the way data is stored, managed, protected, and preserved accurately.

Cloud computing is still a relatively new tool for IT administrators. As it matures and grows in popularity, its security will no doubt improve. When it does, it is likely that the considerable benefits of migrating IT systems from the safety of on-site administration to the wide-open opportunities of the cloud will significantly outweigh the security concerns.

For now, only an organization’s IT administrator can say for sure what is best for the company. But one thing is certain: when companies including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft make the decision to leverage the power of the cloud, the security concerns can’t be that daunting.