Partner Article

Cloud computing: Should you make the move?

The cloud is here. And while many companies are taking the plunge, the question remains, is it worth it?

While it may seem like a good idea at first, depending on certain factors it’s very possible that you could end up paying a lot more than you originally thought you might. Some software should generally be kept in-house, and there could well be possible legal issues arising from using cloud systems, such as data protection violation and software licenses, among others. In addition, such systems may not be completely reliable 100% of the time.

Let’s have a look at what you need to consider before heading to the cloud.

Are there cost benefits?

Obviously, one of the first things that should be considered is whether or not it’s going to be cost effective for your company to start using the cloud. Cloud hosting providers offer various payment plans and depending how this is structured, as your company grows, you could end up paying a lot more than you had originally expected due to increased bandwidth or storage charges.

It’s also important to consider the systems you’ve already got in place. You will have invested money in existing software and storage systems, so if you’re planning on transferring to the cloud and removing some of your no longer needed software/hardware, it may be worth looking into the resale value of these assets or waiting for the depreciation of your existing equipment.

Could we experience any legal ramifications?

Every software license is different. Some do not cover a company to use their product off-site, meaning that technically, storing such a product in the cloud is a violation of your license. New systems often forbid ‘virtualization’ – where different applications are running on the same server, which makes cloud computing with this software against the terms. Violating these conditions could lead to legal ramifications for your organization.

If you’re serious about moving to the cloud, you’ll need to do some research into the licenses you use and whether you can legally use them in the cloud.

Is your software too complicated?

The type of software system you have in place plays a huge part in the decision about moving to the cloud. If you have simple software that doesn’t require frequent updates or system modifications, it may well be worth your while to use the cloud.

However, moving a complex system, such as one that requires constant updates or is very large, could have huge implementation costs, as well as require extra charges for maintenance or any other recurring updates that may be necessary.

Also, bear in mind that cloud technology is relatively new. In theory, it is going to come down in price over time as more and more companies offer cloud packages that will support more complicated systems. As such, if you are apprehensive about making the switch it makes good business sense to hold off for a year or two while you wait to see if the price comes down.

Where is your data being stored?

If you’re running a company, you need to think about where in the physical world your information is being stored. In certain cases, it is illegal for a company from one company to store information and data for a cloud company based out of a different country.

Live feeds could also be a problem – while you may currently offer live news feeds, if you were to move to a cloud company it’s more than possible that data providers from cloud companies wouldn’t let certain information like that be accessed.

Is it secure?

With any business management software, there are always security risks. However, companies that pride themselves on offering storage for other companies often take many more security precautions than you may be taking within your company. They install the newest defense mechanisms, virus scanners, firewalls and much more, and have staff that is hired simply to help with security.

It also allows you to keep more of a track on your own employees – while none of us like to think of our staff being untrustworthy, we’ve all had that moment when a staff member has accidentally installed a virus, downloaded something they shouldn’t have done, or even intentionally removed material. Cloud storage does make this a lot easier to monitor.

However, that’s not to say that cloud storage is infallible. If you’re going to trust a company with your sensitive data, you need to be sure that they’re going to be looking after it. Whether a hacker is trying to hack into the cloud or attack your systems as you’re moving your files to the cloud, the provider needs to be able to deal with it. Make sure you talk to the provider about everything that could possibly be a security risk, and ensure that you’re completely happy with their answers about all possible security risks.

You could also be slightly sneaky, and try to do some online breaking and entering. You can hire companies to try to break into potential company’s systems, to see how the companies hold up to an attack on their security systems. This will give you a true picture of just how secure the potential cloud storage company you’d like to use is.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Caper .