Cloud Computing Reconsidered

Posted for Sean Kelly

This is the most accurate and fair article that I have read recently that really objectively looks at Cloud Computing.  It acknowledges it as a great platform with a lot of potential, but it also wisely warns about the risks taking with this architecture.  These providers will have you believe they have been doing this for 40+ years.  This article really says it best and outlines the same concerns I have in evaluating risk vs. rewards in moving to cloud platforms.  Basically, I feel it is too soon to get on the cloud bandwagon.

How many of you, costs aside, would honestly be willing to host your business applications and services in a cloud environment today?    Do you also like to sky-dive and bungee-jump?

Comments

[Thaddeus White]

Although I have bungee-jumped, have not attempted a sky-dive, but if it were my business, I would definitely view cloud computing as an act containing more risk than the above mentioned activities. I would not attempt this solution unless I would have a security plan in place which has been tested thoroughly with near zero tolerance of penetration. Social engineering will always foil the perfect system. I may be a little more paranoid than the rest, but if prosecution of cyber crimes had more dire consequences, more individuals would think twice about attempting to attack a cloud infrastructure. I am still weary of online banking and PayPal, but I love the solutions. With any new advancement or development in the internet space will come with the added responsibility of security.

[Jarmila Alanez]

I do agree that the Cloud is a very dangerous space to place your businesses into. I won't do it either, unless there is a better security assessment for its utilization. I would not surprise me that there would be, sooner a solution for this security breach, and then we will be able to actually take advantage of this new concept in computing.

[Boodarkad, Pongsak]

For me, I think sooner or later, we all need to get into the cloud of computing. And there will always be more advantages than disadvantages. Think about it, the technology will help us to get connected. Now we do not need to do outsources because everything can be shared online. On the contrary, we must pay attention to the security system, it is really important, and many questions are bouncing in my head, who is going to own the data?, or
can the one who own the data sell it?. This is going to be a huge issue in the near future.

[Haidar AlMubarak]

In my opinion putting a service or a business application on the cloud depends on the level of criticality and confidentiality of that system to the business; and also if the application needs a lot of customization I don't think it is a good idea to put it in the cloud, it could cost more having it in premises and hiring specialized people to do the customization. Cloud computing is a promising technology but it will not dominate the whole IT market at least in the near future.

[Sivakumar Manickavasagam]

To answer your question, yes i would definitely consider hosting my business in the cloud. The reason is, i don't have to set up an IT department, manage IT resources etc.I just have to pay based on the usage. If my company grows, i don't have to worry about scalability and performance etc. Cloud will take care of it for me.
Let's take Security breach. In early 2000, many people not willing to buy online because they are not comfortable giving their credit card information. But now, millions of online transactions everyday. Same happens for cloud computing too. It will be inevitable in the future. Already there are 1000's of companies using a shared service, which means external vendor maintains your server data, the same server hosts multiple applications for multiple clients.
There are many companies use vendor provided HR solution. So already companies data, servers etc are managed by external vendors which is some where in the cloud only.

It just matter of time.

[Kim G.]

Just a few weeks ago, I would have likened the adoption of cloud computing to sky diving or bungee jumping. Nevertheless, I recently had a conversation with one of my vendors about recent advancements in this area and I am starting to open up to it a little more. I too have concerns around security but if they are going to survive, they will have to address this. You just cannot beat the service provider's ability to quickly accommodate needs for both storage space and a variety of software tools that are very expensive to maintain on the local network and that can be cost prohibitive if you have to purchase and implement them in the local environment. I work with litigation attorneys and in this day of electronic discovery the demands for tons of storage space to accommodate the incredible volume of electronic documents that need to be managed is quite daunting. I will be keeping my eye on this for at least some aspects of our application and infrastructure support. I do not believe it will totally alleviate the need for internal IT experts. It will just allow those internal IT experts to focus their attention on other business needs.

[Janice Hill]

The possibilities presented by SaaS and cloud computing interest me but so do the risks. The ability to pick services a la carte from vendors frees the business from being chained to corporate IT and puts the business in the driver’s seat when it comes to solutions. On the other hand, many of the issues outlined in the linked article may flare up; how does the business guarantee service levels and privacy for users. I believe some of these issues can be mitigated by addressing them when migrating to public, private or hybrid cloud-based models.

[Veerapatr K.]

I have never used sky-dive and bungee-jump before. After I read all comments, if I run a small business, I would honestly be willing to host my business applications and services in a cloud environment because I don't have to hire an IT guy, manage IT resources, etc. Only one concern is the security among them. I believe the sooner will have better security. Moreover, I think everyone might get involved with cloud computing before, you might not know it because today cloud computing is everywhere.

[Gosia]

I did sky-dive and bungee-jump but as I get older I realized no matter how much fun that was I would never do it again. I see your metaphor here: the risk is just so much greater than the excitement and pleasure.

I agree that similar would apply to cloud computing and that we are not ready to do that move. In my opinion many mangers considering moving to the cloud for their companies do not fully realize the risks that will come along with it. They see great benefits, such as cost of hosting applications. But along with that comes the risk of loosing the data, difficulty identifying and troubleshooting the problems, lock of laws. All that might eventually cost the company much more troubles and money.

[Sally Loies]

The use of Cloud Computing by businesses may depend on the type of the business and the confidentially of the information for that business. Additionally, it may also depend on polices, procedures and security solutions that a Cloud Computing vendor has or will establish.

Gartner, who is a leading information technology research and advisory company, has published articles that recommend specific areas of concern when considering Cloud Computing vendors. Some of the concerns included are data location, recovery, data segregation, privileged user access and long term viability of the vendor. Interestingly, these concerns are not unique to Cloud Computing, as these concerns are the same concerns that companies have when they are considering the use of Data Center Providers or Collocation Centers - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation_center.

Any time companies share resources, security is always on the largest concerns. Based on what I have read and heard, it sounds like Cloud Computing technology has a long way to go before larger businesses would consider it a viable option, but given past history of other types of shared resources, it will only be a matter of time before the security concerns are addressed and more businesses start looking at Cloud Computing as a viable option.

[Lana Henderson]

I agree this is a great article and a must-read for organizations considering migrating content to the cloud. I think some of the issues can be mitigated by going with well-trusted companies like Google, MS, and ZOHO. That said, having contingencies is always recommended one should not depend on one source. There are stories of data being exposed to the public so the kinks are still being worked out. There will always be enterprising individuals that will try and get to the information, but how many of us do online banking? Security is doable, but maybe not free. For collaboration this is a bonus.