Cloud security offers some real advantages over traditional storage.

By Sarah Lynn, Partner, Advisory 

With a new data breach in the news seemingly every week, some business leaders may be tempted to think, “I can protect my castle, my PC, or my server better than AWS, Salesforce, Azure, Rackspace, or anyone else can do it.” But it isn’t that simple. Few CIOs actively monitor every server in their data closets or make sure that everything in their stacks is running the latest version of every piece of software. This is where looking at a cloud-based can make a huge difference when it comes to data security and accessibility.

One of the biggest advantages of cloud-based storage environments is that they keep a close eye on every detail of their servers, including ensuring that software is up to date. Cloud platforms are audited, monitored, and required to continuously update releases and patches to address vulnerabilities and exploits. Businesses, by comparison, often neglect to buy security options and features such as notifications of releases, patches or exploits or when configurations on the client-side mean they must patch something. Cloud-based platforms eliminate this risk.

The Evolution of Data Security

It’s important to remember that “the cloud” is a physical space. There is a popular concept that everything is up there in the ether, like it’s gone to data heaven. But it really is somewhere; if you put data in the cloud (like AWS or Azure), it’s living on servers. They might be virtual servers, maybe somewhere in some labyrinthian data center in Dallas or Oregon or Amsterdam or somewhere else, but the data is physically stored there. The data also typically has its twin in another place in the world for backup, disaster recovery and continuity — another benefit over keeping data purely on-site. The whole point of these data centers is to protect the information they’re holding on to, and a lot of the security protocols they use aren’t ones you’d run on your own home network or your small business network — or even your enterprise network.

It used to be that when you went to the IT rooms of a big business, there were servers and data centers everywhere. When you store your data on the cloud instead of on-premises, that all changes. If someone breaks into one of these rooms now, all they might get is an office mini-fridge and a coffee maker because the servers are all offsite. There might be a firewall router in the data closet, but there is no way to steal any data because it’s not there.

Find Safety in the Cloud

With all this security, it’s no surprise why so many companies have moved from storing data on-site to keeping it in the cloud. You never have to worry about updating server software or installing the latest security patch because the cloud service provider is already taking care of it. Cloud data services protect your data with the advanced protections and protocols used by large data centers, and even if something goes wrong you have the safety net provided by storing physical copies of your data existing in more than one location.

Whether your organization is ready to embrace the added security available in the cloud, or you just want to explore what data storage solutions will serve your business best, we are here to help. Contact Sarah Lynn, Partner and Head of our IT Security Advisory Services, to see just what BPM can do for you.