The hype surrounding Cloud technology coupled with the lack of knowledge amongst SMEs of what it is, could hamper the adoption of a technology that could offer genuine benefits to small and medium-sized businesses.
A panel of business IT experts gathered at a round table event held at our offices to warn business leaders not to ignore the opportunities that Cloud presents. Those who do will lose their competitive edge and be quickly overtaken by their more progressive peers, they said.
Concerns around the security of the internet-based technology are preventing many firms from considering a move to the Cloud . But lessons on the different security profiles of various Cloud platforms could calm their fears. Cloud technology is easily accessible to businesses of all sizes, the panel said. And the benefits it offers – including increased efficiencies, competitiveness and reduced IT costs – should provide enough of an incentive to overcome any worries they have.
Companies in every industry can reap the benefits of an internet-based IT infrastructure that allows them to extend their reach in the market and play for business prospects that were once beyond them.
Simon Howitt, channel business unit director at Outsourcery said the cost savings and the opportunity to extend market reach should be an “obvious sweet spot” for SMEs. He said:
“It’s very difficult to see why or how any business would not benefit from a Cloud strategy. How quickly they deploy it and what type of applications they use it for are other questions but thinking of the broadest use of the Cloud as a delivery mechanism, I struggle to see how it can’t have an appeal to every business.”
Howitt continued:
“ Business people don’t wake up in the morning thinking they have to get into the Cloud , they wake up with other business issues that need a solution and the Cloud becomes a means to deliver that solution easily. ”
Commenting on research carried out by The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) that showed a high rate of adoption of Cloud technology amongst UK organisations, Andy Burton, the CIF’s chairman said:
“It is as open to a single person or one-man-band firm as it is to an enterprise or government. The barrier to entry is so low because users pay for what they require for as long as they require to use it. ”
According to figures from the CIF, 48 per cent of UK organisations have tried a Cloud service in some form. Of those, 94 percent have already achieved satisfaction and 85 percent plan to invest more this year. Only six percent of the 450 firms asked said they won’t adopt Cloud over the next three years. Burton suggested the business community’s attitudes towards the technology are changing from hype and early adoption to pragmatic expansion. But he admitted that concerns around data security, privacy and sovereignty are slowing down the pace of adoption. He said:
“Customers want to be confident that their data isn’t going to be misused by the people they’re placing it with and they want to know where their data will physically reside and under what jurisdiction because there is more of an emotional concern about it going offshore at the moment. ”
Ian Moyse, IT security expert and EMEA Channel Director at Webroot commented on the opportunities Cloud creates for businesses:
“It flattens the availability to businesses because they can access applications that they couldn’t before because to use a particular vendor app you might have required four servers and database storage and the implementation was too expensive. Now they can get a five user pack of that application that previously only an organisation of 500 users and above could afford. ”
Neil Lathwood, UKFast’s IT director agreed that firms should consider how they can use Cloud technology but they should invest time in finding out what type of Cloud is most suitable to their business needs. He said:
“For some organisations a public Cloud with some elements of shared resource is fine. For others, only a private Cloud with wholly dedicated resources is appropriate for their requirements. In any case, business owners need to research the marketplace thoroughly. Don’t be fooled by slick websites of firms you don’t know or trust. The incredible popularity of Cloud technology means there will be cowboys taking advantage of businesses that don’t know everything about this kind of technology so it’s wise to adopt some caution.”
Lathwood added:
“There have been stories dominating the press recently, including that of Sony’s leaked client data, that have suggested the use of Cloud technology has contributed to the security blunder. In fact, in many of those cases, it wouldn’t make a difference if it was a Cloud service provider or an on-premise system. Issues arise in organisations without the right security processes not just in those with a Cloud -based infrastructure.”
He added:
“Typically security incidents occur either because someone is gaining access to credentials illegitimately that allow them to get into a system in the first place or because they hack through inadequate security on the perimeter. Outsiders might also intercept traffic in transit because it’s not going through secure pipes. These issues exist whether you run your own data centre or you’re in the Cloud . The thing that is fundamentally different about the Cloud , however, is that it is run across the internet so arguably that presents other points of vulnerability. The level of security in the Cloud depends on the type of Cloud you choose. With a private, dedicated Cloud you can lock it down securely and be confident that your data is safe. With anything else there are question marks around the definite security of data. In a public Cloud or a hybrid Cloud where more data is aggregated and there are multi-tenancy issues, there are different levels of risk. ”
Overall the experts agreed that a Code of Practice would aid swifter adoption of Cloud , promoting trust in legitimate vendors and suppliers. Andrew Corbett of the UK IT Association said:
“Businesses want to see an easily recognisable badge that shows a supplier or vendor has met the demands of an independent external testing and verification process. The business owner doesn’t have to know the ins and outs of what it all means, they just want to know that they should look for ‘level A’ for example. ”
The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) was set up in 2009 to promote trust in reputable Cloud service providers. Burton suggested that guidance from an industry body is helpful but reminded decision makers that they maintain responsibility even for outsourced projects. He said:
“There is this natural human behaviour that says when you put something out to a service you delegate responsibility subconsciously. You don’t do your due diligence and you don’t ask for validation on certain things. We need to educate the marketplace so customers know when they take on any service, they still have a responsibility to prescribe exactly what they require and take steps to monitor the service they are receiving. ”
Moyse concluded:
“There is also an element of self policing that vendors have to do. If you are a Cloud vendor and you get it wrong, everybody knows about it pretty quickly. If it happens to one customer, people on the same service will be asking questions. With most Cloud services it’s pretty easy to move, so get it wrong and you can lose thousands of customers overnight. ”
