Balancing the Risk and Reward of Cloud Computing [Video]

Moving infrastructure and applications to the cloud enables a whole new level of connectedness for your organization and its customers.

Its accessibility and on-demand scalability make it an ideal platform for many evolving businesses. But, because it changes much of what we know about the traditional IT environment, there are some very real risks involved—even if hosting with a major service provider.

Balancing the Risk and Reward of Cloud

To mitigate these risks, companies considering a move to the cloud should work with a third party advisor, particularly if the move impacts the security of sensitive data such as payment card information (PCI data), protected health information (PHI data) or personally identifiable information (PII data). Engaging an expert in cloud infrastructure security and compliance will ensure that any weaknesses or gaps in your plan are surfaced well before they become actual vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

Further, a major shift in your infrastructure strategy is also an ideal juncture to step back and reexamine your broader policies and procedures such as your information security plan and your incident response plan. Taking a close look at your security and compliance strategies will make for a safe and efficient transition.

One of the big misconceptions in the cloud computing arena is that deploying with a top Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider means you’re automatically covered when it comes to security and compliance. While it’s true that the major public cloud providers continue to grow the range of their security tools and compliance controls, you still have to ensure they’re properly applied—and supplemented as necessary—to address your specific business conditions and your proprietary data.

Learn more about managing the risks of moving to the cloud in this video: