Securing Data with Cloud Technology

All types of business models can find benefits from cloud computing infrastructure. As for example cost and flexibility from small business viewpoint whereas total IT problems can be solved for large companies. It will add advantages for companies, their employees, consumers, distributor where the overall business solution can be provided.

There are several advantages of using Cloud Computing, for example: “To begin, businesses can have lower cost computers for users.” Alijabre explains that cloud computing can be very beneficial for the businesses. Moreover, businesses will bring great amount of profit into their company, and it will be easy to use it. Alijabres goes on to provide several examples why cloud computing is better. One of of the most important reason why companies are moving towards cloud computing is the lower cost of the system. “To begin, businesses can have lower cost computers for users.” He explains that small business will not need computers that are high performance based. Business can get less expensive computers and store all of their data online instantly, without having them to worry about the space in a

Cloud computing offers many advantages to both end users and businesses of all sizes. The advantages of cloud

Despite the disadvantages of cloud computing, our organization can see an improvement in productivity due to the decreased processing time for data, and reduce costs by eliminating the need for maintenance.

Cloud computing has set a trend in the information technology arena that has sparked the interest of all who utilize the internet on purpose and unsuspectingly. Initially, the primary purpose of cloud computing was to provide a centralized data bank that organizations could use for quick data access. Its use has been quickly adapted, however, beyond business use to become the first option for personal use. The advantages and disadvantages of implementing such a shift from business to personal are varied, yet, statistically, according to the CISCO Global Cloud Index: Forecast and Methodology, 2014-2019 White Paper, its public use is on the rise. The report notes that “by 2019, 56 percent of the cloud workloads will be in public cloud data centers, up from 30 percent in 2014 and by 2019, 44 percent of the cloud workloads will be in private cloud data centers, down from 70 percent in 2014”. Though disadvantages with regard to data security is prominent, users have deemed that its implementation will still promote greater benefits than loss.

According to Lawrence Shawa, "a number of organizations I have spoken to have expressed concern about how secure their data is that is hosted in the cloud. There is sense of control that is taken from them making the organizations feel vulnerable" (Collection 2:1) Companies naturally feel a strong sense of obligation to protect their customers. Additionally, they may lose business if they have a reputation for compromising customer security.

Technology continues to influence the direction taken by business entities in an apparent attempt to gain competitive advantage over the rest of its direct competitors. One of the innovations that best embodies the desire to gain an advantage over direct competitors is through the use of cloud computing to improve efficiency and effectiveness in customer satisfaction. Cloud computing essentially involves using a network stemming from remote servers on the internet to process and disseminate data. Cloud computing uses remote network servers instead of a personal computer or a local server and it use also includes managing and storing data for a variety of purposes that a business chooses to engage in at its pleasure (Armbrust 55). Although

Cloud computing is a new technology. However like all technology it comes with both benefits and drawbacks. Cloud computing can be seen as a beneficial tool for businesses for several reasons. To begin, cloud computing provides convenience to users because of its low cost and minimum equipment requirement. Another benefit is that Cloud computing provides an almost unlimited number of possibilities for users to use a variety applications over the Internet. The applications of cloud computing are practically limitless. Multiple users can collaborate on any document or project in the cloud and enjoy the fact that cloud computing allows you to customize your business applications.

When deciding which information, the company wants to move to cloud, the division of responsibilities needs to be clear between providers and customers, and an analysis of their security roles depending on the type of service offered (Software, Platform, or Infrastructure) (Gonzalez, et al, 2012). Prior to the start of the service contract, the security roles and responsibilities for everything needs to be clearly acknowledged. The management, cost, and security of clouds depend on whether an organization chooses to buy and operate its own cloud or to obtain cloud services from a third party (Grossman, 2009). Each of these choices has its own security and privacy issues. Some security concerns are lessened when a private cloud is used. Only your own information is stored there and the benefits of security might outweigh the costs. Two of the disadvantages of using a private cloud is the level of knowledge needed to support the cloud and the frequency of maintenance. On the other

According to (Whitman and Mattord, 2012), information Security is the protection of the lifeblood of the organization — its information. Specifically it is the protection of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of that information and the systems that store, process and transmit it, (Whitman and Mattord, 2012). Information Security is at the forefront of organizational concern with cloud computing. A major organizational concern is will the cloud service provider be able to secure and protect its data. Although this concern is imminent, many organizations have made the decision to move data storage and services to the cloud. The concern is primarily due to cost benefits such as overhead costs of maintaining software and hardware on-site.

In 2008, Cloud computing was being touted as the next big thing in computing (Bajarin, 2008); just 6 years later in 2014, a Eurostat news release claimed that Cloud computing services are used by one out of every five enterprises in the European Union (Bourgeais, 2014), which indicates a subtle but not overwhelming rate of adoption. According to a study by the Cloud Industry Forum, 82% of business owners’ main concern they have when making a decision to migrate to cloud-based services is data security; with 69% also stating that data privacy is another concern of theirs (Cloud Industry Forum, 2013). The aforementioned statistics straightaway show where the concerns lie when it comes to users migrating over to the cloud,

Another advantage of cloud computing is that it offers flexibility for the staff of the business. Staff members have the ability to work from any location that they have an internet connection. It eliminates the need to have a virtual private network to access the files with a computer; all

However, with the convenience of cloud storage come real risks. Cloud storage is quite attractive, given the advantages previously stated, but there are still great concerns, including reliability and security. Organizations relying on cloud computing must ensure that the third party they’ve entrusted to store their data can guarantee that they can access their information at any time and that their information is safe from the threat of hackers (Berman, 2008, p. ).

Long-term viability is a major security concern for the firms because when companies store their confidential data which require a lot of security, they need to have guarantee of how safe their data is going to be kept in a long term scale and not to be lost within a short period. The cloud computing provider must guarantee its customers that even if the original provider is taken over by another firm or if any natural disasters occur, the data stored by companies and the agreements made with the original provider has to be available at all times in case of changes occurring, such as if certain issues as mentioned above take place. Users are concerned if such an incident occurs, will they be able to retain their data back, and should they handle their documents manually at the premises instead of using the developed technological advancements.

This project is going to discuss about the Cloud Computing and its application in business. To briefly describe what cloud