Should companies fear the cloud?

A while ago, we published an article about the often problematic relationship between company security and cloud services.

In this article, we pointed to the cloud’s security issues. While many cloud providers take security very seriously, the fact remains that a third party still controls the company’s data. This third party is often required to have some government back doors built into its system. Also, the data of multiple companies is stored on one server, making it a very attractive target for hackers. The cloud has a centralized architecture, which means that many clients make use of one central server. When there is a power blackout, software problems, or simply too many clients making requests to that server, the server can go down. When that happens, companies are temporarily cut off from their own data.

While many cloud providers take security very seriously, the fact remains that a third party still controls the company’s data.

We argued that this made it understandable that many companies have serious doubts about trusting their data to a cloud provider. But at the same time, they feel compelled to use the cloud. The cloud offers them great flexibility and convenience. All their competitors are using it too. This puts companies in a serious dilemma.

This article elicited various critical responses. Weren’t we being overly negative about the cloud?

People pointed out that many cloud providers have security as their top priority. Specialized in secure data storage, they usually have a large knowledge base and lots of experience with the subject. Not all data has to be protected to the highest level of security. And cloud services can provide a higher level of security than most businesses themselves can. Not using the cloud isn’t necessarily the better option. Despite the security issues, a cloud service might still fit a company’s needs the best.

Did these people have a point? They did. But so did the original article! The essence is this: companies need to make an informed decision, based on their needs, whether to use cloud services or not.

In the article, we discuss some of the cloud’s security issues, but not with the intention of creating unnecessary fear. These issues are real. They are part of making an informed decision about cloud adoption.

The article pointed to a real problem with this kind of decision. Often, decisions concerning cloud adoption are not so informed at all. Many companies simply assume cloud services to be the only serious option for them. But often, that is not really the case.

The cloud is everywhere

For several types of cloud service, there are non-cloud alternatives available. And the number of these alternatives is increasing.

These decentralized alternatives do not rely on one single server. That eliminates the vulnerability of server downtime. They give companies the tools to store and control their own data in a very secure manner. So companies don’t have to worry about possible government back doors on a third party’s server. They also don’t have to worry anymore about being ‘by-catch’ for hackers looking for other companies using the same cloud server.

Some of these packages offer functionality many think only cloud services can provide. For instance, the package we are building gives companies the tools to remotely work on shared documents, just as they are used to with professional cloud collaboration apps. It has technical features like revision control, audit trails, and offline working (even over LAN) as a standard. The three-fold encryption and the fact that documents are not stored on an external cloud make this collaboration app very secure.

They give companies the tools to store and control their own data in a very secure manner.

Very few people are aware that these alternatives exist. The fact that many of these alternatives are still relatively new probably has got something to do with this. But it is also the case that the cloud is very dominant. There are many who say that the cloud is the future, period. You either adapt or stay behind. Many companies take this to be true and switch to the cloud without even considering the alternatives.

And that is the real problem with the cloud.

The people who commented on the article were probably right in saying that non-cloud alternatives aren’t necessarily better or safer than cloud services. There are many cases in which a move to the cloud might still be the best option available.

But the cloud’s dominance hinders informed decision making and creates false dilemmas. And that is not very beneficial for companies looking for a data solution.

So, companies do not necessarily have to fear the cloud. But they should be wary of ‘cloud blindness’.

Want to learn more about Storro, our non-cloud collaboration tool? Have a sneak peek at our product web site.