Cloud is gaining more and more attention in Slovakia. It is an ideal solution for companies to focus on the development and building of their business, not to worry about their own servers and IT. Despite this, some medium and smaller companies are resisting it. In many cases, they are succumbing to the rumours that accompany the introduction of the cloud around the world. The recurring questions are: Is it profitable for me? Will I have to train and pay new IT staff? Isn’t data safer at home on my own servers? What if the provider will track and sell my trade secrets?
Let’s take a closer look.
MYTH 1 A small company will not use cloud services and it is unprofitable for them
Fact: The cloud has long been used by more than just large corporations. Increasingly, it is also advantageous in use or affordability for smaller and medium-sized businesses with dozens of employees. Thanks to scalability, each of them sets and pays for the parameters they currently need and runs the system. The cloud one is simple, dynamic and secure.
MYTH 2 Cloud is not suitable for home office work
Fact: On the contrary. With the cloud, all employees can manage data and connect to the company database, emails and apps from anywhere and from any device. Whether it’s a tablet, smartphone or computer. What’s more, when working from home, the cloud is the ideal solution to simplify IT systems, while ensuring that they work securely and as they should. The pandemic has also shown us the importance of being able to adapt quickly to change.
MYTH 3 Data is more secure in the server room than in the cloud
Fact: The cloud is currently the most secure form of data storage. It provides several times better protection, as operators perform it at a professional level and have top security experts at their disposal. It also performs data synchronization, which is automatically backed up and available on all devices. It is also possible to define a policy for sharing recipients, specifying access rights to individual systems. The key is that the provider is responsible for the operation of the infrastructure, availability and security. Then the cloud will work well. At the same time, the provider should demonstrate the security of all these services. If it can demonstrate them sufficiently, there is no need to worry about failure and the cloud can be fully trusted.
MYTH 4 Cloud is 100% secure
Fact: It has to be said here that it isn’t, but… Cloud technical solutions are definitely more secure than private solutions, but as in any industry, we have to consider the human factor. The latter poses the biggest risk in personal life and in business. Prevention is proper education and communication to employees – creating a “human firewall”.
However, it is also the case here that systems and the move to the cloud are managed by experts who can prevent security risks in terms of several security levels. Moreover, even if an incident does occur, they can respond much more quickly with their fast approach and knowledge. The process and resolution of the problem is thus more comprehensive and takes much less time than when the problem occurs in a corporate environment and with employees unfamiliar with the topic. Not everyone has enough insight into cyber resilience = cyber security.
Cloud providers should demonstrate their capabilities, if they do, there is no reason not to trust the security of their solutions.
MYTH 5 I give access to data to a third party
Fact: It all depends on the specific provider. Most of the time, however, the provider has not the slightest interest (time, manpower and technology) in reading anyone’s private data, accounting or manufacturing secrets. Additionally, the customer has the option to encrypt the data (passwords, keys, etc.) and thus protect the data from the cloud provider.
MYTH 6 Cloud will replace traditional IT departments
Fact: Neither the cloud nor its providers are in any way a substitute for IT staff. On the contrary, they relieve them of work that they do not have time for in a busy work environment. This allows IT professionals to fully devote themselves to their agenda of taking care of critical applications, development and running the company.
MYTH 7 Cloud will increase the need to invest in new employees and training
Fact: The exact opposite is also true here. The advantage of the cloud and its providers is that there is no need to employ more staff. The company delegates the competencies to the provider and the provider ensures that the services function properly. The data is taken care of by professionals who do not need to be trained in-house.
MYTH 8 Cloud solution is more expensive
Fact: While it may seem like it at first glance, ultimately a company will save money in the cloud. This is primarily due to its scalability. The customer only ever pays for the performance they currently need. In addition, the company is relieved of the hassle and investment in new HW or upgrades. The cloud also saves money on licenses, such as Microsoft licenses, according to the current number of employees or the number of virtual servers used.
Example to conclude
Let’s imagine online shops before Christmas. To cope with the onslaught of pre-Christmas shopping, they will increase not only the number of temporary workers, but also the performance of the information system for the period (thanks to the scalability of the cloud). They will then reduce performance in January, just as it suits them.
Experts agree that it will be increasingly profitable for companies to replace their own hardware with the cloud. Moreover, with ransomware attacks on the rise, its affordability will not be the only factor, but the issue of security is already resonating more and more. Added to these as advantages are the complexity, tailored to the company’s needs, legislation, the most accessible and fastest technical support or the benefits of adapting the service to the current operational or problem-solving needs.
So the current question is not whether to go to the cloud, but rather how fast, what type, and with which provider.
