Experts: Security is important to businesses using cloud computing
June 22, 2012
Grazed from Sacramento Business Journal. Author: Editorial Staff.
Experts in cloud computing told a meeting of Sacramento business leaders Friday that companies can reap benefits from shifting data storage and processing to remote servers — but they must continue to think about security.
“Cloud Security: What Your Business Needs To Know About Cloud Computing,” brought together about 100 business leaders at the Hyatt Sacramento for a breakfast conference sponsored by NWN Corp. , Intel and McAfee and presented by the Sacramento Business Journal…
The keynote speaker was Greg Brown, a McAfee vice president. Joining him in a panel discussion were Bob Deutsche of Intel, Tony Ganzer of NWN and Gina Tomlinson, chief technology officer of the City and County of San Francisco.
Cloud computing allows companies to store data and run applications from servers hosted or owned by third-party data centers, saving money by employing economies of scale.
But the speakers noted that some managers are concerned about losing physical control of the computers hosting their data.
The industry is evolving standards that companies can expect data centers to meet, depending on their needs, speakers said.
But companies will have to continue taking responsibility for security by setting good practices in their offices, classifying data by the degree of security they require, and following prudent practices in selecting vendors who handle their data.
In a way that parallels the event, many of the attendees followed along as they checked in with mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets, already using the cloud as they multitasked.