Know your Cloud Types

If you don’t, you’re not alone: according to Gartner Predicts 2011: Cloud Computing, “misconceptions abound” about the Cloud.  Experts agree that there are enormous benefits to be gained from the Cloud – but first you’ve got to understand what’s on offer and how it fits your business needs.

 

A popular business-critical use for the Cloud is to protect data by creating and storing an online copy.  But not all Cloud services offer you a fail-safe way to ensure security and continuity.

 

So, if you don’t know your AES from your elbow, here’s our beginner’s guide to understanding Cloud services.

 

 

‘Sync’ solutions enable users to keep all their computers up-to-date with the latest versions of your files.  Sync services are great if you work from a number of different devices, for example, a laptop, a tablet and a smart phone; but the process of choosing what to sync is manual so it’s easy to leave out important documents and not great as a backup solution.  Sync solutions are designed to help businesses access data, not protect it, if they’re looking for protection, companies should seek out an automated online backup service.  Additionally, since the purpose of Sync is to have a single up-to-date copy of a file, it’s hard to roll back to older versions in the event that documents are corrupted – a key application for online backup.

 

‘Share’ solutions enable users to work collaboratively with colleagues, using the Cloud to host files that you can all edit and access.  Some can also be used to post information to social networking sites.  Sharing services are by nature suited to files that you want others to interact with, which means they are not meant to mirror the versions that might be missing from the PCs that a company wants to restore data to.

 

Online storage solutions give companies space in the Cloud where they can keep files.  But this is the online equivalent of being given an empty box.  It’s a blank space to do with as you want, but you have to do something to make it useful.  If you want to use it for back up, either you need to buy and integrate a backup client to manage that or you need to manually upload each document that you want to protect, every time you make any changes to them.  Moreover, when you want to get that data back and restore it to your computer, you need to manage that process yourself.

 

Online backup systems are complete solutions created specifically to protect a company’s data.  A specialised online backup solution will automate the process of selecting which files are new or changed and need to be backed up, before systematically managing their transport to the Cloud.  The service will ensure the integrity of the data by encrypting it, and will transfer it over a secure connection – similar to those used for online banking.  Finally, it will support the organisation through the process of managing and restoring its data.  When things go wrong with your IT and you need to get your data back, having someone on hand who knows exactly what they are doing is invaluable.

 

 

Encryption is vital to protect sensitive data that you’re accessing through, or storing in, the Cloud.  AES encryption is the same technology used by the military to encrypt its data.  Some services will automatically encrypt your files, others won’t.  Check what’s encrypted and where.

 

Security can also be breached during the transit of your data. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol is the technology used by banks to ensure that your online banking is transacted safely and is used by some Cloud providers.  Check how data is transported and how safe the connections are. 

 

Location may not seem important when you can link seamlessly to a server on the other side of the world but each region has its own laws about data.  Your information will be subject to the laws wherever the Cloud provider has its data centre, not the laws of the country you’re in.  Check whether the data centres are in the EU.

 

Connection speed has a big impact on your user experience.  Some suppliers ‘throttle’ your connection to the data centre, which means that they restrict the amount of data per second that you can download or upload.  This can cause extensive delays in getting at your data or prevent you from uploading and protecting everything.  Check whether your access will be ‘throttled’.

 

 

Getting what you need from the Cloud is all about asking the right questions during the vendor-selection process.  Many companies that already provide Cloud services offer online backup to their portfolio as an add-on; but these often lack the core functionalities and security provisions that are key to effective online backup. Organisations that want the peace of mind that comes with knowing their data is protected need to ensure their provider has the backup side of things covered before weighing up any additional benefits.