Not too long ago, any IT director would have been dismissed as irrational – if not dismissed from the business altogether – for proposing that critical company data be put on a shared computer, accessed via the internet.
Today, the IT industry is exhorting businesses to do just that, through cloud computing.
Some vendors are even bypassing the IT department, and going straight to business units to sell them services such as sales force automation, or customer relationship management. These services are invariably delivered via the cloud.
And by no means all cloud services operate with enterprise-grade security; many have origins in consumer services designed to be cheap and easy to use.
Neil Campbell, general manager for security at Dimension Data, an IT services vendor, cautions: “If it is a consumer service, you would expect basic security controls but not a high level approach to security.”
In part, this is a function of how cloud computing works. In order to be cost-effective, providers have to take a “one size fits all” approach to their business, including security. By comparison, much enterprise IT would more closely resemble bespoke tailoring.
William Beer, a director in the information security practice at PwC, the processional services firm, explains: “Vendors have focused on the flexibility and cost-saving elements of the cloud and have locked down the contracts very tightly. It’s a service that they want to be replicable.”
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Source: ft.com
By: Stephen Pritchard
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