The corporate key to agility -- and cybersecurity
09 01, 14 Filed in: Bylines | Blog Posts
The strategic concerns of security in cloud computing
As originally published in USA Today:
In a rapidly evolving security landscape, the next critical decision for many organizations is whether to deploy next-generation risk management solutions in the cloud or in traditional data centers. But disparities between operational and board level attitudes to cloud adoption could prolong this decision and heighten the cyber security threat.
Frontline operational staff and the boardroom have their eyes on different prizes. Board level decision makers tend to set objectives based on business agility. Operational teams are more interested in cost-efficiency. IT teams are focused on bulletproof security. A recent global survey conducted by NTT Com Security revealed disparities prior to cloud adoption hindering business and extending vulnerabilities.
In security, as in business generally, there are tradeoffs. Without aligning security objectives to broad business objectives, valuable resources are expended unnecessarily and systems are inevitably left vulnerable to external threats. Moving to the cloud to save money without properly considering security implications could result in greater losses in the event of a breach.
On the other hand, going overboard with security may have an adverse impact on business productivity and also end up outweighing potential savings. The right approach is to consider the sensitivity of data moved into the cloud along with the potential threats to this information. Management and IT must come together to make objective decisions about how much security is appropriate to protect the business without sacrificing productivity.
Although cloud technology is still maturing, attitudes from the board to the front-line become more productive in every aspect when a cohesive organization has evaluated the benefits of private, public or hybrid cloud deployment together. More than half of the major organizations we spoke to, and 70 percent of cloud adopters, now believe that the cloud offers greater agility than the data center.
Disparities between operational and board-level priorities before cloud adoption evaporate once the decision has positively impacted the whole business.
The cloud is inherently no more or less secure than traditional IT resources; security is determined solely by how well an organization considers and plans for the risks they face. But ultimately those companies assured enough to adopt the cloud for its agile deployment advantages, also benefit from the enhanced security of critical applications, lower operational costs and intuitive usability. It's a win-win-win.
In a rapidly evolving security landscape, the next critical decision for many organizations is whether to deploy next-generation risk management solutions in the cloud or in traditional data centers. But disparities between operational and board level attitudes to cloud adoption could prolong this decision and heighten the cyber security threat.
Frontline operational staff and the boardroom have their eyes on different prizes. Board level decision makers tend to set objectives based on business agility. Operational teams are more interested in cost-efficiency. IT teams are focused on bulletproof security. A recent global survey conducted by NTT Com Security revealed disparities prior to cloud adoption hindering business and extending vulnerabilities.
In security, as in business generally, there are tradeoffs. Without aligning security objectives to broad business objectives, valuable resources are expended unnecessarily and systems are inevitably left vulnerable to external threats. Moving to the cloud to save money without properly considering security implications could result in greater losses in the event of a breach.
On the other hand, going overboard with security may have an adverse impact on business productivity and also end up outweighing potential savings. The right approach is to consider the sensitivity of data moved into the cloud along with the potential threats to this information. Management and IT must come together to make objective decisions about how much security is appropriate to protect the business without sacrificing productivity.
Although cloud technology is still maturing, attitudes from the board to the front-line become more productive in every aspect when a cohesive organization has evaluated the benefits of private, public or hybrid cloud deployment together. More than half of the major organizations we spoke to, and 70 percent of cloud adopters, now believe that the cloud offers greater agility than the data center.
Disparities between operational and board-level priorities before cloud adoption evaporate once the decision has positively impacted the whole business.
The cloud is inherently no more or less secure than traditional IT resources; security is determined solely by how well an organization considers and plans for the risks they face. But ultimately those companies assured enough to adopt the cloud for its agile deployment advantages, also benefit from the enhanced security of critical applications, lower operational costs and intuitive usability. It's a win-win-win.