The Hazards of Cloud Based Commercial Ventures

Cloud computing is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s technical jargon. Unfortunately, many in the corporate world refer to this potent technology without a proper contextual understanding of the scope and scale its application can have on business.

Cloud based solutions equip an enterprise with the infrastructural capabilities to handle the access, storage and management of endless streams of data and a wide array of software applications via the web. Firewall devices keep the transmitted information free from corruption. Data centers around the globe bear the load of running heavy and complex software, thereby leaving local hardware free for other tasks.

A sizeable percentage of working professionals today are tapping into the immense potential of cloud computing solutions. Email and online content are two routine activities that are executed over the cloud. Cloud computing strategies can be broadly categorized into:

Cloud computing is being used to enhance and upgrade a variety of service based solutions for greater impact in a constantly evolving commercial ecosystem. This has allowed organizations to explore new avenues of business interest and create opportunities for growth with tangible, time bound results.

Nevertheless, a competitive market has left enterprises with very little margin for error. While the right cloud solution can raise the bar of an organization’s commercial activity to a whole new level, inaccurate choices open a Pandora’s Box of issues, doing more harm than good to a business. Every technological innovation comes with a few chinks in the armor. And cloud computing is no exception. Although its long list of strengths and advantages far outweigh any operational challenge an organization might face.

A variety of factors such as budgetary constraints, compliance requirements, solution availability in the market and so on influence an enterprise’s choice of service provider. The ideal vendor should be in a position to cater to a company’s in-house security needs while simultaneously adhering to government regulations, at a competitive price. Some concerns arising due to circumstances that are unique to cloud computing solutions have been briefly outlined below.

Strategies for protecting classified and confidential corporate information from security breaches still leave a lot to be desired. A number of loose ends persist that need to be ironed out. This can be attributed to the very nature of modern day computing that is constantly transforming itself, giving rise in its wake to numerous threats, vulnerabilities and risks.

Harmful viruses and incisive hacker attacks can seriously compromise systems and infrastructure. This is particularly true in the case of cloud computing. When a cloud computing vendor’s main server gets compromised, the data of all the clients who have subscribed to its service is potentially under threat. Distributed-denial-of-service-attacks are also not uncommon. Deciding on a solution that is right for a business should primarily depend on keeping its operations resilient to such setbacks. And since any strategy on the cloud involves third party support, it becomes imperative to keep enterprise information insulated from security snags.

There are many solutions out there that can cater to a variety of needs. Choosing the right one can be a daunting task as organizations more often than not find themselves spoilt for choices. A careful study of a business’ operational framework, its key deliverables and operational/logistical challenges can help sift through the plethora of options available in the market and zero in on the most relevant options.

A cloud computing strategy can be in the public domain, a private network or a hybrid solution – a combination of both private and public cloud based computing.

The nature of business in many commercial enterprises has made a continuous stream of live updates necessary. Real time monitoring and maintenance is crucial to some entities such as financial institutions and federal associations. A majority of cloud based solution vendors haven’t been able to comprehensively address this crucial necessity.

Trusting third party vendors with sensitive information is not easy, not even with SLAs and contractually binding statements. A constant struggle is not uncommon between organizations and third party vendors while trying to establish common ground over how the cloud based strategies mutually agreed upon are implemented.

There’s no point in implementing a cloud based solution halfheartedly. Infrastructural components such as bandwidth, hardware, storage and platforms cost money. Fluctuating demands of business make organizational needs unpredictable. This poses a constant barrier to implementing cloud based solutions which are essentially on-demand subscriptions.

While vendors in the cloud market constantly compete with each other over pricing, enterprises must also be willing to spend a little extra if they want to streamline business operations and scale up on deliverables.

It is important for organizations to ensure that vendors have the technical knowhow and resources to implement cloud based solutions of a certain scale and complexity.

Doing business over the cloud is an ongoing process that requires constant maintenance and supervision, along with periodical updates and upgrades. Hiring trained personnel with the relevant skills is imperative if an organization wishes to keep its cloud based system running smoothly without any glitches. Frequent issues in systems occur due to improper handling, faulty execution and a lack of adherence to best practices.

A major challenge for organizations around the world is finding able IT personnel with the necessary skill sets to execute, manage and monitor their cloud initiatives in sync with the company goals and objectives, liaise with vendors and so on.

While hiring new resources is always an option, companies can also identify personnel internally who could be trained to bridge gaps in skills and expertise.

Loosing substantial chunks of data over the cloud – be it through destruction, corruption or unauthorized access – is a recurring problem in the cloud computing domain. Reviewing previously written code for loopholes, lack of system segregation and adversary emulation testing, figure prominently on the list of reasons that can contribute to this problem. Making sure a vendor can administer a granular control of data transmission, high end security protocols and stringent implementation of industry established best practices are some possible solutions.

We live in an era where information is accessed on various platforms. A major challenge for cloud service providers is addressing customers’ need for keeping data flexible and moving files in and out of the cloud without restraints through efficient data integration techniques. Migrating conventional applications to the cloud can be a tedious, time consuming process where delays and going over budget occur frequently.

There is always the temptation for cloud technology vendors to take advantage of lock-in periods contractually agreed upon with their customers. Many customers are wary of having to pay exorbitant exit charges while trying to switch to an alternate provider. This has become an important factor for customers to consider.

Cloud computing is a relatively recent addition to IT based strategies. This makes it a little difficult for an entrepreneur to verify the authenticity of a prospective service provider’s credentials. Extensive research and background checks help clarify any doubts organizations might have about a given merchant’s market reputation. This is a crucial precautionary measure in order to avoid changing cloud service subscription to an alternate vendor due to issues that compromise data security and SLA targets.

Besides the cost factor, shifting to an alternate vendor is a long drawn and tedious process. Transferring data, applications, infrastructure and HR knowledge come with its set of risks and challenges.

Even leaders and business heads who are well versed in the latest technological trends find themselves skeptical about implementing a new technology such as the cloud without tried and tested results that guarantee its return on investment. That’s because many vendors struggle with providing adequate visibility on how customer data is managed on their infrastructure.

An organization’s obligation to its investors, stakeholders, customers and interest groups makes it expect visibility and control over proprietary information. Private clouds in company held data centers are an option, although expensive and tedious to execute.