Is Your Company Ready for Cloud Storage?

Posted By: Helen Monday 31st May 2021 Tags: , ,
cloud storage

Today’s blog follows nicely on from our most recent post discussing the Pros of Cloud Storage for Businesses. As with the majority of products, services and solutions companies take advantage of, there’s always a full list of pros and cons to consider.

But the Cloud is ideal isn’t it?

Yes, absolutely, for many companies it’s the ideal solution. We just need to ensure you ask the right questions to potential suppliers and are aware of certain Cloud aspects.

So here we go!

The following are all elements to consider when you’re looking to store important files and data on The Cloud.

  • Security & Privacy Aspects
  • Bandwidth Limitations
  • Potential Vulnerabilities
  • Data Management
  • Costs Over the Years
  • Compliance

Let’s break these points down;

Security & Privacy Aspects

When making the decision to go ahead with Cloud Storage it’s absolutely intrinsic to determine the most reliable service provider available. Keep in mind, you’re sharing highly valuable data with a third party. Feeling confident in the service you’re buying is worth its weight in gold. Get this right and you’re good to go.

Important Question

“How do your Cloud Services ensure the utmost security of my data and sensitive information”?

Bandwidth Limitations

Based on your service of choice, your contract may be provided with bandwidth allowances. Going over allowances means fees could be costly.

Important Question

“Do you provide unlimited bandwidth and if not, how much is available to my company”?

Potential Vulnerabilities

As with any form of online usage there is a vulnerability to external hacking attempts and at worst, actual attacks. Unfortunately the internet will never be 100% secure and this provides you with further due diligence responsibilities.

Important Question

“How often do you carry out security updates and how up to date are your cloud solutions”?

Data Management

If you’re becoming more convinced that Cloud solutions are your company’s way forward, it’s important to look at structures. Each storage system comes with its own unique structure and what you need to determine is how easy the transfer of data is from an existing platform to the Cloud’s new structure. On occasion, this may not be as straightforward as anticipated.

Important Question

“How easy will it be to transfer across my data from an existing platform to the Cloud? If this proves complex, do you have the ability to help facilitate the move”?

Costs Over Time

As the rates of inflation increase, so does the price of Cloud storage and it pays to take this into consideration in the first instance. Lifetime costs hit a company when applications are local and data is stored in the cloud, resulting in networking costs.

Important Question

“Do I need to take networking costs into account”

Compliance

Always, always, ALWAYS double check your own company’s industry regulations. Healthcare and financial services for example are currently not permitted to use such facilities and could face prosecution should they do so.

Important Question (for you)!

“Does my industry allow Cloud storage solutions to be used and accessed”?

Taking all of the above into account means you’ll be equipped with exactly the right knowledge in making the right decision for your company.