Cloud Still Causes Some Companies Concern

The world of information technology is all about making continuous strides toward advancement, and business executives looking to make their companies as competitive as possible know they have to keep in pace with innovation. As IT perpetually ventures further into new territory, coming out with game-changing tools that could prove revolutionary for a wide range of organizations, businesses thinking about implementing a share of these unfamiliar solutions may also have some reservations.For example, cloud computing seems to be taking the global market by storm, as a startling number of firms are adopting this advancement, making it an integral part of their operations. Despite the allure of this technology, there are still some reservations to be had, which may be impeding organizations and preventing them from using cloud-based solutions to the best of their abilities.CIOs think in-house cloud can mitigate risks According to Computerworld, a number of companies could be quick to pass judgment on the cloud and take matters into their own hands that they may actually be placing their firms at a greater risk than they would otherwise. When it comes to cloud computing – namely, the kind powered by public platforms – businesses’ biggest fear lies in security. Because of this growing concern, chief information officers may feel inclined to get the best of both worlds by developing their own cloud-based solutions without making their sensitive data susceptible to cyberattacks – or so they think, anyway.”There’s a tug-of-war tension in the enterprise right now,” stated Lydia Leong, an analyst at Gartner, as quoted by Computerworld. “IT administrators very rarely voluntarily want to go with the public cloud. I call this the ‘turkeys don’t vote for Thanksgiving’ theory. The people who are pushing for these services are not IT operations people but business people.”The source explained that the supposed hacking risks posed by the cloud have forced some CIOs to reconsider storing their companies’ confidential information through these innovative tools. At the same time, they could be feeling the pressure to jump on the bandwagon and switch to the cloud so they can keep a competitive edge, which has prompted them to take matters into their own hands. By having their staff members create their own cloud solutions, organizations may feel like they are going about this innovation in a more secure manner, but they could actually be compromising compliance and making their data more vulnerable on these home-grown systems.”Enterprise IT often sees the cloud as a risk,” said Rob Enderle, an analyst with Enderle Group, according to Computerworld. “If you go to a large IT meeting, they’ll generally place the public cloud as one of their top three or four threats because their line organizations, like marketing or manufacturing, go around IT to set up their own cloud service deals. They can get something cheaper and faster than they could by going through IT but it’s probably not compliant.”Mistrust may weaken with timeOne of the main reasons CIOs opt to come up with their own cloud computing systems is a general mistrust of third-party service providers. A number of IT professionals fear that these outside platforms may be mismanaged, as these public servers could leave gaps through which hackers can retrieve confidential information or compromise data security by enabling these third-party tech workers handle files for their own purposes. Without the ability to control these solutions, CIOs could question just how trustworthy these outside tech providers can be, which may dissuade companies from implementing public cloud solutions.While these concerns may be understandable to a certain extent, IT professionals should not be afraid of the unknowns presented by the cloud, according to Computerworld. As is the case with any new technology, cloud computing will take some time for CIOs to warm up to it. After companies become familiar with these solutions and they become even more common, many of the doubts are likely to dissipate.”I don’t know whether it’s accurate to say cloud providers are hiding things,” explained Jeff Kagan, an independent analyst, as cited by the news source. “It’s a brand new experience for everyone. Cloud operators just don’t know what’s hiding around the corner until they’re hit with something and they get a bloody nose.”