Jun 12, 2014

Cloud-based services like online file sharing have become significant assets for many organizations, but others are still unsure whether these systems are safe for company documents. While the cloud has proven to be an essential tool in data archiving and business continuity efforts, concern over security still remains as a strong deterrents in adoption of the technology. However, much of this comes from the fact the consumer-grade solutions don’t offer the protection needed to safeguard sensitive information in many industries. With a reliable provider and an enterprise service, any organization can ensure that employees are able to have constant access to their resources without compromising the integrity of the files.

Each business has its own set of requirements for online file storage based on user demands as well as overarching industry compliance regulations that must be addressed. While meeting both of these needs and ensuring security can be challenging, companies do not have to go through this process alone. ComputerWeekly contributor Chris Evans noted that building infrastructure from the ground up is a thing of the past – instead, consider a working with a provider that will integrate a solution to benefit operations. This decision will heavily rely on the costs in comparison to the risk, a balance which will be essential to maintain. Moving to the cloud will also need a shift in skill sets to deal with the new capabilities as well as reallocating budget funds to support the migration.

“[W]ill we see an overnight shift from in-house IT resources to wholesale use of the cloud?” Evans posed. “No, but there will be a gradual transition as organizations become comfortable with the cloud, as they re-skill, and as assets depreciate and come up for renewal.”

The time to migrate is now

While many organizations have the cloud transition as a priority for their operations within the next few years, others are still holding out. Data Center Knowledge contributor Bill Kleyman noted that businesses that haven’t already started planning their shift to cloud processes should do so now in order to take advantage of fewer outages and faster product launches, along with numerous other benefits. Within this environment, employees can leverage secure file sharing programs to increase their collaboration opportunities and ensure that they have constant access to their work documents. Cloud file storage also provides a platform for archival and continuity efforts, ensuring that if the system goes down, the documents will be safe within the cloud deployment.

Although the advantages of using the cloud are readily apparent, there are companies that are waiting for the technology to become more mature before considering it as a business asset. Decision makers must understand what the cloud can do for their organization now and what must be done to ensure a successful deployment.

“Still, in many cases, the decision of when to migrate is less clear-cut,” Kleyman wrote. “When moving to a cloud platform – take the time to understand your own infrastructure, and how a cloud model can help your organization both today – and in the future.”