Staying Secure in the Cloud

As the owner and operator of a consulting business I am acutely aware of the need to readily exchange information between people and multiple devices to improve communications.  For a long time we were forced to exchange information via email, but as email use has grown, keeping track of all these exchanges became difficult.  Also, we need to be able to exchange value and services in discrete quantities to clients.  This has led to more software as a service, and also to access to remote, growing and volatile  databases used to solve analytic problems.

Bottom line, the sharing of data and services in a what is now called a Cloud has become essential for getting business done.  Especially for the small to medium sized business.

But as part of this growth,  the danger of security has become crucial.  It is another means to lose data, to give up control, to not be sure of the integrity of what we share.   This is not only an issue of keeping our business working, but also has serious regulatory implications in some industries.

I was pointed to a Slideshare recently provided by Midmarket IBM that addresses this topic: Staying Secure in the Cloud: Four Tips For Midsize Businesses   A short 8 slides that is worth a look for any sized business.

The overview is simple.  Clouds DELIVER with agility and speed.  but opening your system up in this way is by its nature risky.  So what do we do?

The recommendations come down to key and very straightforward, largely common sense recommendations that help you protect your cloud environment.   I think the initial slides, addressing the basic issues, do a good of of setting the stage.  Not every mid size business will need to go further.   I like the method of positioning a problem simply first.

The slide show ends with the ability to download a white paper Integrated IT Security for Midsized Businesses.   If you need more information.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines  of a smarter planet. More here.