5 Pervasive Myths About Cloud Computing

Businesses in the United States spend well over $13 billion each year on cloud computing services. As “Cloud” picks up steam as the latest buzzword, migrating to the cloud is no longer an expensive, risky venture reserved only for major enterprises.

With prices continuing to drop as the technologies develop and mature, the latest studies are finding that companies with fewer than 19 employees are now 20 times more likely to adopt cloud technologies than their larger competitors.

The Lay of the Land

The hybrid cloud, a mix of public and private cloud computing options, is a new choice that’s growing quickly in popularity. Gartner predicts 50 percent adoption by 2017 of this flexible and secure option. Despite the fact that cloud is a quickly growing choice, there are some pervasive myths surrounding it:

1. The Cloud Is Insecure

Modern organizations are rightly concerned about cybercrime leading to costly data breaches. However, Gartner highlights that the idea that cloud is less secure is based on a “trust issue,” and not necessarily fact.

As with any other major technology investment, when considering cloud services, proper due dilligence is necessary to confirm that appropriate security has been implemented. That being said, many cloud providers are not only aware of common information security concerns, but proactive in their approaches to cybersecurity.

In many cases, as an additonal assurance to their customers, cloud providers will voluntarily undergo a number of industry security and compliance audits, such as PCI-DSS and SSAE 16 SOC 1 and SOC 2.

Furthermore, for those companies who feel more comfortable with a tighter control over their organization’s security, it should be noted that both  cloud computing and hybrid cloud solutions can provide critical protection for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB).

3. The Cloud Is Virtualization

Virtualization can be used to provide cloud computing, but they’re not one and the same. The cloud can offer distinct advantages, including automated management, distributed control, and scalability. Additionally, there are certain security and end-user benefits tied to the cloud above virtualization, making it a more popular choice for both SMB and major enterprises.

4. Cloud Implementations Are Painful

Much like any technology solution, cloud implementations have both pros and cons. Companies that opt to entirely outsource their cloud to an out-of-the-box solution are dependent on their vendor’s support (or lack thereof), rely on vendor security measures for protection, and may face uncertain periods of downtime. Depending on the solution and organization selected, being locked-in long-term to a suboptimal solution can accidentally become your reality.

However, there are significant advantages to cloud implementations, which can include increased storage capacity, efficiency gains, and cost savings.

By working with your IT services provider, your organization has easy access to dependable cloud computing technical support while also having the advantages of cloud technologies at their fingertips.  With the right technical support team, implementing cloud-based technologies can be far less painful than you have ever anticipated.

5. Working With the Cloud Must Be “Mysterious”

Many people who are new to cloud technologies believe that incorporating cloud options translates into an automatic lack of transparency.

But hybrid and private cloud deployments can offer total transparency to users, particularly when technology teams work with your organization’s office end users to help them understand their technology infrastructures clearly and fully.

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