Companies that use cloud hosting are facing a multitude of issues. Most of these issues are related to security threats and data breaches within the cloud network. The threat of a data breach is so high that 53% of companies believe that cloud hosting poses many general security risks. The risks are the essential barriers to cloud hosting.
Because of these risks and potential barriers, it is essential to understand them and determine if you are at risk with security threats if you use cloud services. Once these risks are determined, companies need to follow the best practices in cloud hosting to avoid the risks as highlighted below.
Services Accessible by Cloud Hosting
Before selecting a cloud hosting service, make sure that the company and IT officers are aware of the services they are getting. An important point in selecting a suitable cloud hosting service for business is software (SaaS). Most cloud hosting companies provide access through the web. Cloud hosting provides different services such as:
- Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
- SaaS (Software as a Service)
- Platform-based services or Platform as a Service (PaaS)
SaaS is a well-known service and consists of making software applications accessible through web sources. Infrastructure-as-a-service refers to remote access to servers or storage capabilities. At the same time, Platform-as-a-service is a software-based computing platform that enables developers to design and deploy web applications on a hosted infrastructure.
Applications Included in Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting allows companies to put an application onto the cloud. Each application can be charged differently depending on the sources it uses. Businesses should put the applications on the cloud that they frequently need. More importantly, regulatory and compliance issues prevent companies from putting specific applications into the cloud, especially those that involve sensitive user data. IDC surveys show that the primary uses of Clouds are:
- IT management
- Collaboration
- Personal or enterprise applications
- Application development
- Server and storage capabilities
Transferability of Applications
An essential aspect of a cloud hosting service is allowing easy access and transfer of different applications. Application transfer services from one cloud platform to another, and in-house cloud data centers must be easy and quick.
Cloud hosting services will have to adapt standard technologies to ensure true interoperability. The recent “Open Cloud Manifesto” supports the interoperability of data and applications. The Open Cloud Consortium advocates for frameworks that allow different companies that provide cloud-hosting services to work seamlessly between them. The goal is to move an application from one cloud to another without having to rewrite it.
Security Offered by Cloud Hosting Providers
The cloud-hosting provider must offer adequate security measures to protect the sensitive data of the client. In the past, there have been several data breaches. These breaches resulted in the loss of sensitive data and loss of millions of dollars. While keeping data on a cloud has its risks, many hosting companies offer proper security measures to keep your data safe.
Before choosing a cloud hosting service, be careful when reviewing the SLA. It is essential to understand all the concepts discussed before making a final decision. The terms and conditions must be easy to understand. Reading through all publicly available data is essential. Amazon, for example, maintains a dashboard that shows the state of operation of the various services and history.
There will always be latencies on the network with a cloud service, making applications slower than running on your own data center. Many third-party vendors, such as RightScale, are developing additional services to the cloud to ensure that applications evolve and work well.
Companies that need cloud hosting services must make sure that the company is ready to adopt the principles of cloud computing. The service must have open data centers.
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