The Cloud: Can I Really Be Secure? Facts vs Myths

The wonders of the cloud make doing business much easier than the pre-cloud era, that's for sure. But there's still a lot of mystery and misunderstanding surrounding it. Hopefully, this will help clear some things up.

Cloud Myths VS Facts

The Cloud has gained popularity over the past few years because of its interoperability, agility, and flexibility. There are also many myths floating around the cloud in regards to its functionality. 

This post is designed to debunk the myths and bring forth the truth about the cloud.

• Myth #1: Services provided by the Cloud are expensive

Many people have the misconception that cloud services are expensive, and they would end up spending more money if they invest in cloud technologies.

Fact: In reality, cloud services are very inexpensive and in fact save both money and time. Most cloud vendors allow you to pay only for the services that you need, and only for how much you use. Backing up your data and running your programs without the cloud is likely to be more expensive as it requires more hardware and time.

• Myth #2: People and companies move to the cloud to save money

Fact: Cloud usage is not just about saving money, it’s about streamlining business processes, making information available more quickly and having access wherever there is an internet connection. People and companies move to the cloud to attain interoperability, flexibility and have faster processing. The cloud is a Godsend for the mobile entrepreneur, small business and nonprofit. While saving money is a benefit of the cloud, it is not a reason to migrate to the cloud.

• Myth #3: Cloud services are Plug and Play

Fact: People may think that cloud service are plug and play and are very easy to install, but this too is false. Some installation needs to be done if cloud services are to be used together with some other existing IT systems. Once integrated with existing IT systems, cloud services can act as plug and play. There are many resources available to learn about this technology for optimal use.

• Myth #4: The Cloud is only a place to store data

Fact: This is absolutely wrong! Storing data over the cloud is only one of the features the cloud provides. However, storing data is not the sole service that the cloud provides, there's so much more! 

• It facilitates scalability (how well it can handle a growing amount of work) and 
• agility (how flexible and responsive the system is to the work). 
• It can also be used as a medium to change the way in which business is done.

So saying that cloud computing is only used for storing data is just the tip of the iceberg.

• Myth #5: The Cloud is not secure

Fact: People think that when they are using cloud they are more vulnerable because they are on the internet. This myth has also been propelled by national news stories which highlight security breaches encountered by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Meagan Good, and companies like Target and Neiman Marcus.

While nothing is 100% secure - the cloud is very secure! Depending on your provider, there are options available to even increase the security of your cloud computing, making it virtually impossible to hack into. For instance, personally, I like to deal with companies that invest a lot of money into their technology departments like USAA. Any company that is vigilant and innovative in their approach to security for their customers is going the extra step.

Your cloud provider can also make you "virtually" separate from others. You can have a virtual private cloud. This virtual private cloud increases the security, making it more secure - not less.

• Myth #6: The Cloud practices vendor lock-in

Fact: This is in no way true. The cloud is storing your data, which you own, giving you the liberty to change your vendor at any time you choose. There is no such thing as Vendor Lock-in for cloud computing. San Antonio's very own Rackspace just happens to be the #1 for cloud services.

These are just a few of the myths about the cloud; what would you add to this list?