Notes

Is business owners’ fear of the cloud warranted?


What first comes to mind when you hear the words “cloud storage.” For many, the term evokes thoughts of vulnerable data. The idea of your sensitive information floating around in cyberspace isn’t exactly comforting. Fear of the cloud is compounded for business owners who are storing information that is critical to the operation of their business and private customer information. Approximately 50% of small businesses aren’t using cloud storage despite the many advantages that comes with it. Why do small business owners fear the cloud and is that fear warranted?

Why fear the cloud?

One of the primary concerns for business owners, as already mentioned, is security. If data is backed up online, could some third party hack in and steal it? Along with that is issues of privacy and compliance. Many small businesses store customer information and must comply with federal regulations when storing that information. Many business owners aren’t sure if cloud storage is in

compliance with those regulations.

Other concerns are just not knowing enough about cloud storage, how the technology works, and how to utilize cloud storage.

Why use the cloud?

Despite the fears surrounding cloud storage, about half of small businesses do use it. Those who do enjoy a number of important benefits. Cloud storage is typically cheaper than purchasing all of the necessary equipment to backup everything on site. Cloud storage allows co­workers to collaborate on projects more easily as they all have access to the necessary files wherever they are and whichever computer they’re using. Backup is automated and recovery from backup is quick and painless in the event of data loss.

Your fears explained away

You can’t really blame those who are a little cautious about adopting cloud storage. After all, we’ve seen a number of high profile hacking cases in recent years where celebrities’ cloud storage was hacked and their very private photos were leaked to the internet. A lot of people were quick to call into question the security of cloud storage. But contrary to popular belief, cloud storage is actually very secure—more secure than using an onsite storage solution.

If you think about it, it makes sense. Unless your business is data security, the task of keeping your important files is secondary to the work you do at your business. But if you’re a cloud storage provider, data is security is everything you do.

Fears that cloud storage is some fancy technology that is too hard to use or is only for large enterprises are equally unfounded. Cloud storage is actually one of the simplest backup and data storage solutions out there and it’s a great option for small and large businesses alike.

Cloud storage and compliance

When it comes to compliance with regulations, there’s no backup solution that automatically makes you compliant. Wherever you store it, onsite or in the cloud or somewhere else, it’s your responsibility. If you’re worried about compliance with cloud storage, you can team up with a managed IT provider that offers managed online backup. It’s all of the advantages of cloud storage but with even better security and guaranteed compliance.

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Source: hcloudcomputing­news.net/news/2015/nov/25/small­business­fear­cloud­debunked/