Expert stresses mixed approach to ensure control, security in cloud

Businesses considering a move to the public cloud need to ensure they strike a balance between incorporating the benefits and mitigating the risks, according to an expert in the industry.

Writing for Baseline Magazine, Dave Hart, chief technology officer at Presidio, highlighted three implications of cloud migration - security, control and economics. When moving to a public cloud computing infrastructure, businesses need to ensure they have enough control over their data and adequate security in which the hosting provider is held accountable for data protection. They need to make this compromise while also ensuring they realize the full value out of their cloud expenses, the report explained.

The best approach to accomplishing this, Hart explained, is to incorporate a hybrid of public and private cloud services.

“Enterprises are being led down a primrose path to the public cloud. Once they are there, there is little hope to turn back,” Hart wrote for Baseline Magazine. “My advice - take advantage of all the attributes of public cloud, but build a private cloud with infrastructure you own in environments you control.”

Overall, security is improving to the point that large companies worldwide are planning to increase spending on the cloud. A survey of executives released by the Sand Hill Group found the majority of companies plan to devote the majority of their IT budgets to cloud services during the next 12 months.