Cautious about the Cloud? Why going private could be the solution.

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16th August 2011 Back to Databarracks Blog

The reticence of IT managers to go into the cloud is largely due to security issues and with more than one leading cloud provider experiencing lengthy service disruptions recently, confidence remains low. However, there can be little doubt that the cloud is the future of computing.

"The lack of capital expenditure needed for the cloud means that solutions that were once only available to larger companies are now achievable by small to medium-sized businesses," says Peter Groucutt, Managing Director of UK-based specialist hosting provider, Databarracks.

"But whilst many companies might not want to handle their own infrastructure, they still want to know where their data is, the quality of the hardware and the physical security of the data centre."

With the private cloud, you can address these key concerns:

Where the Data is Stored:

"Data centres can be placed in surprisingly high risk areas (at the end of airport runways for example) and it is always worth questioning the proximity of the data centre to terrorist targets such as the City of London and Heathrow," warns Groucutt.

Some companies are legally required to store their data in Europe.  However, while you might not have rules about where your data is stored, there are other location factors to consider. With the US Patriot Act in full force, US companies providing cloud storage, even in European data centres, could be forced to pass over information to US Government Authorities without the knowledge of their customers. "So the general consensus is that for confidentiality purposes it is best to stick to a European provider with a European data centre," says Groucutt.

With Databarracks, you have the peace of mind to know that your data is stored with a UK company at UK-based ISO27001 and PCI compliant data centres in the ultra-secure confines of nuclear bunkers in low risk areas.

Accessibility:

"Databarracks allows customers admission to the data centre in case they need to physically access their disk space or simply want to be certain that their data is being stored in the most secure environment possible," reveals Groucutt. "With the public cloud, or even large hosting companies offering the private cloud, this is rarely feasible."

Security:

With data centres coming under constant attack, as seen in the case of Sony, ensure that your cloud hosting company has the very best security and firewall software. If backing up your business to the cloud, you want to ensure your data is encrypted within its own environment and is never transmitted or stored in an unencrypted format. Databarracks uses military-grade standards of encryption and ensures that your information can be read by you only.

Service Level Agreement:

"IT managers are often concerned that, in moving their infrastructure to the cloud, they might be locked in with the Vendor and powerless when it comes to escalating charges from unscrupulous hosting companies," warns Groucutt. "A solid Service Level Agreement can help keep control over costs and importantly control over your infrastructure and data."

Smooth transition to the cloud:

Migrating services requires skilled technicians and you need to be sure the hosting company has the capability to transfer your infrastructure to the cloud smoothly and successfully. It goes without saying that a backup should always be available should there be a problem during migration.

Changing provider:

And what if you want to change provider or remove storage? With Databarracks' private cloud provision, we can guarantee that all servers are securely scrubbed if you choose to leave the service, leaving absolutely zero trace of your data behind.

Do you really know who's looking after your data?

"Finally, when it comes to considering the cloud, it's worth asking yourself a simple question," advises Groucutt. "Do you want to run your systems on enormous infrastructures, which are more prone to failure or would you prefer a dedicated private cloud, which has a less complicated and more proven infrastructure?"