Cloud computing has been celebrated as the most resilient and safe way to store data over the last 10+ years. It is modelled on enabling on-demand access to a shared pool of computing resources which can be sourced quickly and with minimum effort. 

But tech professionals and organisations are starting to question whether Cloud is the way forward for businesses that now face challenges in terms of cyber security, ownership and protection of their data. 
 

What are the benefits of storing information on Cloud based computing and why do you think so many organisations use it? 

The top five benefits are:

• Cost – reduction on running costs as you no longer have hardware 
• Scalability – you only pay for what you use so you can scale up and down at the click of a button
• Upgrades and maintenance – you no longer have to complete upgrades or maintain hardware, it’s all managed by a third party vendor
• Mobility – with an internet connection you have access to all your software applications at any time
• Disaster recovery processes – you no longer have to worry about the cost of a separate DR site because it is managed by a third party vendor. You also mitigate the risk of losing data if your datacentre was to be destroyed.

What do you see as the biggest game changer that will impact the use of Cloud going forward? 

The biggest shift in thinking we’ve witnessed towards Cloud as a data storage source has been influenced by the security of data with a third party provider. Organisations are already starting to review whether an externally managed Cloud source is the safest way to store data and are looking to move towards an insourced model. 

Why do you think organisations are looking to move away from Cloud computing to store their data? 

It’s not a case of businesses moving away from Cloud computing, but I do think that organisations will begin to build company centric Cloud environments. The main benefits of this would be: 

1. Cost effectiveness 

Although there is an initial investment, personal Cloud is cheap to maintain and manage.

2. Data security 

Unlike using a third party provider, the organisation is responsible for the security of their data. 

3. Control 

If you rely on a third party for your Cloud, you have little to no control over how the Cloud is used, deployed, managed, or how quickly and how much it can be expanded. If you bring the Cloud in-house, you are in control.  No matter how large you want your Cloud, user base, group management, or security to be, it is all managed by you.

4. Flexibility 

With third party providers you have to take what the provider is offering. With an in-house solution, your Cloud can do whatever you need it to do, in a way that perfectly fits your business model and needs.

5. Integration

If you build your own Cloud, there's no reason why those existing services can't be rolled into existing share directories. Not only will this make your Cloud more powerful, it will also make it more user-friendly.

6. Unlimited size 

With a third party provider you have to pay for space whereas on an internal Cloud your space is unlimited.