Security plays an important role in the discussions around the choice between on-premise and cloud solutions. Our observation is that the on-premise option quite often is perceived as the safest, simply because of the proximity of that data and the idea of having control. An interesting question of course, is if that assumption is correct, what does today’s reality looks like?

Data security gets a lot of attention these days. And rightly so, because there are many parties that have an interest in accessing, controlling or even hijacking your data. In today’s highly competitive markets, organisations are forced to be super careful with their data for several reasons.

The first topic to think of is the level of professionalism you need. Hackers are becoming more sophisticated at a rapid pace, so this level must also continue to increase. To achieve the ideal position of being one step ahead of these hackers, you should consider the professional level of your IT staff, their experience and mentality, the size of your budgets and your ability to fill vacant positions.

Second topic is the depth of your knowledge. How knowledgeable is your IT staff today? What was the last time that you had a fresh perspective by hiring a new colleague? What is the size of your budgets for training and inspiration? Is that enough to keep up with the pace? What was the trend for these budgets in recent years?

The third topic is the width of your knowledge and experience. To what extent are you able to cover all the applications, databases, operating systems and reporting tools that your organisation is using today? Are you happy with the answer?

Fourth topic is the physical access to your servers. How accurate is the access control to your server room? How many different people have access? Do you have any idea what colleagues and external vendors do in this room? And please do not forget the employees of the cleaning company working after closing hours.

And finally, audits. How often do you have a professional EDP audit performed? Delivered by an external company that tells you where the weak spots in your security strategy are. How accurate are you in following up on their advice?

Is that shocking news for you? Are you sure that your organisation belongs to the other 60 percent? Let us face the facts, in today’s world, data security is of vital importance. You have to run a business and focus on your customers, your employees and the desired results, data security is not your core business.

In 2020, Microsoft won the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract awarded by the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Armed Forces. Probably the organisation that values trustworthiness most of all the companies around the world, and has most to lose! This contract could potentially remove the nervousness in many companies about security in the cloud.

Microsoft has 3,500 cyber-security engineers and invests $1 billion a year in cyber security. No need to argue that the security in the Microsoft datacentres is exponentially better than the server room and IT staff of the average SMB company. Including yours?

June 28, 2022