“Cloud Computing” is on many lips. “Cloud” is relevant to the security industry and the next editions will explain the implications for business, technology, our industry, and customers.
Cloud computing is synonymous with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), application service provider (ASP) and other comparable terms. Think of an application moving from the local computer, to the online “Cloud” environment across several data centers. Connecting through the Internet, the application is driven from browser-based devices, including your cellphone, laptop or desktop.
The trend has been underway for several years and is not new. Timesharing on a mainframe computer is a similar model, but what changed is the business model, maturing technology and capabilities.
Cloud computing is a byproduct of “Convergence” – a fusion of technologies, process and people, from the more traditional security and IT industries.
We already use “the cloud”. Examples include Web-mail or retrieving voicemail through your web browser. Take Salesforce.com, a cloud application delivered as an online service for customer relationship management. Salesforce.com has built a business that today, has over a million users who manage their customer opportunities “in the cloud”.
What about a security industry example? Brivo Systems*, now 10 years old, has an online application in several languages where users manage the security of doors and cameras anywhere the internet is, and standalone if the connection breaks. More than 1.5 Million users in over a dozen countries open their doors and view cameras managed in “the cloud”. (*full disclosure – I joined Brivo just over a year ago).
The economics governing security services have changed – imagine controlling a small number of doors and cameras across a large number of geographically separate sites with no servers (think retail chains and property management). With no software application to support, and little IT overhead, many security manufacturers are scrambling to embellish their list of offerings.
Providers who articulate business benefits for delivery of cloud security services are succeeding in developing continuing relationships with their customers. They provide cloud-capable security devices on networks to customers and educate about the cost benefits of “pay-as-you-go”.
Caution: relocation of “last generation” applications to a data center is not cloud computing. There are many differentiators; separate “true cloud” from the “stack-a-box crowd” by looking for online multi-tenant applications, and whether the file server vanishes. Savvy providers invest in cloud infrastructure, know how to manage security so user data does not disappear, and is always available. For those with the “trust but verify” habit; look for the existence of an independent and regular audit to a standard.
The next editions of Cloud 9 explore the compelling business reasons, technology, functions, legal and security issues that make cloud computing a paradigm shift not to ignore.
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