In the last edition, we explained what cloud computing is, and its relevance to physical and electronic security.
SaaS providers who offer “on demand” services for security such as CCTV and Access Control, provide several significant and measurable end user benefits, including:
· Speed & Standard Footprint – fast, simultaneous, and standardized deployment at one site or across a wide geographic footprint in several languages is possible because we minimize or eliminate most of the associated planning that exists with traditional servers.
· Capital Savings – no server infrastructure or expensive deployment costs to configure “enterprise” class servers—it’s in the cloud. By comparison, on-site equipment options (such as IP cameras and door controllers) can be a few hundred Euros per door or more for sophisticated bespoke functionality.
· Risk Reduction – increased integrity, reliability, and redundancy because many organizations with traditional server-based systems cannot justify the triple redundant servers with fail-over and disaster recovery that are available in the cloud to protect and secure transactional data.
· Compliance – significant compliance costs exist to conform to the 1998 European Commission’s directive on data protection. A well-structured and compliant cloud service sidesteps or eliminates the end users expense of certifying a data centre, and in many cases, significantly reduces the overall project cost.
· Enormous Upside – RainStor recently reported that 22% of UK companies are using SaaS applications and a further 28% plan to do so in the foreseeable future. Because the market penetration in the US is generally twice that in the EU, SaaS presents an enormous green-field opportunity for companies to enjoy the financial and risk reduction benefits that a properly deployed model offers.
The key vocabulary terms emerging in business cases for security solutions are “pay-as-you-go,” “on-demand”, and “multi-tenant”. Operational budgets are used for an ongoing solution such as SaaS, not the capital budget, which is somewhat scarce in the present economic environment.
The next editions of Cloud 9 will explore the technology, legal, and security issues that make cloud computing a compelling contributor to enterprise risk management and an example of security convergence.
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