Whether you’re using a cloud computing service to collaborate with others, store personal documents, or create a full system backup of all your data, these technologies come with their bonuses and drawbacks. Convenience is a major factor associated with the cloud, but security risks and malicious attacks are also factors to consider. While cloud computing has simplified many processes, you should also be aware of these cloud computing disadvantages so you don’t fall victim to their threats.
Downtime – “Cloud” is a metaphor for the Internet. The internet, while generally reliable, isn’t reliable all of the time. Because cloud computing services are provided via the internet, there’s always a chance you could be temporarily separated from your data until the connection is back up and running. Some cloud computing companies are better prepared for fluctuations in internet connectivity, like Nordic Backup, whose data centers are equipped with multiple redundant gigabit internet connections to prevent downtime.
Before you choose a cloud services provider, look into whether or not their services are built with reliable connectivity in mind and if they have a history of excellence in this area.
Insufficient due diligence – This is a disadvantage to cloud computing that can be avoided on your company’s end. Not all cloud computing services provide the same level of security. If your company is handling highly sensitive information or information governed by industry regulations, such as ePHI, you’ll want to get to know your cloud computing company thoroughly before using them to handle your data. If you’re looking into a cloud backup provider, make sure they’re willing and ready to sign a Business Associate Agreement. This level of due diligence on your part can protect your business if your data is ever exposed to unauthorized parties.
Security – As you’ve been told numerous times, nothing on the internet is truly secure. But with the right technological safeguards, you can mitigate nearly all security risks to your data. Most at risk to the threat of security issues and disappearing data are the cloud services that enable on-demand sharing. The on-demand nature of these services often means their encryption features are severely lacking, thus leaving your data vulnerable during transmission. There are other cloud solutions, like cloud backup, which make security a priority by providing end-to-end military grade encryption.
The best thing you can do to ward off security issues is to research the cloud providers you’re considering, and also consider how sensitive your data is. It may be fine to keep some pieces of data in a shared cloud service so you can use it to collaborate with coworkers, however other types of data may not be right for these apps.
Every technology solution has it’s drawbacks. But by knowing what they are, you can often find ways to work around them, or prepare for them. Ask yourself too if the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
Keeping all of your documents in hard copies or on physical storage devices leaves data vulnerable to hardware failures, physical damage and can be more time consuming to search. Cloud solutions, like cloud backup, keep all of your data safely in the cloud where you can get secure access to it at any time. It’s one of the cloud computing solutions whose benefits do outweigh any perceived drawbacks.
From being able to recover previous file versions and encrypt data with end-to-end military level encryption, to being able to recover all of your data in the event of a data loss incident, cloud backup protects you and your data from vulnerabilities. Backup your data today with a secure cloud backup plan from Nordic Backup.
Our backup features and secure data centers exceed industry standards, keeping your data in good hands.
