Cloud computing has forever transformed how we manage, process and store our data. Without having to physically carry external storage devices, cloud services have enabled us to access our digital information from virtually any internet enabled device. Whilst this is a practical solution especially in today’s data-driven world, hosting data on external servers has also resulted in a wave of contemporary and more advanced security threats for this form of information good.
The cloud computing market offer services that are tailored around three primary service models; Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS); Software-as-a-Service (SaaS); and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).
SaaS is the most notable, largely acting as the clients’ initial access point to a digital portal on the host’s server. Familiar applications that are categorized as SaaS include Dropbox, Facebook, iCloud and Google Drive. PaaS are aimed at enterprises providing platforms on which software can be deployed, which may include hardware and primary software such as an enterprise operating system on a server, in addition to as a developers’ toolkits and channels for payments. IaaS consists of the primary foundations on which PaaS and SaaS are installed. These are the principal operating resources such as the physical servers on which the network and consequently ‘the cloud’ is hosted, as well as the IT network infrastructure.
Of the many security concerns that consumers have towards cloud computing, the most notable are data breaches, hijacking of accounts, data loss, abuse of cloud services as well as insecure API’s. Consequently, whilst data stored in the cloud is commonly password protected and more than often the data is encrypted, data being stored online instead of on a portable/physical device may pose a degree of apprehension for consumers (whether private or business) in migrating to cloud services.
Ultimately, I feel cloud computing provides consumers with the ability to modernize an outdated IT infrastructure, without incurring significant capital expenditure costs associated with the hosting and maintenance of data centres. Migrating to the cloud further enables firms to focus on core revenue driving operations instead of data centre expansion.
