Cloud Computing

June 26, 2019 - Cloud computing is growing by leaps and bounds and will continue to do so through the year and longer. If you haven't jumped on the cloud computing bandwagon yet, there are some benefits as well as risks you should be aware of. This week's articles provide some info on the state of cloud computing, the trends we are seeing, and the dangers lurking out there.

As multicloud strategies, 5G and containerization take hold, cloud computing is set to see some major disruption. (Item #1)   A Forrester study predicts that enterprises must respond nimbly to address changing cloud markets and technologies. (Item #2)   While today, it sometimes seems like we've seen the main components of cloud operations and all that's left to do is optimize them, history tells us that's not the case. (Item #3)

In its second decade, cloud computing has become a mature and reliable technology, but we still have only scratched the surface of the cloud's full potential as an enabler of digital business transformation. (Item #4)   The white paper points out that cloud-based solutions can reap great rewards but also harbor hidden dangers. (Item #5)   Chances are if you are in the events industry you have used AV at your events. There are proactive steps you can take to protect your data in the cloud. (Item #6)


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Cloud Computing

July 25, 2018 - While cloud services can help secure your data, save you money and are one of the most critical developments in recent computing history, they don't eliminate the need for a good business continuity or disaster recovery plan. Just read these articles to see why... and to learn about some of the risks involved as well as the way cloud computing is already changing.

Although cloud computing may reduce certain continuity concerns due to the advantages of a distributed infrastructure, it will never eliminate the need for well-tested business continuity (BC) plans. (Item #1)  BC professionals can clear up misperceptions about what the cloud is and provide a robust mechanism to protect the organization even when it relies on "the cloud". (Item #2)  Here are 10 best practices for leveraging the cloud for BC and disaster recovery. (Item #3)

Although cloud adoption should never be thought of as a solution to an organization's DR and BC challenges, it certainly can play a positive role. (Item #4)  Here are the "Treacherous 12," the top security threats organizations face when using cloud services. (Item #5)  These are five of the hottest changes in cloud technology you'll witness in 2018. (Item #6)


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Ransomware

January 31, 2018 - According to many recent surveys, ransomware is expected to be a (if not THE) leading cyber threat of 2018. Some report that 63% of businesses have experienced attempted ransomware attacks. Everything is vulnerable to these attacks; even our cars and home appliances can be at risk. The newest predictions say that ransomware will hit the cloud this year. Given all of this, it's time to learn all we can about this threat and how we might protect ourselves. Read on...

Ransomware is a type of malware that has become a significant threat to U.S. businesses and individuals during the past two years. (Item #1)   Ransomware was a significant threat in 2017 and is likely to become an even greater threat in 2018. (Item #2)   Did you know what ransomware can do besides encrypting your data? (Item #3)

The smartification of everything and the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) into our culture means that everyone and everything will be a target of ransomware around the clock. (Item #4)   Ransomware targeting cloud services is one of the six biggest cyber threats likely to face organizations in 2018, according to an MIT study. (Item #5)   While you might have escaped a major ransomware attack up to this point, statistics indicate it's not a matter of if you'll be attacked, but a matter of when. (Item #6)


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Business Continuity and the Cloud

January 17, 2018 - Have you migrated to the cloud or are you thinking of doing so? There are lots of legitimate concerns about such a move, but there are also lots of ways to make the migration easier and safer. You should have a good business continuity plan that addresses some of your concerns (like what do you do if your cloud provider goes belly up?) so you can act if problems arise. You may find some helpful information in this week's articles.

Sometimes the decision to migrate to the cloud is put off due to fears that the process will be difficult; in this article are some tips to help smooth the migration path. (Item #1)  You must have resiliency-in-layers, meaning a secondary (or more), geographically and meteorologically diverse, off-premise recovery data centers. (Item #2)  The jury is still out on whether using cloud-based services increases or decreases the likelihood of business interruptions. (Item #3)

Business continuity may be taking on a new flavor as the cloud gains prominence. (Item #4)  Here's what you can do to mitigate the risks of vendor lock-in. (Item #5)  To the best of anyone's knowledge, no one has been killed or injured migrating to the cloud, but there are real fears; they can be overcome. (Item #6)


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Cloud Computing

July 26, 2017 - In a matter of years, cloud computing has become an option for many companies and for many reasons. Yet there are still only a fairly small percentage of folks who have parked their data in the cloud. Is it right for your company? This week we look at a number of issues that might affect your decision, from strategies to data risks to what to do if your provider goes bust to how to select that provider in the first place.

From cost containment to hybrid strategies, CIOs are getting more creative in taking advantage of the latest offerings and the cloud’s economies of scale. (Item #1)   There are at least six reasons where it would indeed be appropriate to avoid considering the use of a public cloud service, and instead, only store certain data in privately controlled data centers. (Item #2)   A recent survey identified the top cloud computing risks that concern IT professionals; the top three center on the threat of unauthorized access and security. (Item #3)

Cloud computing has become a staple of most enterprise computing environments, but CIOs are still sweating over whether to use one or more infrastructure-as-a-service provider. (Item #4)   The biggest risk in using a cloud provider is if they turn off the lights and go bust. (Item #5)   Here are some things to consider in order to select the right cloud service provider. (Item #6)


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Business Continuity and the Cloud

Jan 18, 2017 - Does your business continuity plan leverage the advantages of the Cloud? If not, perhaps you should consider if it should. While there are some security issues to consider when moving to the Cloud, there also are many benefits that may be derived. Take a look at this week’s articles to see if a move to the Cloud might help strengthen your business continuity and disaster recovery plans.

An emerging viable tool for disaster recovery is the cloud. (Item #1)   Business continuity may be taking on a new flavor as the cloud gains prominence. (Item #2)   New disaster recovery as-a-service (DRaaS) solutions designed for the public cloud have changed the business resiliency game. (Item #3)

No insurance policy will help employees continue working if they don’t have access to business-critical applications. (Item #4)   The next generation of firewalls can be used as effective business continuity tools (Item #5)   The jury is still out on whether using cloud-based services increases or decreases the likelihood of business interruptions. (Item #6)

If you are interested in more info about Cloud Computing and some things to consider about it, you can review the July 27th issue of the NewsBriefs at http://attainium.net/newsbriefs/2016-07-27-BC-Newsbriefs.html.


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Cloud Computing: Some things to consider

Today, many people have business continuity/disaster plans, but they may not review and update them on a regular basis, which can lead to serious problems. When you first wrote your plan, did you consider that one day much of your data would/might be in the cloud? Did you plan for what you would have to do in the event your cloud vendor went out of business? If not, and you have a private or public cloud vendor (or are thinking about going to the cloud), you may want to read on.

The best time to prepare for getting data out of the cloud is before you put it in there. (Item #1)   Before you move to an online storage provider, there are some things you should know (and ask) about cloud storage and recovery. (Item #2)    When you’re putting a lot of systems into the cloud, you should consider a number of things. (Item #3)

Here are some of the pros and cons of whether you should do all your computing in the cloud. (Item #4)   This article describes some of the risks and things that might go wrong with cloud computing. (Item #5)   Although the benefits of SaaS are hard to ignore, there are risks inherent in the cloud. (Item #6)


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Business Continuity and the Cloud

Cloud computing -- or SaaS -- is a very much talked about today. Some of the talk is about its benefits (scalability, reliability, accessibility, etc.) but some of the talk is about its drawbacks (complexity, cost, security, etc.).  Whatever your point of view, it seems that the cloud is here to stay, so we all should be considering how and if we can use it effectively and strategically to achieve our disaster recovery and business continuity goals. This week’s articles could prove helpful toward making that decision.

As the cloud matures and continues to provide cost-efficient and scalable methods of computing for infrastructure, applications, and data, it’s likely to become an increasingly popular option for enterprise disaster recovery. (Item #1)   Clouds are here to stay and an increasingly important aspect of how organizations achieve their goals with technology. (Item #2)   There are specific cloud technologies that have become driving factors for better business IT redundancy. (Item #3)

Why is the cloud such a powerful choice for companies' BC and DR requirements? (Item #4)   The jury is still out on whether using cloud-based services increases or decreases the likelihood of business interruptions. (Item #5)   What information do you need to obtain from your cloud provider when it comes to the protection of business-critical data? (Item #6)


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