July 20169Security remains perhaps the biggest worry about shifting your data and systems to the cloud. But there's a way to mitigate your concerns - hybrid cloudhind this is: Legacy systems, as they grow old, present security risks and greater maintenance costs; as cloud tech starts proving itself, migration from test systems to full `produc-tion' systems is no longer worrisome to IT decision makers; and, as nim-ble startups start presenting a threat even to established businesses, it is essential that every avenue of effi-ciency be utilized. Third-party Integration & APIsThe cloud was never meant to be stand-alone. The promise of the cloud lays in (apart from, of course, reliability & cost efficiency) its ability to tie together all your resources. From vendor databases and CRM systems to intra-office collaboration, the cloud makes this possible. And leading this charge is the availability of cloud APIs that make integration possible. In the initial days, cloud vendors kept their systems almost stand-alone, but that soon changed. And why wouldn't it? After all, the cloud's real benefits can be found in enabling a truly connected workplace. Whether it's your offsite CRM personnel or your field sales staff, or even top management who're always on the go but need to work closely with their project teams, these APIs make it possible. Today you'll be hard-pressed to find a SaaS or Cloud technology that doesn't speak about (or more accurately, aggressively promote) its ability to work closely with your other systems and networks. Security Remains a ConcernDespite the growing emphasis on security, concerns haven't quite abated. Initially, it was the lack of experienced personnel in the cloud space which led to worries that a major data breach could happen sometime. That might since have been rectified, and cloud providers and other companies making use of cloud computing and storage now have access to well-trained security specialists. Along with this, there is better awareness of security issues, and greater focus on developing systems that are secure. However, the cloud now presents a far more attractive target to hackers and malware developers. With more and more sensitive data saved in the cloud, the effects of a breach today might end up being far more serious than, say, a breach in the initial days of the cloud. Due to this, expect a renewed focus on securing cloud infrastructure with new standards, best practices and techniques being developed in the race to stay ahead of `cyber criminals'.The Next Stage - Indian Brands & IoT Adoption Indian cloud providers have made their mark in the b2b arena, but b2b adoption of Indian brands utilizing cloud computing in their end-user products is only now beginning to take off. Today, a couple of leading Indian smartphone brands offer their users cloud backup and other value-added services. This presents Indian cloud service providers an opportunity to tailor their offerings to Indian brands that want to integrate cloud tech in their offerings, and also gives businesses a reason to explore how this trend benefits their business model. Apart from this, IoT is the next big trend in consumer technology, and for reasons of support, localization, performance and responsiveness, homegrown cloud providers will be well-placed to provide back-end computing power and storage space. This might still be a small field, but you can expect this to be the next battleground for not just Indian brands, but also global giants operating in the Indian market.
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