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Secure Cloud Computing : The future of Information Technology Management

Kartik Shahani
Monday, January 3, 2011
Kartik Shahani
Cloud computing delivers convenient, on-demand access to software applications, and services. The cloud computing paradigm—made possible by sophisticated automation, provisioning and virtualization technologies—differs dramatically from today’s IT model because it decouples data and software from the servers and storage systems running them and allows IT resources to be dynamically allocated and delivered as a service, either in component parts or as an integrated whole.

While the cloud provides organizations with a more efficient, flexible, convenient and cost-effective alternative to owning and operating their own infrastructure, it also makes mitigating risk more complex as it erases the traditional, physical boundaries that help define and protect an organization’s data.

However, at RSA, we believe that Cloud Computing will turn the way we deliver security inside out. And information security will enable cloud computing to take full advantage of the Internet turning current IT models inside out as well. This means we can deliver new waves of efficiency, agility and collaboration for organizations of all sizes since many of the physical operations and roles will converge with virtual machine administrators playing the roles of network, storage and server administrator simultaneously.

Moving to the Cloud
In order for organizations to move their high-value business processes and regulated data into the cloud, the following points need to be tackled appropriately and adequately by service providers and cloud developers
*Organizations have the onus of proving, on a continuous and reliable basis, that the infrastructure supporting their data and processes is secure. For this, the IT industry and cloud providers need to develop real-time monitoring solutions that provide configurable reports of actual conditions within the cloud.
*When companies outsource parts of their IT infrastructure to cloud providers, they effectively give up some control over their information infrastructure and processes, even while they are required to bear greater responsibility for data confidentiality and compliance. Many times, the consumer is carried away with the generic statements of compliance to industry standards by the cloud service provider. To satisfy requirements, a generic statement of control compliance may not be sufficient. Given that organizations have little option but to go by the word of the service providers or the service level agreements (SLAs), accountability needs to be affixed on all members to the contract to ensure there is no breach or lapse of processes

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