Remember when Kodak held a dominant position in the photographic film? Maybe not, because in the late 1990s, photographic film sales had declined, and Kodak's slow transition to the digital camera in the early 2000s was a little too late. The problem was, they could not see beyond the traditional benchmarks, like picture quality. They needed to understand that the ease of sharing digital images would change their business forever. This is the same idea as cloud technology. There are so many possibilities available, especially those things you could never do before. Here is a look at these changing cloud security ideas and the technology to get them done!
Take a typical office building as an example; some companies may still feel that their corporate data is the safest living behind its four walls. With all the technological advances in today's world, that’s rarely the case. Now more than ever, many of us spend as much time working outside the office as we once did inside. Companies are taking on more remote employees in order to acquire and keep the talent they depend on. Laptops, tablets, and smartphones have replaced desktop PCs. Employees use cloud applications to make their jobs easier, and many line-of-business (LOB) applications are specifically designed in the cloud.
We understand that some companies feel the cloud will increase risk. The fact is, with the proper due diligence, cloud security increased, and more solutions are available that were previously unattainable for many small-business organizations. It seems the challenge with adoption is that security is delivered in a very new and intangible way. Major cloud providers such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google can show reports proving their systems are secure, but that does not make organizations feel comfortable when it comes to securing access to their data.
Below is an overview of how technology provides cloud security for data:
- Identity and Access Management: When users connect from anywhere at any time, be assured they are.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Have a second, physical form of authentication in addition to username and password. Smartphone authentication is a popular method.
- Single Sign-On (SSO): Secure all cloud assets with a single identity that is centrally managed. Users only need to need to sign in once to access multiple corporate applications.
- Mobile Device and Application Management (MDM/MAM): Know and secure users' mobile devices connected to a company's network, cloud assets, and the data they contain.
- Conditional Access: Make sure devices accessing the corporate network are compliant before allowing them to connect.
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Set policies around sharing of sensitive data within the corporate network. Control who has access, what can be downloaded, how information is shared, and much more.
The cloud is changing the way business gets done. No matter where you might be in your business evolution, chat with a trusted managed service partner, like Systems Engineering, to guide your path to the cloud. We can help your company to maximize the benefits and safety of your cloud environment. Don't end up like Kodak, caught up on the fact that things aren't done the way you've done them before.
If you would like to learn more about how cloud technology and cloud security can move your business forward, contact us at info@systemsengineering.com or call 888.624.6737 to speak to a Systems Engineering representative. Clients, please reach out to your Account Manager.
Mark Benton is the Director of Product Management at Systems Engineering. He has over 30 years of experience in Information Technology and oversees the onboarding of new products and services for Systems Engineering and its customers.
