The proliferation of software into the business world has made companies more productive and efficient. Simple word processing and spreadsheets have magnified the productive output of office workers over their counterparts of thirty years ago. ERP software allows companies to coordinate their vital business activities in ways not possible in the past. Web sites today can easily and cheaply reach prospects all over the world which would have cost a fortune in advertising in decades past. However, this progress has created a problem in the form of data proliferation. Useful business software acts upon and generates reams of data that must be stored somewhere.
You may question why data storage is a problem when there are servers that do this job well. The problem occurs when the competitiveness and even existence of businesses depend on this data. If you wanted to cripple a business, you can do it more quickly and efficiently by destroying its data than destroying its physical infrastructure. Data is the Achilles heel of all businesses that owe their success to its effective use. Like money, it has the power to generate more money. It has value just like money and its loss can bring down a business just as quickly as the loss of too much money.
However, there is one clear difference between money and data: how we treat it. Businesses as well as individuals don’t keep large sums of money on their premises because its theft or loss would be devastating. They keep it in banks which have the resources and infrastructure to ensure its security. Curiously, the same isn’t true of data storage. Businesses, especially small ones, store their data “under their mattresses” in the form of servers in small rooms with little if any safeguards against the many ways that this valuable commodity can be lost.
Data stored on in-house servers is vulnerable to coffee spills, clumsiness, viruses, bad plumbing, lightning strikes, burglaries, or a small fire that sets off a sprinkler system. Even something as trivial as wet snowfall occurring before all the leaves have dropped off the trees can pull down branches on power lines and cause widespread power outages lasting for days. This means no access to your data and your web site goes offline for days if you have no power backup system. All because of poorly timed wet snow. Small things can cascade into big consequences for your business.
The Security Benefits of Windows Cloud Hosting
Specialized data centers that provide windows cloud hosting benefit from economy of scale. The costs of having a specialized staff and maintaining the right infrastructure are spread out among the many clients that use the facility. Small to medium businesses often don’t have the resources to maintain their own equivalent data centers. Cloud hosting providers are also more security focused than other types of businesses because their clients entrust them with their data. Their staying in business demands that security be their top priority.
Some specific security benefits of using cloud hosting providers include:
- Physical security – Cloud hosting data centers employ security guards who patrol the grounds and buildings 24 hours a day. They have command centers and use security cameras. There are backup generators in case of a power grid failure as well as other redundant utility systems. These backups are in place to keep their servers and support systems (such as air conditioning) running. Data centers are housed in buildings that are hardened against storms common to their area as well as other potential disasters.
- Professional staff – Because their business is data management, cloud hosting providers employ IT specialists. Other professionals include security experts specializing in Internet-based threats.
- Cyber security – In addition to the professional staff mentioned above, cloud hosting providers use the latest software and hardware technology for safeguarding their servers against cyber threats. These include advanced encryption, firewalls, and intrusion prevention systems.
If you have questions about securing your vital business data, please contact us.
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