We all know how great cloud storage is for a number of reasons. It enables employees to access data anytime and anywhere, thus improving productivity, and it can make the user experience much smoother. However, even though the majority of large businesses are transitioning to cloud storage, many businesses still have concerns about using the cloud. Those concerns typically arise from a lack of knowledge about cloud storage and its many benefits. There are several misconceptions that business owners and managers still have.
So, let’s set the record straight. Here are three of the main misconceptions about cloud storage for business and an explanation of why they’re not true.
Misconception #1: Cloud Storage Is Less Secure Than Your Own Data Center.
In all online facets of your business, you need to ensure your data is secure. And you may think that having your own data center infrastructure will allow you to have more security control over your data than using cloud storage would enable. Several years ago, there were some concerns about cloud security, but we’re now living in the 2020s and things have changed a lot in the last few years. All reputable online cloud storage facilities use cutting-edge security measures to ensure robust safety, and you can implement your own security protocols to further ensure the protection of data. Using a remote access cloud file server not only increases security. It also enhances file server mobility and simplifies remote access. Cloud data security can be enhanced with:
- Using multifactor authentication, which ensures only authorized personnel can log into your business’s cloud apps and access the data on or off-premises.
- Providing your employees with anti-phishing training, so that hackers cannot steal things like login credentials.
- Setting proper levels of authorization, so that not every employee has access to every single application, file, and piece of information. You can set priority levels for different users to ensure data remains safe.
Misconception #2: Cloud Storage Is Only Good for Reducing IT Costs.
One of the main misconceptions about cloud storage for businesses is its primary value is reducing IT costs. While cloud storage can indeed cut down your IT expenses, via things like access to on-demand infrastructure and database services, the value of cloud storage goes much deeper than that. Cloud-enabled activities like faster times to market and improved analytics can generate a much larger incremental contribution than simple IT cost reductions. Cloud storage can improve virtually all aspects of your company’s services, products, and processes. Of course, as we have already seen, cloud storage is also better for the robust security of data. So, think beyond cloud storage being beneficial for lowering IT expenses and see the huge potential cloud storage and the cloud, in general, can bring to your business.
Misconception #3: There Is Greater Latency in the Cloud Compared to In-house Networks.
Many business owners and managers fear that by transitioning to cloud storage, they will experience higher latency. However, if there is latency, it’s usually the result of the company’s IT department trying to backhaul its data through in-house data centers. When routing traffic is backhauled through internal networks, it creates additional complexity, higher latency, and poor user experience. As long as your company employs IT professionals who have experience, they can stop backhauling and instead trust the security of the cloud. They should use models like clean-sheeting or designing virtual perimeters with cloud-specific controls. When companies stop backhauling data, it’s extremely unlikely that they will experience latency in the cloud. So, no, there isn’t greater latency in the cloud compared to in-house networks.
