What cloud computing really means
The next big trend sounds nebulous, but it's not so fuzzy when you view the value proposition from the perspective of IT professionals
Cloud computing is all the rage. "It's become the phrase du jour," says Gartner senior analyst Ben Pring, echoing many of his peers. The problem is that (as with Web 2.0) everyone seems to have a different definition.
As a metaphor for the Internet, "the cloud" is a familiar cliché, but when combined with "computing," the meaning gets bigger and fuzzier. Some analysts and vendors define cloud computing narrowly as an updated version of utility computing: basically virtual servers available over the Internet. Others go very broad, arguing anything you consume outside the firewall is "in the cloud," including conventional outsourcing.
Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT's existing capabilities.
Cloud computing is at an early stage, with a motley crew of providers large and small delivering a slew of cloud-based services, from full-blown applications to storage services to spam filtering. Yes, utility-style infrastructure providers are part of the mix, but so are SaaS (software as a service) providers such as Salesforce.com. Today, for the most part, IT must plug into cloud-based services individually, but cloud computing aggregators and integrators are already emerging.
Top five cloud computing security issues
In the last few years, cloud computing has grown from being a promising business concept to one of the fastest growing segments of the IT industry. Now, recession-hit companies are increasingly realising that simply by tapping into the cloud they can gain fast access to best-of-breed business applications or drastically boost their infrastructure resources, all at negligible cost. But as more and more information on individuals and companies is placed in the cloud, concerns are beginning to grow about just how safe an environment it is.
1. Every breached security system was once thought infallible
2. Understand the risks of cloud computing
3. How cloud hosting companies have approached security
4. Local law and jurisdiction where data is held
5. Best practice for companies in the cloud
Understand the risks of cloud computing
Cloud service users need to be vigilant in understanding the risks of data breaches in this new environment.
"At the heart of cloud infrastructure is this idea of multi-tenancy and decoupling between specific hardware resources and applications," explains Datamonitor senior analyst Vuk Trifković. "In the jungle of multi-tenant data, you need to trust the cloud provider that your information will not be exposed."
For their part, companies need to be vigilant, for instance about how passwords are assigned, protected and changed. Cloud service providers typically work with numbers of third parties, and customers are advised to gain information about those companies which could potentially access their data.
IDC's Bradshaw says an important measure of security often overlooked by companies is how much downtime a cloud service provider experiences. He recommends that companies ask to see service providers' reliability reports to determine whether these meet the requirements of the business. Exception monitoring systems is another important area which companies should ask their service providers about, he adds.
London-based financial transaction specialists SmartStream Technologies made its foray into the cloud services space last month with a new SaaS product aimed at providing smaller banks and other financial institutions with a cheap means of reconciling transactions. Product manager Darryl Twiggs says that the service has attracted a good deal of interest amongst small to mid-tier banks, but that some top tier players are also being attracted by the potential cost savings.
An important consideration for cloud service customers, especially those responsible for highly sensitive data, Twiggs says, is to find out about the hosting company used by the provider and if possible seek an independent audit of their security status.
"Customers we engage with haven't been as stringent as we thought they would have been with this".
How cloud hosting companies have approached security
As with most SaaS offerings, the applications forming SmartClear's offering are constantly being tweaked and revised, a fact which raises more security issues for customers. Companies need to know, for instance, whether a software change might actually alter its security settings.
"For every update we review the security requirements for every user in the system," Twiggs says.
One of the world's largest technology companies, Google, has invested a lot of money into the cloud space, where it recognises that having a reputation for security is a key determinant of success. "Security is built into the DNA of our products," says a company spokesperson. "Google practices a defense-in-depth security strategy, by architecting security into our people, process and technologies".
However, according to Datamonitor's Trifković, the cloud is still very much a new frontier with very little in the way of specific standards for security or data privacy. In many ways he says that cloud computing is in a similar position to where the recording industry found itself when it was trying to combat peer-to-peer file sharing with copyright laws created in the age of analogue.
"In terms of legislation, at the moment there's nothing that grabs my attention that is specifically built for cloud computing," he says. "As is frequently the case with disruptive technologies, the law lags behind the technology development for cloud computing."
What's more, many are concerned that cloud computing remains at such an embryonic stage that the imposition of strict standards could do more harm than good.
IBM, Cisco, SAP, EMC and several other leading technology companies announced in late March that they had created an 'Open Cloud Manifesto' calling for more consistent security and monitoring of cloud services.
But the fact that neither Amazon.com, Google nor Salesforce.com agreed to take part suggests that broad industry consensus may be some way off. Microsoft also abstained, charging that IBM was forcing its agenda.
"Standards by definition are restrictive. Consequently, people are questioning whether cloud computing can benefit from standardisation at this stage of market development." says Trifković. "There is a slight reluctance on the part of cloud providers to create standards before the market landscape is fully formed."
Until it is there are nevertheless a handful of existing web standards which companies in the cloud should know about. Chief among these is ISO27001, which is designed to provide the foundations for third party audit, and implements OECD principles governing security of information and network systems. The SAS70 auditing standard is also used by cloud service providers.
Local law and jurisdiction where data is held
Possibly even more pressing an issue than standards in this new frontier is the emerging question of jurisdiction. Data that might be secure in one country may not be secure in another. In many cases though, users of cloud services don't know where their information is held. Currently in the process of trying to harmonise the data laws of its member states, the EU favours very strict protection of privacy, while in America laws such as the US Patriot Act invest government and other agencies with virtually limitless powers to access information including that belonging to companies.
UK-based electronics distributor ACAL is using NetSuite OneWorld for its CRM. Simon Rush, IT manager at ACAL, has needed to ensure that ACAL had immediate access to all of its data should its contract with NetSuite be terminated for any reason, so that the information could be quickly relocated. Part of this included knowing in which jurisdiction the data is held. "We had to make sure that, as a company, our data was correctly and legally held."
European concerns about about US privacy laws led to creation of the US Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, which are intended to provide European companies with a degree of insulation from US laws. James Blake from e-mail management SaaS provider Mimecast suspects that these powers are being abused. "Counter terrorism legislation is increasingly being used to gain access to data for other reasons," he warns.
Mimecast provides a comprehensive e-mail management service in the cloud for over 25,000 customers, including 40% of the top legal firms in the UK.
Customers benefit from advanced encryption that only they are able to decode, ensuring that Mimecast acts only as the custodian, rather than the controller of the data, offering companies concerned about privacy another layer of protection. Mimecast also gives customers the option of having their data stored in different jurisdictions.
For John Tyreman, IT manager for outsourced business services provider Liberata, flexibility over jurisdiction was a key factor in his choosing Mimecast to help the company meet its obligations to store and manage e-mails from 2500 or so staff spread across 20 countries. The company is one of the UK's leading outsourcing providers for the Public Sector, Life Pensions and Investments and Corporate Pensions leading. "Storing our data in the US would have been a major concern," Tyreman says.
