Meeting the standards of existing and emerging compliance regulations continues to be one of the greatest challenges facing companies working in the cloud in 2020.
1. Understanding Shared Responsibility
Many new businesses migrating their workflows simply assume that once their data is in the cloud, it’s the vendor’s responsibility to store it compliantly. This isn’t the case.
While public cloud services and SaaS products do offer compliance and security features as extras, in the eyes of the law, the responsibility for the security of data in the cloud ultimately falls at the feet of your organization. Before investing in cloud services, it's important to understand that data protection and compliance is ultimately your responsibility.
2. Multi-Cloud Muddle
Ensuring your data remains compliant involves having a clear understanding of where it’s being stored. In the past, this was simple – everything was safe in an on-site data center.
Today, with companies on average utilizing almost five public cloud services and employees accessing data from multiple devices, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep on top of where your data is being stored and accessed from.
There is still much to be done to combat this, especially on the part of cloud service providers, who often store data across multiple servers.
With multi-cloud structures becoming the norm, many businesses are choosing to invest in a dedicated cloud management service to keep them informed about where their data is being stored at any one time.
3. Advanced Cyber-Threats
As an increasing number of companies transition to the cloud, the scope for cyber-threats grows exponentially. Every year that passes, cyber-criminals become ever more sophisticated in their techniques, and cyber-criminality has become a lucrative business – recent studies have suggested that ransomware alone is a $2 billion a year industry.
While concerns about cyber-crime fall under the auspices of cloud security, if any third party gains access to your company's private data, it very quickly becomes a compliance issue too.
Perhaps one day computer systems will be unhackable. Until then, cloud security will continue to be a major priority in 2020.
4. GDPR is Just the Beginning
In May of 2018, the European Union introduced
While GDPR is undoubtedly great for consumers, its introduction has increased the workload for organizations that collect data. From email addresses and passwords to medical records and insurance documents, companies must be transparent about what data they collect and how it is being used. Many companies have created a Data Protection Officer (DPO) role to oversee this new compliance challenge.
But GDPR is just the beginning. Going forward, it's inevitable that more legislative measures will be enforced around the globe – is your company prepared for it?
5. CIOs Get Serious About Cost Management
Hiring compliance staff to monitor your cloud environment can be very costly and keeping on top of cloud expenses has become an increasing concern for CIOs. This challenge is further exacerbated by the fact that most native cost management tools leave a lot to be desired.
A cloud management services provider can alleviate these issues through a process of consistent cost analysis and optimisation, ensuring you only pay for the services you use.
Trust is the Ultimate Currency
Your customers' trust in your organization is what keeps you in business. You must take responsibility for safeguarding their personal data, no matter where it's
It's not easy to remain compliant in a world of increasing legislation, so why not let Cass do the hard work for you? We'll ensure your data remains safe, secure, and compliant, while also optimizing your cloud spend.
Topics: GDPR, Cloud Management Services
