Moving fully to the cloud is definitely not a great idea

Moving to the cloud gives access to enterprise-class technology, for everyone. It also allows smaller businesses to act faster than big, established competitors at the same time there are also some major disadvantages. Cloud applications have many benefits, such as flexibility, scalability, business continuity, and more, but going “all in” with the cloud isn’t without some serious drawbacks?

Poor identity, access and credential management is the biggest cybersecurity challenge for cloud computing, after the shift to remote working has redefined the workplace and changed priorities around the use of cloud applications and services, warns new research. When you use a cloud-based application, you’re entrusting the security of your data to a 3rd party. You’re still handing over sensitive data on your company, employees, and customers to another party who is hosting your data on a server that’s sight unseen.

As opposed to just paying for software once and keeping it forever, cloud-applications run on a subscription model where you pay per user per month or per year. If your budget is tight, say for one month, you could end up losing your service, putting your office at a standstill. Data breaches are costly for any organization, and it’s doubly frustrating when your data has been breached by a trusted cloud-vendor. Because cloud companies host so much sensitive data from a variety of clients, hackers know that breaching their systems can mean a jackpot of data to steal.

Going to the cloud resulted, around 78 per cent of Indian organisations surveyed were hit by ransomware in 2021 and some of the entities paid over Rs 76 crore as ransom to get their data back, as per the report of Sophos.

Moving fully to the cloud is definitely not a great idea, it is just like keeping all eggs in one basket. It is the most expansive and risky proposition but none of the cloud companies are telling about the hidden fact. Enterprises are arguably dealing with more data today than ever before and the pain security operations teams are feeling is significant. An expert says, until and unless there is some major bubble burst the fact will not come to the public. In cloud computing, every component is online, which exposes potential vulnerabilities.

Even the best teams suffer severe attacks and security breaches from time to time. Although cloud service providers implement the best security standards and industry certifications, storing data and important files on external service providers always opens up risks. Any discussion involving data must address security and privacy, especially when it comes to managing sensitive data. Security concerns remain the number one barrier to cloud computing deployment.

There have been many publicized cloud breaches, and IT departments around the world are concerned. From personal information of employees such as login credentials to a loss of intellectual property, the security threats are real. Despite the promise of the cloud, security is the primary concern for many industries, so an on-premises environment, despite some of its drawbacks and price tag, makes more sense. Cloud security controls have historically been considered less robust than on-prem ones, but cloud computing is no longer a new technology.

Nowadays, more and more businesses are trusting the cloud for their security needs. A company running its own on-premises servers retains more complete control over security. They are responsible for setting appropriate user access policies, installing firewalls and antivirus software, ensuring security patches are installed promptly, and guarding against cyberattacks. This degree of control can be something of a double-edged sword.