Hello all,
I think I'm getting old, since I read this thread with a growing sense of
horror. If you outsource the total gamut of your IT infrastructure in a
SaaS sense (fancy name for cloud-space), are you really saving in the long
run?
On Fri, November 12, 2010 15:56, Imran Chaudhry wrote:
>> In all honesty if my needs were great enough that just spreading my
>> encrypted data over three or so different storage providers wasn't
>> enough then I would be tempted to build it myself, using the cloud
>> storage services directly.
This would be at a pure minimum, a "reduntant" setup with three seperate
cloud storage providers. All of it with high levels of encryption. And
redundant UPS's for each UPS! :-)
> We're moving more towards SaaS for many things so this idea is out.
Sorry to say this (I feel very old fashioned at the moment), but be very
very careful. Having all your applications and data off-site is a security
risk of almost incalculable proportions. The possibility of somebody
cracking your encryption is the smallest risk, the biggest is not having
access to your corporate data for whatever reason. I am very glad that I'm
not the I.T. manager who has to work on this particular project. I was
taught by my (quite conservative) parents that the further you are from
your property, the closer you are to your calamity! :-)
Yes, off-site storage is cool, and if you use it in the right way, it's a
great way to safeguard your data. But Saas? How are you going to access
your data if all you have is a single candle burning in the middle of the
room? I hope you have multiple contingency plans ready. I have to admit
that I did not have time keeping up with the technical niceties of the
specific SaaS offerings out there, but I cannot help but viewing it with
intense distrust.
Brrr, horrible thought, not being able to get to your data. I think I'll
have a sleepless night tonight... :-)
--
Regards,
Jan Henkins
