Cloud Source

Why Enterprises Embrace the Cloud for Data

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For more than a decade, enterprises have been grappling with both the benefits and challenges of Big Data. While data provides meaningful insights into business processes and customer behavior, there’s just so much of it. Enterprises are turning to the cloud to achieve a scalable, manageable data solution.

As machine learning and artificial intelligence spur the increase of data both in terms of volume and variety, enterprises struggle to innovate their infrastructure and data storage and analysis solutions fast enough or with enough capacity. Even as they recognize the value that can be pulled from structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data, most of the data gathered by the typical enterprise goes unused.

Enterprises are interested in capitalizing on the investment they’ve made in data collection through the development of new revenue streams, and many are finding that the solution to Big Data is the cloud.

The cloud presents a way to process workloads in a scalable model that accommodates rapidly changing compute and storage needs. Flexible cloud data solutions allow for this kind of elasticity, which guarantees that the levels of computing and data storage necessary under different types of scenarios are available.

Scalability for Varying Data Access Requirements: For instance, some types of businesses require data workflows to process high levels of volume at certain times, such as a social media site during evening hours. These businesses need a scalable environment that allows flexibility in usage but doesn’t require them to pay for the servers and compute when they are not at these peak usage times.

E-commerce retailers are also accessing high-volume data processing and analytics in order to present customers with targeted shopping experiences that occur in real-time with personalized recommendations. A spike in website traffic always occurs on Cyber Monday, and rather than deploying a host of physical servers to support this activity on a single day, cloud data solutions allow for the necessary elasticity to accommodate the demand. After Cyber Monday, the retailer goes back to its normal usage and only pays for what it uses.

For enterprises that work in a highly regulated industry or that have a core value that celebrates consumer privacy, embracing a hybrid cloud model may be ideal. Rather than worry about data protection in the cloud, these enterprises move some workloads to the cloud while retaining sensitive workloads on-premises for heightened protection. In some cases, enterprises initially plan a full shift to the cloud but eventually recognize that a hybrid solution is the right mix of security, innovation, and cost savings.

For more information about the benefits of shifting your data storage, processing, and analysis to the cloud, contact us at Cloud Source. We can help you leverage the best solution to meet your specific business goals.

Simplifying Multi-Cloud Strategies With SDN

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Software-defined networking (SDN) allows companies pursuing a multi-cloud strategy to gain better control over network traffic and optimize performance. It’s a way to virtualize the network, separating the control plane from the data plane and address the differing performance requirements of various cloud environments.

Rather than a simple shift of all workloads to a single cloud, most enterprises find that a multi-cloud environment serves their needs best. They get the robust security and customization that comes with investing in private cloud solutions, while benefitting from the speed and agility that public cloud is known to deliver.

In many cases, the multi-cloud environment represents a perfect blend of cost savings and innovation that allows enterprises to maintain a competitive edge in their industry. The approach is not without challenges:

  • Managing the various contracts, performance requirements, and billing of each cloud provider adds a layer of complexity to the management of the IT environment.
  • Security may be disjointed, with different providers offering varying levels of protection and no overarching strategy for protecting the myriad access points.
  • Network engineers are challenged to ensure that mission-critical transmissions are prioritized over more recreational transmissions, such as streaming video, or those that don’t require real-time connectivity.
  • Creating a comprehensive strategy for managing how cloud solutions are added to the environment can be difficult when different business units or branches are utilizing different platforms and software.

Simplifying Through SDN: Enterprises are turning to SDN to solve these challenges, virtualizing the network for added visibility and control. There are several benefits that come with SDN that are ideal for multi-cloud environments:

  • Traffic Prioritization: Through a single network management dashboard, network administrators are able to direct traffic according to priority and performance requirements. Critical workloads can be directed to a link that delivers the speed, performance, and reliability they need, all automated according to business policy.
  • Security: The best SDN solutions offer comprehensive security features, including end-to-end encryption, next generation firewalls, and granular visibility into network activity. The traffic segmentation available through SDN offers an added level of protection, allowing any threat to be isolated until it can be addressed.
  • Application Onboarding: SDN allows IT teams to create a process for implementing new solutions, with accessibility across the enterprise for a consistent approach to technology adoption. A high level of visibility removes the threat of shadow IT and helps create a systematic approach to approval. SDN can handle the varying performance requirements of each solution and ensure a streamlined approach to innovation.

If you’re managing a multi-cloud environment and debating whether SDN may solve some of your network challenges, contact us at Cloud Source. We can help you optimize your network with the best SDN solution for your infrastructure requirements.

Taking a Multi-Pronged Approach to Cyber Security

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Given the preponderance of data in the cloud, cyber security has become a hot topic. Organizations developing cyber security strategies are on a mission to not only protect their data, but also to make the IT environment a little less complex.

One approach involves an overarching theme: don’t trust anything without first establishing strict verification standards. This is a wise approach because there are too many variables (mobile devices, IoT, etc.) involved in which cyber criminals can access information that can be damaging to your organization. What has emerged is a “zero trust” architecture that ensures data, network-wide, is protected through carefully monitoring identity and location, and inspecting network patterns and traffic logs.

Insider Threats

While organizations do everything they can to protect from outside threats, insiders must also be accounted for. Some of these issues are related to malicious intent, but many are associated with a basic lack of understanding of how cyber criminals are targeting employees, which leads to the mistakes that let them in.

If you’re not managing digital identities correctly, insider threats become much more of an issue. The same can be said of partners and contractors, the behaviors of whom must also be monitored. What cyber security teams seem to struggle with is educating individuals, continuing that education as the security landscape evolves, and integrating applications for safety that won’t negatively impact workflow. Access and control, therefore, become the sticking points.

With the right ratio of validation and insight, organizations can more easily authorize users while monitoring anomalies related to insider activity.

Finding the Right Tools

Among the top proactive and preventative measures you can take to bolster cyber security is multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA requires the user to present two or more pieces of evidence before they can log in to a system. Basically, it’s a process that makes you prove you are who you say you are. One of the more commonly utilized MFA solutions sends a random code to the user’s mobile phone, which is required during log in to provide access. This can make it exceedingly difficult for a cyber criminal to gain access to your cloud data.

Another method being used to protect data is micro-segmentation, which involves setting up perimeters in your network. Each zone of your network will be independently secure, meaning each zone will have different access requirements. This can stop a hacker, who might have broken in to one zone, from accessing the entire network.

At Cloud Source, we’re actively involved in assisting our clients with their cyber security protocols. We are your safe, secure place for all your technology needs, and we also provide disaster recovery services. Contact us and let’s talk about how we can help you develop a secure environment.

Terms to Know for Cloud-Aided Disaster Recovery

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Even the smallest businesses recognize the potential impact that a natural event such as a fire or flooding, or a cyber attack can have on their business, but many are intimidated by the necessary investment in disaster recovery. No matter the size of the enterprise, the cloud provides a variety of resources to make a recovery plan more affordable and effective.

If you’ve examined the cloud options available for disaster recovery, you may have quickly found yourself swallowed up by the wealth of terms that seem somewhat interchangeable, due to their overlapping vocabulary. Is cloud back-up different than cloud recovery, for instance?

The following list includes a few terms you’ll need to know to navigate including cloud tools in your disaster recovery plan:

Cloud Disaster Recovery: When you store copies of your data in the cloud, you can add a safety net to your on-site disaster recovery plan. You may want to rely entirely on the cloud or you may use it as a back-up plan to your other data security planning.

Cloud Backup: This term is often used synonymously with cloud disaster recovery, but it is more effectively described as an element of the above term. Cloud backup stores data off-site, so that a local disaster won’t prevent you from accessing recent data backups.

Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS): A third-party provider offers a relatively comprehensive approach to disaster recovery and is a good choice for both small businesses that may not have the in-house talent to support such efforts and for larger enterprises needing extensive support. It’s important to note that while this type of service may cover your technology needs, a full disaster recovery plan will also address physical workspaces, inventory and other aspects of the physical business.

Disaster Recovery Plan: As noted above, your plan should not only include addressing the potential impact on your technology, but also the physical elements of your business. Your disaster recovery plan also introduces new risks and considerations simply by utilizing cloud solutions in your methods. When you include cloud solutions in your impact analysis, you will see how the tools affect your continuity and recovery times. You’ll also need responses planned for situations in which your cloud provider experiences a breach or goes out of business unexpectedly.

Cloud Service Provider: You’ll need to choose a provider that aligns well with your needs and your business culture. Find out the detailed terms of the service level agreement (SLA) and what the consequences are of any unfulfilled terms. Talk with any potential providers about their cloud insurance and the benefits you receive if your provider is impacted by an event. Discuss how and in what time period you’ll be notified if they will no longer offer disaster recovery services.

There’s really no need to memorize a bunch of terms when you’re working with a technology partner ready to walk you through your disaster recovery plan. Contact us at Cloud Source to begin assessing your needs for cloud-based tools and to leverage those that best support your business continuity.

The Importance of Cloud Security in a New Era

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You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in an organization that says machine learning technology hasn’t benefited them in one way or another. At the same time, there has to be some caution practiced when using this technology due to the inherent threats it can open you up to. Cloud security professionals are developing new ways to combat these threats.

IT teams are already pushed to the limit by keeping their environments secure, but due to the fact that artificial intelligence technologies use a broader data source, cloud security professionals have to be more aware of the risks associated with the ways applications work. For example, attack vectors are still being revealed, and they can end up corrupting systems, and algorithms can be lost or stolen.

Addressing Protections

One of the best places to start is to consider how your most sensitive data is accessed and stored. What restrictions do you have in place, and do you have tracking mechanisms for seeing who accesses your data? This is something that has to be high on your list of priorities because knowing how your data is collected and accessed is critical in getting the most out of your artificial intelligence technology, but it’s also critical in protecting you from threats.

For your sensitive data, which when corrupted or stolen could result in significant business losses, you need to have alert systems in place and prioritize added layers of security for this data.

The Knowns and Unknowns

More than one cloud security professional has commented that there is no codified security testing mechanism in place for machine learning technology. However, knowing which attacks are most likely can be of use for a better approach to cloud security strategies.

First, consider how threats are able to get around a spam filter. Your employees rely on the spam filter to weed out the bad stuff, giving them a sense of security that when an email hits their inbox, it’s likely safe to open and click on links. This is among the more common threats that attackers have the most success with.

Next, your machine learning is built to work with specific data in specific ways. Unfortunately, cybercriminals have figured out how to work their way into your algorithms and make the technology work in ways you don’t want it to. Often, the attack happens when a model uses the data you’re capturing from end users and other public sources.

A third area to look into involves encrypting data because attackers are stealing it from model storage that is unsecured. Cybercriminals are also reverse engineering through a barrage of queries, which gives them a pattern to follow. Rather than stealing something, they’re actually able to build predictable models of their own.

Working with a trusted agent can help you develop more robust protections. At Cloud Source, we work with you to take the burden of security off your shoulders and supply you with strong cloud security solutions. Contact us and let’s discuss how we can keep your environment more secure.

Contact

328 S. Jefferson St. Suite 603
Chicago, IL 60661
Ph: 312.753.7880
E: info@CloudSourceServices.com

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