Cloud Computing Discussion

One of the most significant changes in IS management when a company implements a cloud computing based system is the need for increased security to protect the organization’s infrastructure and trade secrets. As Page observes, the more the cloud is used, the more the company’s data is stored outside of their internal firewall. In turn this causes additional exposure to risk of infection through virus and unintended disclosure of information to competitors. In order to mitigate this, infrastructure must be more robust, IT professionals must understand the security implications of their system structure, and more importantly, the organization can’t skimp on the security prevention and monitoring software. The Company needs to weigh the data being stored on the cloud against the potential for loss, and how catastrophic this loss will be to the Company. The potential mitigation is that much of the common data needed for everyday operations is stored on the cloud, with especially important or critical data being stored on a proprietary system inside of the company’s internal firewall to allow for additional protections.

There are several needs as more and more companies move to a cloud based computing network, however, one of the biggest in the author’s opinion will be the need for the company to have additional bandwidth in order to ensure ready access to the cloud both in a central office scenario as well as remote access for those employees who may need to work outside of the main office. Although at first glance access may not seem like a major issue, you have to look at the average employee’s desire to read the news, check facebook, and watch youtube (I’m guilty on that one). With bandwidth being eaten by normal work, as well as through employee “recreation”, putting more and more information on a cloud as opposed to local servers increases the need for bandwidth as more data is stored on the cloud with more employees need access. Furthermore, this...