Depending on who you ask, storing data in the cloud is risky or perfectly safe. Recent threats, such as the OpenSSL Heartbleed vulnerability and a cyber espionage threat called “Dragonfly”, remind us that security in the cloud is an ongoing process. Fortunately, organizations like Symantec, the Open Data Center Alliance, and SAP are serious about cloud security.
For example, Symantec’s O3 platform is a single sign-on system that “enforces access control policies on all web applications” while implementing risk management and compliance measures in web applications. SaaS applications.
The Open Data Center Alliance is a consortium of leading global IT organizations formed to “accelerate the migration to cloud computing by enabling the solution and ecosystem of services to address IT requirements with the highest level of interoperability and standards “.
According to Dolphin Enterprise Solutions Corporation, a SAP solutions provider, SAP offers a number of tools to help companies run SAP solutions on private cloud architectures. Dolphin was the first company to incorporate SAP data and document archiving strategies into cloud storage with its Content Archive Service for Cloud. This particular service acts as a “cloud connector” connecting SAP file layer data to major public cloud providers such as Google Cloud or Amazon S3. Since cloud storage costs about 10 percent of traditional archiving using local hardware, storing SAP data in the cloud makes financial sense, but is it secure?
Much depends on the cloud provider you choose. If you opt for a cloud provider that doesn’t prioritize security, doesn’t use secure transport mechanisms, doesn’t use encryption, doesn’t have a well-defined security policy, and doesn’t have a secure facility, your data will be at risk. On the other hand, if you go with a cloud provider that prioritizes security, uses secure transport mechanisms, uses encryption, has a well-defined security policy, operates a secure facility, and constantly monitors for threats and seeks to find ways to improve. Even more the security of your cloud services, your data will be much more secure. For even greater peace of mind, you can store your archived SAP data in a private cloud operated by your own IT team.
SAP has also addressed security issues in the cloud. According to the SAP Business Innovation blog, some of the common concerns with storing data in the cloud include: access control, hacking, and viruses (1). Keep in mind that all of these concerns are also concerns surrounding local storage. The blog post went on to explain that cloud storage providers have responded by adding firewalls, using the latest encryption technologies, and using specialized antivirus and cloud security tools to protect data stored in their clouds.
Storing data, whether it’s on a hard drive locked in your company’s basement or in the cloud, has its security risks (2). The key to mitigating those risks is understanding them, doing your homework, and choosing service providers that offer the most secure SAP cloud computing solutions available.
Works cited:
1. SAP, “How secure is your information in the cloud?” – http://blogs.sap.com/innovation/cloud-computing/safe-information-cloud-0733576
2. TriplePundit, “Cloud Data Storage: How Secure Is It?”, Http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/07/storing-data-cloud-safe/
