Depending on who you ask, storing data in the cloud is either risky or perfectly safe. Recent threats like 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 take cloud security seriously.
For example, Symantec’s O3 platform is a single sign-on system that “enforces access control policies on web applications” while also implementing risk management and compliance measures on 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 ecosystem of solutions and services to address IT requirements with the highest level of interoperability and standards “.
According to Dolphin Enterprise Solutions Corporation, an 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’s document and data archiving strategies into cloud storage with its cloud content archiving service. 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. Given that cloud storage costs about 10 percent of traditional on-premises hardware archiving, storing SAP data in the cloud makes financial sense, but is it safe?
Much depends on the cloud provider you choose. If you choose 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 is at risk. On the other hand, if you opt for a cloud provider that prioritizes security, uses secure transport mechanisms, uses encryption, has a well-defined security policy, operates a secure facility, and is constantly monitoring threats and looking to find ways to improve even more. more the security of your cloud services, your data will be much safer. For added peace of mind, you can store your SAP archived data in a private cloud operated by your own IT team.
SAP has also addressed cloud security concerns. According to the SAP Business Innovation blog, some of the common concerns with cloud data storage 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 on a hard drive locked in your company basement or in the cloud, has its security risks (2). The key to mitigating those risks is to understand them, do your homework, and choose 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 Safe Is It?”, http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/07/storing-data-cloud-safe/