intelligent

Tom McVey , Solution Architect , Menlo Security

THIS MONUMENTAL

SHIFT IN CYBERSECURITY

HAS PROVED DIFFICULT

FOR EVEN THE LARGEST OF

ORGANISATIONS . push governance and compliance standards to workloads outside of public cloud , which in effect , gives a holistic ‘ single pane of glass ’ experience . These more integrated solutions also offer the ability to deploy common PaaS and serverless services onto hardware outside of public cloud regions , all while using the standard APIs and management tooling . Leveraging these offerings can help to greatly reduce the complexity SMEs are faced with when trying to manage their multi or hybrid cloud estates .

Cloud management is anything but simple and the offerings available are only becoming more specialised and complex . SMEs often lack the in-house expertise to manage the sophisticated multi-cloud opportunities that are available to them . Weaving in the support of a cloud-led managed service provider into the initial cloud management strategy means SMEs can reap the benefits of specialised technology and on-hand subject matter experts that would not otherwise be freely available to them inhouse . In fact , a recent survey conducted by Node4 echoed this where 87 % of mid-market organisations in the UK intended to spend more on managed services this year .

TOM MCVEY , SOLUTION ARCHITECT , MENLO SECURITY

Every year more and more businesses see their previously stable and secure perimeter dilute and shift into the cloud . The services and applications they used to host safely internally are now publicly available websites with built-in web applications . And employees , who once always used the IP you expected , have left the comfy office environment and network behind and are now scattered far and wide with just home Wi-Fi router and VPN . Each has their own set of challenges and requirements that need custom solutions from IT . Even the directory , the single source of truth , the heart of an organisation ’ s network , has upped its roots and moved to sunny Azure to retire .

It ’ s no surprise that SMEs are feeling a little lost with the cloud . This monumental shift in cybersecurity has proved difficult for even the largest of organisations . There ’ s no turning back , but there are strategies SMEs can use to make the transition as smooth as possible :

Embrace the flexibility the cloud has granted you

Gone are the days of struggling to employ people , the whole nation is now your talent pool . Connecting a new starter in Aberdeen with the team in London has never been easier .

Start with security ( don ’ t add it later ) – and make sure it follows users to the cloud

Many businesses are still using tools and solutions designed to protect users in the office . Often , IT teams provided a stop-gap workaround such as a VPN to run external users through an on-premises security appliance . Move your security architecture to the cloud and you will find improved performance and efficiency over backhauling traffic to the office .

Don ’ t lose sight of the biggest threat

It ’ s prudent to be aware of your data footprint with SaaS applications . Risk assessments can grant visibility into what information is stored with which company and what the impact might be if their applications are breached . But remember that the most vulnerable vector is still the user . The Information Commissioner ’ s Office ( ICO ) stated that human error was the cause of approximately 90 % of data breaches . With users now interacting with more sites , tools and applications than ever before , and having left the relative safety of the LAN , CISOs are pushing for cloud-based security solutions that have no compromise .

Be security aware of others you do business with

Understand any third parties that need access to your cloud infrastructure and ensure that they are also part of your strategic security plan .

NOEL O ’ GRADY , DIRECTOR , IRELAND , SUNGARD AVAILABILITY SERVICES

Cloud technologies are mainstream – these investments are rooted in the ability to achieve more business agility and shows increasing recognition amongst companies