A cloud strategy is crucial to developing and safeguarding an IT organization. A cloud strategy aligns teams across an organization and guides the operation and adoption of cloud uses on a daily basis. While this can feel like a daunting task, it is well worth the effort to have a high-level analysis of the cloud technologies and tools your business uses and what the priorities are for operations.
Identify Objectives
Define what tech-related goals your business wants to achieve by utilizing the cloud, including utilizing SMART as a guiding tool. Closely examine the challenges that your business faces and how cloud migration will help to achieve those goals.
S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Agreed Upon
R: Realistic
T: Time-Specific
Determine Your Business Baseline
Examine the state of your business goals and how advanced cloud computing tools will help you achieve those milestones. Incorporate financial considerations, as cloud technology includes investment into new resources that will be incorporated into your budget.
Prioritize Capabilities
Explore the capabilities that are desired at every level of your company. From daily needs to your staff to the computing power needed by the owners – what resources are urgently needed and how to they fit into your tech and business baseline? Some common considerations are:
The type of cloud you want to implement — public, private, or hybrid
Provisioning and coding capabilities
Business intelligence
KPIs
Workload requirements
Security
Adopability
Intuitiveness
Cloud architecture
Support team requirements
Develop Implementation Plan
Build a cloud implementation plan including benefits of cloud transitions, management framework, resource distribution, prioritizing cloud efforts, creating best practices, establishing governance and a support plan, and finally, cloud integration.
Select a Framework
Decide on the ideal cloud environment and tailor your internal business structure to support the needs and requirements of using the cloud. Does your business organization need to shift to adjust to the cloud? Do your employees have the skills needed?
Monitor and Analyze
Transitioning to the cloud takes trial and error. Start the implementation process with a select group of individuals that can accurately represent every facet of your business.
Integrate New Processes
Widely distribute and integrate the new processes and information to your team. Support them in adjusting to the new information and provide background on how this decision ties into business principles. Just as every business plan has an exit strategy – it is helpful to have one for your cloud decision in the event that it does not work out as planned. This will ensure awareness and safe steps for your business in the event that you need to roll back.
Ransomware infiltrates a user’s PC or mobile device using malicious software that is most commonly installed unintentionally after clicking a link in an email that’s posed as something else. Once it is installed, the software prevents users from accessing their files and demands a sum of money to unencrypt the data. The latest advancements in ransomware introduces a more serious threat for modern businesses, encouraging businesses to take stronger security precautions.
How does ransomware get to your devices or the cloud?
Ransomware is delivered in a wide variety of ways. It can be transferred through:
Javascript exploits
Microsoft Office macros
PDF exploits
Linus malware
Backdoors
Emails
Ransomware uses social engineering to bypass layers of security and once it infects one computer, it can easily spread to every device on the same network (and cloud) via automatic syncing. 1 in 10 companies has some form of malware in their storage – making a strong case for programs that auto-detect malware and recover before malware can spread.
The most common ransomware strains
Bad Rabbit
Cryptolocker
GoldenEye
Jigsaw
Locky
Maze
NotPetya
Petya
Ryuk
Wannacry
How Do I Prevent Ransomware?
Prevention is the best tool to protecting your devices and business from ransomware. Recommendations include:
Keeping software up-to-date
Using unique passwords for your online sign-ins
Reducing the accessibility of cloud applications to only those who need them
Reporting suspicious activity
If you are unsure – take it slow and confirm with a colleague!
More healthcare providers are utilizing digital records than ever before. Being able to store information securely off site is a significant benefit that was once not an option for medical and billing service providers.
What’s the appeal of cloud computing?
Decreased costs
Scalability
Data Security
Disaster Recovery
Elevating Healthcare
Cloud computing makes it possible to share critical patient information between hospital and health clinics, allows patients to access medical records, and provides a tool for patients to find medical resources.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a method of providing computing, networking, and storage via the Internet. IaaS enables companies to utilize web-based systems, applications and storage without needing to purchase, manage or support the cloud infrastructure. The most popular examples of IaaS platforms include Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft® Azure®.
Infrastructure as a Service is one of three main categories of cloud computing, along with Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). IaaS is the fastest-growing cloud segment. IaaS lets you circumvent the complexity and increased cost of buying and managing physical servers.
What are the benefits of Iaas?
Storage: IaaS offers the processing power to collect and run large data sets significantly larger than the physical hardware budgets of many companies typically allow for.
Disaster Recovery: Natural disasters, fires, theft, or other unexpected events can be avoided by storing backup files or disaster relief plans with IaaS. Keep your business running, even if everything else is down.
High-Performance: Every app used or deployed by a company can be housed in IaaS. When demand grows , processing power can easily be scaled up.
Cost Savings: Reduce infrastructure costs as you no longer hardware for your data centers, eliminate the task of maintaining and replacing equipment, and enjoy 24x7x365 uptime. Pay for what you need, as you need it.
Cloud hosting is crucial to success in a post-COVID-19 world. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 is has had a big impact on the scale of cloud adoption this year, but will the effects last long-term? Thanks to the arrival of vaccines in 2021, this year seems to have brought a ray of hope for economies across the world. Despite an uptick in spending and looser restrictions, this year is going to be critical for digital adoption and adapting to the ‘new normal’.
The Rise of Serverless Computing
Due to pandemic restrictions and the need to collaborate virtually, the tech world saw a massive increase in serverless computing. Businesses no longer have concerns about availability, scalability, provisioning of VM resources, maintaining servers, and other in-house infrastructure issues. Instead, they can focus on their businesses and productivity. This shift has also added to a reduction in maintenance costs and a consolidation of service providers.
Increased Efficacy
The cloud allows for streamlined processes and a reduction in additional outsourced layers of security – instead, businesses can be assured that their clouds are being managed through their cloud hosting provider. Tools like multi-factor authentication allow businesses and individuals to take extra steps to improve security without requiring additional support and services.
Preparing 2021 and Beyond
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers are dominating the cloud world and have only gained traction throughout the pandemic. Organizations will be expected to adopt these services if they aim to stay current with technological advances. Centralizing your business operations and applications with IaaS will also be crucial for collaboration, as many businesses will continue to operate remotely.
