The digital and environmental footprint of cloud computing undoubtedly continues to expand – but is it harmful?
Cloud computing is a resilient option for businesses and individuals looks to avoid data loss, enable remote work, and allow businesses to scale.
The Pros
Cloud computing has made working online more efficient than ever before and has a surprising number of positives for the environment:
People can work remotely, avoiding the impliciations of daily travel like pollution, fuel consumption, and day-to-day waste generated from actions like eating out for lunch or your Starbucks habit
Equipment generates heat and tech must be kept at a cool temperature to run correctly, as a result, additional energy must be used to keep these areas cool
Coolants and other battery back-ups are reportedly mined unsustainably.
The Takeaway
Cloud computing improves efficiency and provides an opportunity for more streamlined, cleaner technology. As a community, we will continue to strive for increased transparency from our technology providers.
Construction companies have been slow to adopt digital tools and few have fully digitized their operations. What are the challenges construction companies face when considering cloud computing, online invoicing and more?
Unique Projects and a Lack of Repetition
Many construction projects are a one-time job and require unique solutions and a specified team that might not work together again. Exceptions to this situation include multi-year agreements and subcontracting agreements.
2. Decentralization
Businesses in the construction world tend to be decentralized due to the demands of their work and variance in project locations. While a “corporate” office might stay static, project sites might be remote.
3. Fragmentation
Construction projects frequently require the assistance of small teams of specialists from various organizations, creating a potentially chaotic map of company policies and procedures.
How can the construction industry overcome these challenges?
Improved flexibility
Cloud hosting and mobile business applications keep teams connected despite moving locations.
Ease of Access
Online cloud applications, like time keeping, invoicing, time management software, and business suites like Microsoft Office makes it easy for teams to collaborate across locations and times within an organization and can readily be exported to a format that can be shared across companies.
Savings
Eliminate redundancy and costly, outdated tools that can drain your business by migrating to a centralized platform like a private cloud server.
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.
