Going Into The Cloud: Investment Is Important

The cloud used to be this all-inclusive term used by everyone and anyone to discuss any type of computing that wasn’t limited to a central location. Enabling universal interaction and access meant more opportunities and a higher level of capability. However, there are some stepping stones along the path toward utilizing this sort of technology. Organizations have a lot to look at when analyzing the pros and cons of the cloud. A commonly discussed part of this is the budget. Cloud providers aren’t cheap, and many aspects contribute to that cost. However, that doesn’t mean the most affordable cloud provider is necessarily the best option to pursue. The financial piece of this pie should be investigated, so let’s take a bite.

Why Invest To Begin With

Essentially, when you choose your cloud provider, you’re paying for expertise, oversight, and access. Expertise in the sense that you’ll have a partner innately knowledgeable about cyber security. Oversight in the sense that you’ll actually see what protections are in place and how they function. And then access in the sense that you’ll have more options and tools available at your fingertips when you make this decision.

Now the first step for any organization is to decide whether utilizing cloud technology is worth it. Once that decision has been made, that usually indicates a decent size clientele is expected. Due to the number of potential users, cloud providers, and security assets they have, suddenly take a front seat. Often a discount is offered, but take any offer with a grain of salt. The cheapest choice isn’t always the best, and there’s a crucial reason for that when choosing a cloud service. Security.

Security’s Role In The Cloud

Security and the associated prevention services are essential to any cloud computing budget. This is not an area where you can afford to take a few financial liberties. The expense may seem overwhelming, but any investment made now can save you from true financial damage in the future. Any decision regarding a provider should not only take into account the expense but also the services available due to that expense. It might cost a pretty penny to make sure your organization and any project you work on is safe. That doesn’t make it any less necessary. Let’s go down this rabbit hole, though. What are some good things that come out of investing, and what are some consequences of not putting enough down?

Pros Of Investment

• Access To Expertise: If you can afford a comprehensive service, a massive part of that payout is access to subject matter experts. Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field, and having someone up to date on everything cutting-edge will make your application more secure.
• Helpful Tools: Some specific automated programs and tools can detect issues and block bad actors. Only a subject matter expert can say when to use this tool, which is why your level of expenditure is essential. However, these tools help with cutting costs. You’ll know precisely what tool to use, and the automation aspect means it’ll actually save money by cutting out redundant, irrelevant tasks associated with security.
• Lessens Breach Potential: Investing in security means a couple of organizations will likely be looking after complaints. When you have a subject matter expert who may have control over an application or infrastructure, they’ll know threat points. They’ll check those points if an attack occurs instead of wondering where to look. They’ll plug any holes. All of this works in harmony to make sure you’re as secure as possible.
• Preferred Timing: Learning might be required, and the security expert will work with you to fix that. They can constantly address new vulnerabilities. Also, as per industry standards, you must have prerequisite documents like infrastructure architecture, application infrastructure, threat modeling, etc. If you properly invest in security, then your security expert in the organization can actively work to minimize weaknesses and address any issues promptly.
• Market Differentiation: Say you’re trying to secure a new client, and it’s between your organization and a competitor. It makes a difference if you have a security expert that’s constantly available. You know you have a cybersecurity expert that can save everyone involved from vulnerabilities. That’ll help you differentiate yourself from your competitor and market yourself. Showing your investment in security will reassure any client regarding their trepidations regarding the vulnerabilities associated with any specific product.

Cons Associated With Lack Of Investment

• Data Loss/Breach: This one is obvious. Your organization is inherently open to malcontents if you don’t properly invest in security. If the entire infrastructure goes down, fixing that costs time and money.
• Behind The Curve: There might be a new vulnerability discovered today and a new one tomorrow nobody knows about. Using an antivirus might address a few things, but a couple of issues will sneak through and still affect you. That is the point of a security expert. They would look into those kinds of topics and keep monitoring regularly.
• Lack Of Oversight: A smaller organization might outsource security to a vendor. They might go into a short-term agreement to fix issues and not modify anything. This leads to a lack of long-term stability. They only fix little things and don’t make the profound changes that might be necessary. If your organization can’t see behind the curtain and analyze the protection in place, then that opens another can of worms.