network outages or downtime could seriously hamper your business, you will want to consider this carefully.
So, do the research, and make informed decisions about how the cloud can help your business. Also, don’t neglect to plan a cloud exit strategy. If, for whatever reason, you no longer want to depend on a particular cloud service provider, you need to be able to get your data back as effectively and cost-efficiently as possible.
3. Balance the Rewards and Risks of the Cloud
For startups, the cloud equals low capital expenditure—you don’t have to buy servers, or hire dedicated IT personnel. You can use as much or as little capacity as you need, and you can deploy and scale quickly. One of our customers, Zurich Insurance, discovered the benefits of the cloud when they were able to implement and derive value from the MetricStream Vendor Risk Management App over the MetricStream GRC cloud in just 12 weeks.
The other bonus of the cloud is better collaboration—in today’s global, mobile, social world, the cloud makes it easier to communicate and exchange information with teams and customers across different time zones.
Startups have a lot of options when it comes to the cloud. Cloud service giants like Amazon, Google, and Rackspace offer a number of incentives including free cloud credit, technical training, and support for new businesses who are looking to get started on the cloud.
Yet, as with everything else, there are risks associated with the cloud—primarily around data security. The good news is that most major cloud service providers have extremely sophisticated security mechanisms built into their offerings, which are much better than what most startups could afford to invest in themselves.
There are things that startups can and must do in order to protect their data and assets in the cloud. Remember, make cloud security a top business priority. Check the credentials and certifications of your cloud service provider. Also, evaluate their security measures against established frameworks such as the Cloud Controls Matrix from Cloud Security Alliance (CSA).
Then, assess your security risks, and prioritize your assets and data accordingly. Establish risk tolerance levels—particularly when using public clouds with multi-tenancy models. For each cloud application, identify potential threats, and define a detection and incident response plan. Also, ensure that there are controls in place to comply with data security laws such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, GLBA, and relevant state regulations.
Conclusion
With attractive incentives, as well as strong security measures, the cloud is becoming an increasingly hospitable environment for startups to get their business up and running. The key is to find a cloud model that suits your unique business needs. Identify which services and applications will work best for you on the cloud. Most importantly, be risk-aware—when you know and understand your risks in the cloud, you can better protect your business, while reaping all the benefits that the cloud has to offer.
