(c)iStock.com/Alfonso Cacciola

Cloud technology is one of the most secure ways to store and share data that the world has ever seen. But with data security making the headlines with increasing frequency you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise. High profile hackings have at times derailed the industry’s attempts to make the case for the cloud.

Keeping data secure is not a new challenge, however. Businesses have been grappling to protect their data for decades; be it from missing paper files or USBs sticks left behind on the morning commute.

Increasingly, the CIOs I talk to understand that cloud security is much more complex. As a sector, we’ve taken bold steps to improve cloud security by implementing a range of robust solutions, including international standards for privacy and data protection, like ISO 27018, and operational controls, like two-factor authentication.

Cloud technology for the business world is unrecognisable compared to what was on offer five years ago.

But what is often overlooked is that adoption is key to security. For businesses, the real threat to security is not the cloud itself, but shadow IT. When employees are forced to use tools they don’t like, IT departments lose control of security. It is our experience users will start looking for other mobile, fast and user friendly tools, causing IT departments to lose control of security and, more importantly, corporate content and intellectual property.

I’ve lost count of the number of companies who have told me they have invested in ‘shelfware’ – expensive IT systems that nobody uses. Their teams gravitate to the easiest and simplest solutions, sometimes rendering official IT channels obsolete. Those making decisions about the best IT tools to use, aren’t the same people on the ground using them day to day.

The products that are most loved by employees in their personal lives are often the best solutions for businesses too.

Recent research by TNS, commissioned by Dropbox, revealed that the top reasons IT solutions are successful in the workplace are that employees find them easy to understand and use (51%) and that they are easy to access outside of the office (44%).

We also know people want choice – 60% of employees would like some freedom to choose their own technology solutions at work. Satisfaction with personal IT solutions is much higher than those used in the workplace and choice is a big part of the reason.

So it is time CIOs put adoption at the heart of their IT strategies. By employing user-friendly solutions, adoption rates are higher and the risk of data being held outside official platforms is significantly reduced. IT departments put themselves back in control.

New technology will always make headlines but the real concern for business should be the failure to secure high staff adoption rates. The solution for CIOs is to see cloud security as an opportunity to choose products that work best for their teams, and at the same time, strengthen their organisation’s overall security posture.

(c)iStock.com/JasonDoiy

Microsoft has reported a $3.2 billion net loss for the second quarter of 2015, the worst in the company’s history, but backed it up alongside continued strong cloud growth.

It was always going to look nasty. Following the $7.5bn writedown of its Nokia offshoot, the analysts were prepared to sink their teeth into the Redmond giant as its latest financial results came through. Yet Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was unrepentant, arguing the cloud and mobile gains were pushing the company in the right direction and to consign Nokia to the past.

“We’re seeing proof that preference for our cloud SaaS services creates a flywheel of growth for our cloud platform services,” he said in an analyst call, concluding: “Above all else, I’m optimistic about our future. Our cloud services are accelerating fast and Windows is positioned for renewed growth.”

In all, commercial cloud revenue grew 88% – 96% in constant currency – driven by Office 365, Azure and Dynamics CRM online, while more legacy operations saw a slow decline. Office Commercial products and services, for instance, fell 4% due to “continued transition to Office 365” as well as declining business PCs following the end of support for Windows XP.

Piers Linney, co-CEO of cloud services provider and Microsoft Gold partner Outsourcery, says the uptick in cloud sales justifies his company’s decision to not move to a more vendor-agnostic partner.

“The growth of cloud brought a number of challenges to many of the established players in the industry who have had to rapidly adapt to new business models as a result,” said Linney. “These latest results from Microsoft, while mixed, show that it has held its strong footing in what is a rapidly expanding cloud market.”

He added: “Working with Microsoft enables us to deliver expertise in an offering that is always reliable and best of breed. Microsoft’s latest cloud sales result justifies our decision to remain Microsoft-centric and shows that the strength of Microsoft, and Outsourcery in turn, will only continue.”

Elsewhere, the Redmond firm also announced a major partnership deal with General Electric, moving its 300,000 employees to Office 365. GE chief technology officer Larry Biagini cited continuous iteration and innovation as a key to move to Office 365, alongside the ability to take advantage of as much cloud capability as possible, including Skype for Business and Yammer. The company signed a deal with Box in May last year for content sharing and collaboration services.

The Cloud industry has moved from being more than just being able to provide infrastructure and management services on the Cloud. Enter a new era of Cloud computing where monetization’s services through the Cloud are an essential piece of strategy to feed your organizations bottom-line, your revenue and Profitability.
In their session at 16th Cloud Expo, Ermanno Bonifazi, CEO & Founder of Solgenia, and Ian Khan, Global Strategic Positioning & Brand Manager at Solgenia, discussed how to easily offer services such as Big Data Analytics, Enterprise Document management, Business Management and more through innovative options of monetizing the Cloud on a Consumption model. They also discussed how to manage quick provisioning, metering and billing of any service on the cloud through Solgenia’s latest offering, Powua.

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