NIST fellow endorses cloud IT solutions

Cloud IT SolutionsCloud IT solutions are increasingly coming into their own, becoming a standard business paradigm rather than being considered cutting edge technology, as was still the case several years ago.  The situation is roughly parallel to what happened more than a generation ago with another game changer in the business world.  Not so very long ago, businesses both large and small relied on electric typewriters for document production; now, there is virtually no business in the country still using that model.  Word processing software that runs on computerized systems is the new normal, and businesses are leaner and more efficient because of it.

Software solutions in the cloud, as well as cloud-based data backup, are now becoming so common that even experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are endorsing a cloud-based approach to business life.  One such expert is Ron Ross, who sees cloud-based data storage as a solution to one of the biggest risks that modern businesses currently face: complexity.

Ross’s comments in favor of cloud IT solutions were issued during a panel discussion at the recent RSA security conference.  Speaking at the Information Security Media Group-moderated panel, Ross explained that moving data into the cloud can greatly assist organizations to reduce their level of risk because there is much less chance that all copies of business-essential data will be lost.  Major causes of such loss include insider fraud as well as events such as system crashes and both small- and large-scale disasters.  An earthquake or hurricane can certainly destroy all copies of data on site, but so can a fire that sweeps the building.  Storing data in the cloud mitigates all of these risks.

Ross is currently a NIST fellow whose expertise falls squarely into the risk management arena.  In addition to helping develop a risk management framework, he leads the organization’s project to implement the Federal Information Security Management Act.

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Learn more about the author Bob Martin