What the Verizon Enterprise Cloud 06 Report is Miing by Nadine Dias

When the State of the Market: Enterprise Cloud 2016 report first came out I was excited to see the research they pulled together. Verizon is a very credible company in the technology industry, coupled with the use of Forrester, Gartner, and IDC research this report is one of a kind! Although the report has a lot of great information, there is one big thing missing.

The Cloud: Sexy and Innovative

The report goes through the move to the cloud which, unless you've been living under a rock for the last year, I'm sure you all know about. It states that 84% of respondents say their use of the cloud has increased in the past year. The cloud is sexy and innovative- of course companies, even us, are jumping on the bandwagon.

Nobody is talking about the elephant in the room

When I got to the recommendations section I thought for sure the elephant in the room would be addressed, but it wasn't. It talks about improving transparency between the enterprise and the provider and making sure to continually reassess security (of course, security is a hot button with every board member and senior exec), but there is no mention of making sure to have a business continuity plan let alone a backup plan for your data! Think of this, how many new cloud security companies have been funded this year, 30%, 40% of all companies or more? Your guess is as good as mine, but there are a ton, we see that. Now let me ask you, what will happen in three years - they make it, they get bought, they close there doors - and what happens to you as the cloud subscriber when those companies contract?

Calm, Cool, and In Control

The cloud is still new and like any other new technology, there comes a lot of risks with it. For you as an enterprise company, it is important that you know what those risks are and make sure you are in control in the event that they happen. Did you know that your provider's disaster recovery plan does not include you?

It is important for you to be in control of your own business continuity plan because you never know what will happen. You could have some unexpected problems if you sign on to license a cloud technology and that provider fails to meet your expectations. No matter how prepared you think your provider is, you don't want to leave the fate of your company up to them.

Are you prepared?

To go back, yes, the elephant in the room is making sure your business continuity plan is not the same as your provider's disaster recovery plan. The Verizon report recommendations are great, you definitely want to improve transparency and continually reassess security, but a risk mitigation strategy should always have a backup plan. In this day and age, it is important to expect the unexpected.

If your cloud provider goes out of business today, are you prepared? Don't abdicate your responsibility for managing an acceptable level of risk for your company.

Click here to learn how to get prepared.

Whether you agree or disagree feel free to leave us a comment below.

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2015/service-lines/technology-escrow/wha...
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