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Few advances have done as much for today’s work environments as cloud computing. The cloud enhances our productivity, gives us more access to applications, cuts our IT budgets, and makes us more collaborative than ever before.
Cloud computing is here to stay, but the technology won’t remain the same. Here are four predictions to give you a glimpse of where the cloud is headed — and some of the security challenges that come with progress.
1. Most Clouds Will Go Hybrid
A lot of companies have tried creating private cloud infrastructure within their own datacenters, believing that segregated private clouds offer greater security than public clouds. Unfortunately, only the largest companies can afford private clouds that scale to the level of the public cloud.
The answer: hybrid cloud, the perfect blend of public and private. By offloading volume and summoning AWS resources, businesses can handle peak traffic and harness processing power for big data and other resource-intensive projects.
One solution for hybrid cloud is Eucalyptus, which builds AWS-compatible hybrid cloud environments. Not to be outdone, Microsoft will also provide its Azure stack to organizations that want to build their own private clouds that will be easily compatible with Microsoft’s public Azure infrastructure. Attacks against public cloud environments will become increasingly more sophisticated, requiring smart solutions for AWS security and stronger Azure security measures. Still, most businesses need a hand from public cloud, and hybrid is the way to get it.
2. Containers Will Multiply
Thanks to companies like Docker, cloud infrastructure is evolving to include not just VMs but also containers. Containers deliver better performance for applications, cut costs and times associated with OS maintenance, and provide faster provisioning for applications.
Running multiple applications on one OS kernel, instead of running applications on a VM (which requires both the VM OS and the hypervisor), means faster movement between public and private clouds. It also means faster patching, quicker boot times, and better resource usage.
Compromising one OS kernel in a containerized system means compromising multiple containers, and it takes a lot of manual programming work to secure containers. Don’t write off VMs yet; they’re still crucial for companies with significant security challenges and companies running multiple operating systems. As container security improves, expect to see a happy marriage between VMs and containers.
3. Business Will Get SaaS-ier
Today’s organizations get most of their applications in the form of SaaS. The low entry cost, convenience, and features of SaaS applications make them invaluable to most businesses.
The downside of using someone else’s software service is that your data gets around. Organizations can’t just protect their datacenters; they have to protect their data wherever it lives.
IT departments must remain vigilant about which SaaS providers, third-party contractors, and other interested parties have access to company data. Unfortunately, many employees make it tough by signing up for new SaaS accounts without informing IT. The best way to prevent SaaS from getting out of control is to improve IT service delivery, especially by developing a better enterprise app store. IT should also incorporate threat intelligence to get a heads up whenever data leaves the network.
4. Big Data Will Get Much, Much Bigger
Today’s devices and applications — smartphones, tablets, IoT, social networks, cloud storage, and SaaS — are fueling an explosion in available data. Thanks to the processing power provided by cloud compute instances, companies have a greater ability to crunch all those numbers.
In addition to wrangling with their own internal data stores, companies will mine unstructured data from many different sources in the future. They’ll use data to forecast product demand, understand segmented demographic trends, build the perfect employee, and otherwise try to predict coming events.
This treasure trove of stored data requires protection if organizations want to prevent costly data breaches — and in some cases, hefty regulatory fines. It also requires taking a hard look at consumer privacy protections and ensuring that no one steps over the line.
All Hail the Cloud
Organizations have to think about more than just getting cheaper and more efficient computing. They have to consider how every step forward into the cloud changes the security landscape. Despite its evolving security risks, the cloud has fostered hefty gains in productivity and entrepreneurship. It’s not going anywhere.
