Don't take your problems with you to the cloud, warns Warren Olivier, regional manager: Southern Africa at Veeam Software.
Shifting to the cloud should be viewed as an opportunity for companies to innovate, while reducing costs and increasing agility, enabling an "always on" approach to doing business, he says.
Key to achieving this is not to "assume anything, and look for reliability. A survey we recently conducted showed that reliability is a top concern when it comes to data protection. Cost is important, but reliability is key."
Olivier will discuss challenges, benefits and lessons for CIOs when it comes to safeguarding their data in the cloud, at the upcoming ITWeb Cloud Computing 2014 conference.
He will take an in-depth look at what companies do globally with regards to data protection in both private and public clouds, and show delegates how to think "outside the box" when it comes to their cloud protection strategy.
"I'm going to reference a very current example of how a company lost all its data in the cloud and never recovered. This is a reality and it happens often," he says. Increasing numbers of examples are expected to come to the fore in future due to POPI, he adds, as this legislation means companies will have to report the loss of data.
"Companies moving their data to the cloud cannot be careful enough. CIOs have to ask: 'Is my data secure? Is my data accessible? Is it isolated from other customers? What happens if my chosen cloud provider goes bust?'"
Commenting on why many local cloud computing implementations have not delivered the benefits corporates were looking for, he says: "There are a few on the right track, but many are stuck in their ways and not willing to adapt with the technology. You cannot just tolerate virtualisation and cloud - you have to fully embrace it. It requires a fundamentally different approach."
Olivier will join other subject matter experts at ITWeb Cloud Computing 2014, an event that has been structured to bridge the gap between customer expectations and vendor promises, by showcasing what works in SA and what doesn't. Click here to find out more and to register.
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