Johannesburg, 22 Oct 2013
Several hundred years ago, it was common practice to simply place your money or valuables under a mattress. Although this approach offered a convenient solution, one's finances could easily be stolen, lost or simply forgotten about.
The bank soon emerged to overcome this. Over the course of many years, banking matured and even hardened sceptics became increasingly comfortable with the notion of handing over their cash for safekeeping.
Today, the concept of stuffing one's salary beneath the bed linen is practically absurd. Almost everyone now has access to a bank account and only a handful of conspiracy theorists question the fundamental value associated with this system, says Mimecast Chief Technology Officer, Neil Murray.
Now we look to banks to keep our money safe and provide complementary services. Aside from giving us new ways to use our money, like credit cards, we hope it will also invest it wisely so we see some interest.
We are seeing a similar trend emerge in cloud computing.
To begin with, we all stored our valuable data in our on-premise data centres, the IT equivalent of putting it under our corporate mattresses. Now, the cloud is widely recognised as a reliable and safe repository.
Organisations are turning to companies like Mimecast to host their data, recognising that reputable cloud providers specialise in securing data for their customers. They offer the technology, expertise and cost-efficiency that is very tough to match. Like the bank, they stand or fall on their ability to store, protect and make data available - it is all they have to focus on.
We are close to a time where cloud service providers like Mimecast will become the protected data repositories through which every company, organisation and individual will access information - be it medical records, corporate communication, customer or financial data, and insurance details.
There are still some cloud sceptics of course who believe that remotely hosted services are less reliable and remove control from the owner of the data - but they are increasingly in the minority as the economics and technical facts of cloud services become more compelling.
Just as banking quickly moved from simply storing dusty bank notes to providing added value services, cloud service firms like Mimecast are doing the same with corporate data.
There has been a lot of talk about big data in recent years. But a great deal of the value is in the detail. The problem is that this metadata and detail is hard to find as it is hidden and disconnected across your organisation in multiple data stores - in e-mail, on personal hard disks, cloud services and data centres. As you consolidate, archive or store all your data on secure cloud services, you can make your data work harder for you. You can use it to drive improved business performance and decision-making.
Mimecast has already begun implementing services that absorb corporate information of all shapes and sizes into a cloud-based information 'banking' service - an interactive and active archive.
The only remaining challenge, however, is cloud standardisation. Like the emerging financial industry of the 19th century, the cloud sector must evolve to offer a uniform set of practices that offer users piece of mind when accessing a service of this nature.
To address this, Mimecast has adopted a stringent approach to data security. This is bolstered by the company's adherence to internationally recognised industry standards such as ISO27001.
The cloud industry is growing at a rapid rate, and these services are demonstrating the value that can be drawn from a cloud archive; we expect that, over time, a handful of 'information banks' will emerge.
You wouldn't hide your cash beneath the mattress and expect it to earn interest, so why would you do the IT equivalent with your valuable data?
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