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December 2016
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AutomatedBuildings.com

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Is the Cloud Safe?

Ultimately, it falls on the business to ensure the security of their data, even in the cloud.
Kevin Binnie
Kevin Binnie
Director,
Product Management and Marketing
CopperTree Analytics

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According to a recent RightScale survey of over 1,000 IT professionals, 95% of businesses are using the cloud. Energy Management Software is a popular example in the building automation industry.  Amazon Web Services is continuing to hold pace at a 64% year-on-year growth rate. The public cloud market overall is growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 19.4%, according to Forbes. Yet one of the most common questions about cloud-based analytics is, “is the cloud safe?” The question is certainly valid and it can have several implications.

Is the Cloud Safe?

  1. Will it support me as my needs grow? Organizations often take a conservative approach to new technology, for example, they might only apply analytics to one building even though they have hundreds of buildings, so the natural question is, “will your solution grow with my needs?” Ideally the solution provider ought to be able to explain how their solution both scales up (scaling the entire solution by adding more memory and computing power) and scales out (individual components within the solution can be scaled to meet needs). See the Wikipedia article on scalability for a more detailed explanation of scaling.
  1. Does it Support my Business Continuity Requirements? Perhaps a bigger concern for most organizations than hacked data is lost data. Here are a few questions to ask when selecting a cloud services provider: Is there redundancy in the HVAC climate control? Is there a Pre-action fire suppression system containing fires by zone and limiting the distribution of water? Are there dual redundant power and dual redundant UPS power backups at each rack? For prolonged grid failure is there independent generator power for backup? Is there Network and application monitoring and analytics systems that report on the data center, hardware, networking, capacity, ports and applications in the data center?
    1. Is it Secure? Most people think about security concerns when they think about the safety of the cloud. The Department of Defense, arguably one of the most sensitive organizations when it comes to data, lists over 20 providers that are authorized to provide secure cloud services to defense agencies and the military. The CIA is already using Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its intelligence needs. Still, there are several points of vulnerability to consider:

To find out more about CopperTree and how we deal with security for our SaaS analytics, download our security brochure and contact our sales department if you still have questions.  For more information, click on the following link: https://goo.gl/Ii4GlA



About the Author

Kevin Binnie is the Director of Product Management and Marketing at CopperTree Analytics, where he leverages over 20 years of experience in product management, marketing, mergers & acquisitions, and new market development to develop and deliver software services that help companies to realize their building’s potential while reducing their environmental impact and creating better spaces for people to live, work and play.


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