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Originally published by New Context.

The competition for product and services companies can require that data and applications be protected to the same degree or higher than government secrets. Bad actors can threaten the financial foundations of a company and its reputation. However, meeting the necessary level of security is not easy since it requires the best tools and the necessary expertise to implement. One of the most critical security measures is to control cloud access.

Ever since computers were networked together in the 1960s, there has been a need for cybersecurity. The Wild West of the ARPANET was a golden age of learning and advancement, but also saw its fair share of hacking. Since the creation of the World Wide Web in 1989, Internet use has exploded. With billions of active Internet users, the potential for bad actors has grown exponentially—along with the cost involved for their targets. But there is hope.

Potential threats can be enough to cause anyone to question whether or not their systems can ever truly be safe in the cloud. In this article, we will weigh the pros and cons of cloud storage and show that with the right tools and strategy, your assets can be more secure in the cloud than anywhere else. Let’s take a look at storage and cloud security advantages and disadvantages and how to mitigate these disadvantages.

What are the Pros of Cloud Storage?

Before discussing the advantages of a cloud migration, let’s take a look at some numbers:

• are estimated to be in the cloud this year.
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• reap cost savings after cloud migration.
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• report security benefits from movement to the cloud.
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• The global cloud services market is expected to exceed this year.

Clearly, many of your competitors are already realizing the advantages of using the cloud. These include:

• Scalability
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• Convenience of accessing systems anywhere
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• Cost-efficiency
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• Regulatory compliance
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• Security and accessibility
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• Better use of assets and personnel

The above list contains several reasons that can be used as justification for moving to the cloud. It must be noted that most enterprises, whether small to medium-sized businesses(SMBs) or large enterprises, save on their IT expenditures by not having to purchase and maintain server infrastructure and the personnel to run it, and being able to operate leaner in terms of software development, which can be outsourced to digital transformation consulting specialists.

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What Are the Cons of Cloud Storage?

With all this in mind, you may wonder, why would you not want to store your data in the cloud? Inherently, there are a few disadvantages to using the cloud for data storage. Two of the most common complaints are the reliance on Internet access and the expense. However, these are true for any kind of data storage; they are not unique to the cloud. Without Internet access, your operations, customer transactions, and communications will be halted. Your enterprise depends upon adequate storage for your data, applications, transactions, and backups. So does your profitability. Your ROI is proportional to selecting the best services because security breaches can be financially catastrophic.

So if the cost and reliance on Internet access aren’t the cons, what are? The next common complaint is data security and privacy, but these cannot be discussed simply in terms of storage.

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Data Accessibility and Cloud Security: Advantages and Disadvantages

Companies operating legacy applications and hardware, or simply still managing their data on-prem, have had to worry about data security and privacy for a long time. They have gone through years—decades, even—of security audits and compliance reviews. The entire business of managing and protecting their data has been theirs and theirs alone. It’s easy to think that when they hand control of that over to someone else that things will quickly go awry. It’s important to remember that cloud providers have more experience securely managing data than any company wanting to migrate to them. With a cloud storage provider, your data is yours and yours alone, among other myriad benefits.

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Migrating to the cloud will help your company’s data be more accessible. It makes file sharing easier. Your users will continue to be able to access their data and use your applications. Your developers will be able to use modern tooling, which in turn will help you attract and keep better talent. Your data will remain secure and compliant. In short, migrating to the cloud will only yield further advantages. Moreover, these security enhancements can be maximized by selecting the right experienced partner that will prioritize data security compliance throughout the migration process.

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