For small and medium enterprises, a big question looms regarding security compliance. Does a company utilize a data center or cloud computing for securing sensitive information? Or, do they choose a combined option and receive the best of both worlds?
A recent report in Sys-Con Media suggested that it really depends on the company’s needs.
Data center attributes
Employing a data center gives a business the opportunity to control proprietary data at the physical facility and deploy security measures like biometric technology to protect the center. Using a fingerprint scanning method of biometric access control can give security personnel an almost fool-proof method of limiting unauthorized access to vital areas. Sys-Con’s report showed that 60 percent of company executives who responded to an AWS re:invent survey last fall were deeply concerned about security in the cloud and because of that were reluctant to merge with cloud technology.
Cloud is here to stay
While some company managers are not eager to work with cloud technology, many other are taking a hard look at the security options it provides. An InfoWorld article quotes one cloud expert as saying that data centers may be on the way out with the advent of AWS but others disagree. Having physical barriers like facility walls, said the Sys-Con report, makes company executives feel they are more in control of what happens to their data. Having a data center on site allows managers and security staff to make immediate repairs if something breaks limiting potential downtime and catastrophic losses. However, as technology evolves, noted InfoWorld, so will the cloud and it is not going away.
Unique fingerprint protection
The biometric fingerprint scan is a unique, reliable and efficient identifier for companies to use. A SANS Institute study indicated that because using a fingerprint is virtually non-duplicable company managers are able to keep server cabinets and the data center free from prying eyes and sticky hands.
Biometric software developers are coming up with even more efficient fingerprinting methods to stay abreast of rapidly changing technology and that bodes well for executives who stick with data center deployment.
A recent Forrester report showed that 36 percent of all data center breaches and information losses were caused by employee mistakes. The report, quoted in CSO, also showed that 25 percent of the company executives who replied to the survey reported breaches that were caused by malicious actions inside their facility. Had biometric technology been used by those businesses, suggested the SANS report, damage may have been averted or minimized.
The security realm is changing, though, said InfoWorld with 25 Morgan Stanley analysts predicting that the new cloud system provided by Amazon will show marked financial increases over the next decade as the cloud technology continues to explode. But with concerns about security in the cloud among many company executives it is unlikely that the data center will go the way of the dinosaur anytime soon.
Protecting vital data at the physical company facility is among the top concerns of company management and biometric technology will continue to develop and provide security programs that use cutting-edge technology for access control to the data center and other secure and sensitive locations.
Determining whether to head to the cloud or use biometrics for top-notch protection is a serious issue facing company managers. Making the wrong decision could bring disaster, downtime and heavy financial burdens that could put a company out of business. While the cloud will continue it’s exponential growth so will the biometric technology that many companies are successfully employing to protect their data centers currently.
Protection against loss caused by insider access can be easily prevented through fingerprint scanning and biometrically trained security staff. The SANS Institute report lauded the technology’s efficiency and ease of operation as well as its overall user friendliness, something every SME business leader can appreciate.