Education is often be the first step toward enlightenment, so the Cloud Security Alliance has announced that it is help small and midsize businesses get acquainted with cloud computing for small and midsize businesses who may not know much about the technology. The CSA SMB membership and SMB Working Group are will give guidance to these smaller companies so that they can understand the requirements of the market and what it will take to be successful in the cloud era.
The cloud is quite the attractive option for businesses everywhere, but SMBs may have the most incentive to make way into the platform as it helps make business more affordable and efficient. For businesses with limited IT resources, the lift the cloud brings can be enormous. CSA said thus far, SMBs have been somewhat ignored by cloud providers, as they have been selective in offering services mainly to larger companies. However, greater advocacy could bring about the tailored solutions smaller firms are looking for.
"Small businesses are the workhorses of a strong economy, yet they continue to be faced with a myriad of challenges such as access to funding, skilled labor and new affordable technologies," said Daniele Catteddu, CSA Managing Director EMEA. "By educating and helping these businesses understand and apply best practices to cloud computing, we hope to give them the cost-effective competitive edge to create new opportunities and markets for their businesses."
According to the CSA, its SMB Working Group will create a small and midsize business version of the CSA Guidance to go along with materials that will be related to cloud security. Many online workshops will also be available to smaller companies to help them get settled in their cloud voyage. The organization expects the guidance for SMBs to be available by the end of this year.
As far as what SMBs looking to adopt the technology should do for cloud security solutions in the meantime, Gary Blackwell offered up some tips for small businesses on Small Business Computing. The first rule, he said, is to be sure that assets are identified and assigned value in the cloud so they can be properly secured. Blackwell noted that the CSA recommended a step-by-step approach to planning and managing cloud security with this being the first thing companies should do.
After finding what the data assets in the cloud are, some other tips can include:
– Determine where risk is and how the company can handle it
– Figure out what the compliance requirements are
– Ask the provider about security and have controls built in
– Negotiate a suitable exit strategy in the service level agreement
Cloud Security News from SimplySecurity.com by Trend Micro.
