According to Greg Lock, solutions architect of Itec, this is in spite of the direct benefits that cloud technology brings to organisations - both big and small. "From a document storage perspective, cloud computing provides a cost-effective, infrastructure light solution to organisations," he said. "The cost savings associated with implementing a cloud solution relate back to physical costs, infrastructure costs and significant time savings, which all contribute directly to the bottom line."
The software as a service subscription model means that organisations only subscribe to the services they need and can manage their costs more effectively. "Not only does this include all expenses for storage, management, maintenance and support, it also reduces the cost associated with infrastructure and hardware as the client no longer requires expensive server equipment on site," said Lock. In addition to the cost reduction, cloud-based content management allows much more flexibility and scalability in capacity, while providing robust sharing capabilities even in the most mobility driven environment.
"A cloud-based document management solution simplifies the task of making sense of hundreds of documents as it organises these files with metadata," said Lock. This makes it easier to find documents when needed. "It also allows for auto version control and is far more secure," he added. Built-in encryption means that even an administrator will not have access to the data unless he has access rights, yet it is often concerns around security that prevent companies from adopting cloud technology.
"Security concerns remain one of the biggest concerns our clients have, because there is a perception that they will be losing control over their data," said Lock. "Cloud service providers spend millions on security on an annual basis to ensure that their environments and, thus, the data they store on behalf of clients remain secure at all times." Cloud-based solutions also provide more control over data sensitivity and allow clients to hide sensitive documents while maintaining a single repository for all their data and documents.
Cloud solutions also provide greater protection against data loss through hardware failure or other incidents. "By storing and managing information in the cloud, clients eliminate the risk of losing their data when a physical device is lost or damaged, as data is regularly backed up to the cloud."
Back-ups are done over multiple geo-locations and on multiple servers to eliminate risk. "These back-ups are done on a regular basis, dependent on the client requirements and every quarter physical back-ups are sent to the client," he concluded.
