All posts by Kris Price

What is Holding you Back from Investing in the Cloud?

June 22, 2015 Kris Price

For every business that has signed up for the cloud, there are hundreds who have not. Some of them are still sitting on the wall trying to obtain assurances that the cloud is not the gateway to disaster. The faux pas with cloud computing, frequently reported in the news, is not helping any. Most are unwilling to let go the familiar in IT and step out into the unknown—whatever the advantages that are obtainable.

Fence sitters must introspect. What holds them back from taking the plunge are concerns around reliability and security in the cloud.

Remember, security worries the cloud vendor as much as it worries the business person running the company. Cloud vendors know that clients will refuse to entrust their data to them if security is compromised in any way. Consequently, elaborate security systems are devised to give their customers the confidence in the service. Complex algorithms are created, tested and deployed to encrypt all information at source, so that data can never be hijacked or compromised during transmission or in storage. User management systems are integrated into the agent software to empower Administrators configure users and user rights and permission from a central client-located console; in keeping with the policy dictates of the organisation.

Cloud vendors are extremely disaster conscious. They cannot afford to have their data centres destroyed by natural or man-made causes. They proactively create hot sites, disaster recovery sites, and backup sites for customer information. They iteratively work on their disaster recovery plans, so that customers are never made to feel the impact of “downtime” or loss of service. They physically and electronically secure access to their data centres with elaborate security systems including biometric entry, spy cameras and access logs. Unauthorised intrusions at a physical or electronic level can be instantly detected and dealt with in well constructed and secure data centres.

Well established cloud service vendors are anxious to provide state-of-the-art support services their customers. They know that this is one means of differentiating themselves from the competition. They hire the best available talent in the market to man their support teams. They proactively report backup and recovery status and ensure that they are constantly available to the customer in myriad of ways.

We, at Backup Technology, understand that trust is the foundation of a good business relationship. We work towards building trust and deliver what is promised. The fact that our customer base is growing in geometric proportions is an indication of our market reputation, and the reliability of our services. If you would like to know more about us, please visit our website. You can also download and try out the fully functional trial version of our software into the bargain!

How the Cloud Can Help New Businesses

June 10, 2015 Kris Price

In what ways is the cloud innovative? How can it facilitate innovation in your company? How can this innovation help new companies?

Cloud technology is ground breaking. It allows companies to access and store data in a way they were never able to before. The innovative nature of the cloud also allows them to be more flexible, mobile, efficient, and allows them to streamline their business operations. This is particularly helpful for new businesses. In fact, thanks to the technological innovations of the cloud, starting a new company is a lot easier, particularly for information based companies that rely heavily on data.

If information is the lifeblood of a company or organisation, then these companies need access to data and they need a place to store this data. The innovative infrastructure of the cloud allows them to do this safely, securely and easily. A new company, as it is getting off the ground, can enlist the services of a cloud based company to migrate its data. Once it is stored there, all of its employees can access it instantly. This makes it easier for the new company to get started in business.

Not only that, but it is relatively inexpensive for a company to do so. They need not invest in a major capital expenditure to purchase the infrastructure required. Therefore, cloud based technology makes it less expensive and less prohibitive for new enterprises to launch themselves. It creates a more level playing field for them.

So, how does the cloud make this innovation possible? One of the ways it does so is that it allows companies freedom. It frees them from having to manage hardware/software resources that take time and money. All they have to do is plug into the infrastructure of the cloud. They don’t have to build it themselves, instead just access it. This allows managers of companies to be more innovative and use their resources to grow their business. It frees them up to be creative. So, the cloud’s unique infrastructure is a blessing for companies who are innovative.

In addition, thanks to the innovative nature of the cloud, employees can be more mobile. Business travellers can access important files in the cloud, anytime, anywhere and all they need is access to the Internet. The technological innovations that have seen the development of smart phones, tablets,Chromebooks, compliments cloud technology and allows unlimited storage of data and safe, easy, and instantaneous access to files. This frees up employees to travel light, and access important files whenever and wherever they need them. The innovative nature of the cloud makes this possible.

The cloud and innovation go hand and hand. The cloud’s innovative nature helps businesses to grow and to be innovative by themselves, and this particularly is very helpful for new businesses.

The Four “Vs” of Cloud Computing

May 29, 2015 Kris Price

In this technological era, companies across the globe are searching for ways to access the ever changing landscape and benefits that technology can bring. Cloud computing is at the forefront of this technological revolution, offering numerous benefits for companies who are seeking new ways of doing business.

The benefits of cloud computing can be distilled into the Four V’s, which are:

• Value,
• Variety,
• Velocity, and
• Volume.

These four factors are merely samples of how Cloud computing can benefit your business.

VALUE – Cloud computing offers organisations and companies great value for their money. First of all, no expensive outlay of capital is needed because the cloud infrastructure already exists. Nothing new needs to be built, so there are no capital expenditures. In addition, companies can adopt the “pay-as-you-go” model, allowing them to stay within their budget. This makes investing in cloud based technologies a reasonable and controlled investment.

VARIETY – Cloud computing has the ability to be accessed on a variety of devices, ranging from handheld devices like smartphones, tablets, netbooks and home computers — essentially any device that has access to the Internet. It increases the efficiency of portable devices as important data can be uploaded and accessed on handheld devices while business travellers are on the road. In addition, a variety of users — from suppliers, clients, buyers etc. — can access the cloud for sharing and collaboration from wherever they are, at anytime.

VELOCITY – The speed at which business can be done via the cloud is simply amazing. In fact, it is revolutionary. Accessing the cloud can be instantaneous. Uploading and accessing important data can happen in less than a matter of seconds. Collaboration between colleagues can take place in a matter of seconds. The speed at which business can be done in the cloud increases a company’s efficiency and can also increase its bottom line. Therefore, accessing cloud technology saves not only money, but valuable time.

VOLUME – Cloud computing offers an organisation the ability to upload and store an unlimited amount of data. Companies no longer have to worry about reaching maximum capacity when they store their important files on the web. The amount of storage a company needs in the cloud can be scaled up or down and tailored accordingly. As a company’s storage needs expand and grow, they can rest easy knowing that they will never run out of storage space in the cloud because the cloud offers them flexible storage options.

So, if you are considering switching to cloud computing — and cloud backup and storage for your business — remember the four V’s of cloud computing: Value, Variety, Velocity, and Volume.

Privacy and the Cloud

May 15, 2015 Kris Price

Computing in the cloud, like any developing technology, brings up a number of issues and challenges. Storing data and computing in the cloud is a great technological advancement. However, there are many ways our data and privacy could be compromised in the cloud. What can we do to ensure that our data is protected and our privacy is not compromised?

End user’s security and privacy could be compromised in the cloud, for instance, when files and folders are infected with a virus. The cloud vendor must, therefore, ensure that its servers are not vulnerable to infections and that safeguards are in place to ensure that infections do not occur. However, in the event infection occurs, what will the cloud vendor do to rectify the situation? How will they retrieve data if it is lost or compromised? Perhaps, these kinds of issues can be described in the provider’s service level agreement (SLA) to ensure their customers that they are proactive about such issues and are willing to take action if something goes awry.

Another troubling issue in the cloud is identity theft, which can result as a result of Phishing. What is the cloud vendor doing to ensure that their client’s identity is safe? How are they educating their clients to prevent this from occurring? Phishing is a major problem that cloud vendors must be cognisant of as unscrupulous people find ways of stealing the identity of others in order to access sensitive information, like online banking credentials. This could be disastrous for a customer, and cloud vendors must ensure that proper safeguards are in place and do whatever they can to protect their clients.

Another security issue can occur if the service provider’s software is defective. You need to make sure that the software actually does what it claims by testing the service before you sign up; and also you need to perform regular tests as you go along. Defective software can result in a loss of data and money. The data owner needs to have clarity among other things, as to who can access the data. This is an important security protocol that needs to be addressed with the cloud vendor.

A simple solution to many of these and other related security and privacy issues is education and communication. Cloud vendors need to effectively communicate the dangers of some of these issues to their clients in a clear and comprehensive manner. They should be outlined in the company’s service level agreements (SLAs) and every possible effort should be made to inform their clients of the implications if they don’t take the proper steps to ensure their privacy when doing business in the cloud.

The cloud is a two way street. Cloud vendors and their clients must work together and be vigilant to ensure their data and/or privacy is not compromised.

What is Behind the Real Innovations in the Clouds?

May 6, 2015 Kris Price

If you are one of those who nod sagely and declare that the cloud is evolution and not revolution–you are right, but not completely right! While cloud computing features are evolving and gaining definition on stage, the real revolution is in the pricing structures that are emerging backstage, unnoticed and uncelebrated.

The driver behind the revolution is “larger volumes at lower costs”. The catalyst is the increasing reliability, scalability, reach-ability and high availability of Internet applications. The focus is on delivering Software as a Service (SaaS) or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS) to the budget strapped user—the individual or the small and medium enterprise or the large enterprise seeking to lower costs for profitability.

How does the cloud achieve larger volumes at lower costs? Most costs associated with backup and storage is directly attributable to costs of hardware and software. Storage needs burgeon with every passing minute and existing infrastructure is quickly gobbled up by increasing data volumes. Tiered storage does not resolve the problem as infrastructure scale-up-demands become incessant within the enterprise. Capital investment restrictions throttle scale-up and compromises on data availability become inevitable.

Cloud backup and storage breaks the vicious cycle. Enterprises now sign up for ‘storage’ as a utility. They share hardware and software with countless other similarly placed enterprises creating economies of scale. The resultant cost savings get passed back to them reducing the overall costs of computing. It is for this reason that the cloud storage has been described as a process of micro outsourcing. The cloud runs multi-million dollar data centres using a fine grained, incremental approach. Thousands of companies across the globe can quickly tap into common resources and obtain expertise/support for complicated operations.

The process of abstracting hardware and software to the cloud-vendor-data-centre is infinite scalability on demand, higher reliability and availability of information, automatic deployment disaster recovery protocols, utility based computing with pay as you go pricing and reduction in data maintenance costs with no fresh financial outlays! It is win-win all the way! Enterprises do not have to compromise on the quality, security or availability of data and can connect their diverse locations “loosely” using the central data repository as the connecting link at no additional cost.

It is, therefore, not surprising that the pricing models that emerges with the new computing paradigm are revolutionary, completely affordable and attractive to everyone. It is a subtle revolution that cannot be ignored.

Efficient, Stable De-duplicating Processes

April 15, 2015 Kris Price

Storage needs are ballooning. Data volumes will soon overwhelm organisations like a never receding Tsunami if nothing is done about it. There are very few choices. Organisations must:

1. Get more storage space;
2. Archive / take offline data that is no longer relevant; or
3. Compress the data stored.

While falling disk prices and innovative storage systems have made it possible to hire more disk space or archive data effectively, it is data compression that has received a lot of attention in recent years. Compression not only saves disk space, it also saves bandwidth required for transmission of data over the network. Data compression includes data de-duplication and is relevant both for data storage and data archival.

Disk based “de-duplication systems” compress data by removing duplicates of data across the data storage system. Some implementations compress data at a ratio of 20:1 (total data size / physical space used) or even higher. This may be done by reducing the footprint of the versioned data during incremental or differential backup.

Vendors use a variety of algorithms to de-duplicate data. Chunking algorithms break the data into chunks for de-duplication purposes. Chunking can be defined by physical layer constraints, as sliding blocks or single instance storage algorithms. Client backup de-duplication systems use hash calculations to evaluate similarity between files for removal and referencing of duplicates. Primary and secondary storage de-duplication designs also vary. While primary storage de-duplication is directed towards performance optimisation, secondary storage is more tolerant of performance degradation and hence de-duplication algorithms are constructed with more leeway.

Until recently, data de-duplication was only associated with secondary storage. The increasing importance of the cloud as a primary storage has created a lot of interest in de-duplication technologies for primary storage.

We, at Backup Technology, offer an agentless cloud backup service powered by Asigra. Our software de-duplicates data at source and transmits only the compressed, bandwidth efficient incremented or differentiated ‘bits and bytes’ or blocks of the backup set, over the network. Global level de-duplication technology at source is also available for the hybrid versions of the cloud for local backups. The comprehensive solution is non-invasive and ideally suited for small, medium businesses, as well as enterprises. Why don’t you try out our software before you decide to commit yourself?