Abstract:
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Cloud computing is a computing paradigm in which organizations can store their data remotely in
the cloud (Internet) and access applications, services and infrastructure on-demand from a shared
pool of computing resources. It is clear that cloud technologies have proven a major commercial
success over recent years (since the appearance of products and cloud offerings like Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure). According to Gardner, Cloud Computing will play a large part in the
ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) domain over the next 10 years or more, since
it provides cost-savings to enterprises thanks to virtualization technologies, opening gates for new
business opportunities as well.
However, Cloud Computing has to face several challenges and issues. Storing and processing
data out of the boundaries of your company raises security and privacy concerns by itself.
Nowadays information is the commodity of XXI century, and certain information can mean power
and market advantage. As pointed out by Andreas Weiss, Director of the EuroCloud, in an
interview we held with him, data is one of the most important and valuable
resource any company has. Therefore, security mechanisms to protect this data are necessary to
make the right choices and decisions for the company without worrying about data safety. In the
paradigm of Cloud Computing we will have to trust a Cloud Service Provider (CSP), creating an
extra dependency to a third party which some customers, depending on the value of their data, will inevitably feel uncomfortable. Outsourcing business data in a place not owned by oneself can
scare organizations from using the benefits of Cloud Computing in an optimal way. |