More and more businesses are turning to the cloud for their data storage needs. The cloud has proven to be a cost-effective way of managing data, especially for small business. But a small to mid-sized business can’t just outsource something as fundamental as its data without taking appropriate precautions. Here are a few cloud storage best practices to keep in mind…
Manage your migration
Don’t rush to migrate everything to the cloud all at once. This won’t work any better than if you tried a sudden change of strategy in any other facet of your business. Your staff needs time to adjust to the new environment and a patient pace of data migration will be the most stable and secure.
Who gets the keys?
A third party is now involved with sensitive data, so make sure you know who has the encryption keys. Ideally the answer to this question should be you, not anyone outside your company.
Understand compliance
A business like a financial company, health care firm or public entity like a government agency already knows compliance regulations like the back of their hand. Make sure you do as well and that you communicate that to your cloud provider. There’s both industry guidelines as well as any internal commitments you may have made to customers regarding data security. If you don’t tell your provider what those commitments are, they won’t know.
Keep your options open
Like any other business, cloud storage providers want to lock you into long-term contracts. But like any other technology, the cloud continues to develop and new opportunities arise. This doesn’t refer simply to changing providers, but pursuing strategies like using multiple providers to maximize each one’s strengths.
Cloud storage has provided tremendous opportunities for small businesses in the arena of data storage and protection. Follow these best practices and you’ll get the best possible results.