Cloud Services - Location, Location, Location

Obviously you can’t post a series of articles on Cloud computing and not mention security but as it is such an expansive topic here is the first of many that will touch on the subject in some aspect or another.

Depending on a customer’s level of knowledge of ‘the Cloud’ will determine the number and the detail of questions they will ask but the most common one I come across is regarding data location.

Most tech-savvy users will know that with brands such has Google, Amazon and Apple their data will get fed from the UK to the US, possibly via Europe, but many people are still oblivious that this is all included in the terms of use that they quickly agree to, which I was once told in Apple’s case are longer than the Magna Carter. I have heard many cases over the last 12-months of firms’ compliance managers banning their users using Siri and similar apps as it breaks their own code of conduct and compromise compliance policy.

Another example is that our Canadian SaaS customers insist on using the UK-based instance of our solution because of the infamous Patriots Act of 2001. We ourselves faced barriers of a similar nature when exploring different regions and feedback we gleaned from local markets as to where company data was held resulted in spinning up new infrastructure in new locations to suit these markets.

One of the most important things a trusted supplier can do is ensure and promote that the Cloud service you are offering is located in the UK and more importantly, that data remains in the UK. This gives the customer that extra piece of mind when choosing a platform to suit their needs and will raise fewer questions (rightly or wrongly) when it comes to security. From my experience this has been an important driver in the uptake of Cloud products in the UK and I have absolutely no doubt that our BigHand Professional product wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful as it has been if our date at any point left our shores.