Small Business Insurance

Small Business Insurance : Cloud Computing

Risk management around cyber security is probably one of the most vital areas to keep on top of with regards to your business, and an area that is going to change dramatically with the advent of cloud computing.

Cyber security is key to your small business, whatever that business may be.

The internet, computers, and hand held devices such as cell phones, mobile phones are pretty much the backbone of most business’s today, and with risks associated with that need to be understood.

The first thing to do in any business, whatever the size of that business is to have some one responsible for overseeing the security of the system.

This means keeping anti-virus software upto date, making sure firewalls are operating effectively, making sure windows updates are installed and operating, as well as browser updates.

It is worth having a company policy document that spells out the main risks of cyber security, and advising people what to do and what not to do, so as to minimize risk of any malware or infection.

Risk Assessment of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a different issue, because it deals with the storage of your data, and risks associated with that such as privacy and security.

Could computing is often thought of as a back up of data that you yourselves store on your own computers. It isn’t.

Cloud computing is where any company actually stores your dat, and then streams it to your devices from its own servers.

Apple is the latest big company to go down this road with iCloud.

From a small business owners perspective, the issue is about data.

Whilst you still own the data, if you don’t own the devices where the data is actually being stored, you could have real problems.

If that data is your business, then it is potentially a huge risk.

The risk is in not having any real control over your own data, let alone issues of privacy and security. In many ways, the risks of security and privacy may well be less in terms of cloud computing.

This may well be outweighed by the loss of control you have over actually being able to retrieve that data.

Needing to retrieve it may well be key if you want to change companies either on grounds of cost or concerns in other areas.

Signing up for cloud computing may seem like a good idea, and it may be, but there are significant risks involved in actually controlling access to that data.

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