cloud faqs singapore

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Cloud

Q?

IS MY DATA SECURE ON THE CLOUD?

A.

Yes. Cloud service providers tend to use industry-standard security practices to protect your data at all times. Generally cloud service providers spend more resources than SMEs in maintaining a reliable, stable and secure environment for your data.
Firstly, the data transmitted over the internet from your device to the cloud servers can be encrypted via industry-standard SSL certificates. Some SaaS (Software as a Service) cloud vendors can offer data encryption on selected data that gets stored into the database, meaning even if someone were to steal your database, data is encrypted and can only be legible with your password.
Finally, choosing a reputable cloud vendor is very important if you are concerned about data security as they tend to have strict policies on data storage and handling by their systems and staff. Some might argue that cloud vendors can steal your data easily in the backend but remember that this can also occur at your business premises.
The key here is to store extremely critical and sensitive data in a different manner and ALWAYS use strong passwords. There is nothing much one can do with your stolen data IF it is encrypted with a strong password. Discuss with your cloud vendor to get more details. If your cloud vendor cannot meet the above as a minimal requirement, then you have to look elsewhere!

Q?

ARE THERE ANY HIDDEN COSTS WHEN SUBSCRIBING TO CLOUD-BASED SERVICES?

A.

Most cloud vendors attempt to be transparent with their subscription costs. Generally for subscription-based services, there are NO contract periods.
Most vendors also DO NOT have a one-time sign-up or exit fee to stay competitive. Additional costs are usually applicable when you require non-standard services such as customising applications and etc.
Always read the vendor’s terms and conditions before signing up as it varies between vendors and the actual type of cloud services being offered.

Q?

WHICH CLOUD PROVIDER SHOULD I CHOOSE?

A.

You should always research and compare all available cloud service providers before deciding to sign-up.
Generally, the more critical the cloud solution is for your business, the more reputable provider needs to be evaluated. Do not always place importance in the costs as you pay for what you get.
It will be more beneficial if you sign-up with a vendor who has a local presence and is available for you to talk to.
Good and reliable customer support from vendor is very important, so analyse the vendor’s approach during pre-sales as much as you can. Remember that good vendors never force you to sign-up quickly.

Q?

WHO OWNS THE DATA IN THE CLOUD? IS MY DATA STILL MINE?

A.

Your data is always yours. You may feel that your data is vulnerable online in the cloud but it is not as long you are with a reputable vendor.
Reputable vendors work round the clock to ensure your data is always secure and is only available to you and authorised users via proper communication channels.
Always remember, never to store critical and sensitive data online anywhere even if it is encrypted to prevent any possibility of data leak and hacking.

Q?

CAN I CHANGE MY CLOUD SERVICE PROVIDER?

A.

You can cancel your subscription services with your existing cloud service provider anytime (depending on your terms and conditions) and change to another service provider.
The main concern here is your business applications and its data. For example, if you sign up for a specific business application on the cloud, another cloud service provider may not have the exact same type of business application and may require additional work to export and import data between the applications. On the other hand, if it is just data files you want to transfer between cloud storage service providers, then it is rather straight forward. Place importance in checking with the new service provider on a successful migration plan. To be on the safe side, DO NOT cancel your services with the old service provider UNTIL you know everything is working perfectly with the new service provider.

Q?

CAN I MIGRATE MY EXISTING BUSINESS APPLICATION DATA TO THE CLOUD?

A.

It is highly recommended that you contact and discuss with a cloud service vendor in detail if you are looking into migrating your existing business application and data to the cloud.
It all depends on what kind of existing applications your business is currently using and whether their data can be exported. Data migration usually is time consuming and has to be done carefully to minimise errors.
If your existing business application does not allow you to export data in any formats, then worst case scenario would be to get a data entry personnel to manually transfer across all the data records.

Q?

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY INTERNET CONNECTION FAILS?

A.

All cloud services generally require internet connection to function. It is recommended that you spend more on quality internet connection with a good internet service provider (ISP) to minimise internet connection failures.
For mission-critical businesses, a secondary fall-back internet connection from another ISP is a good backup plan to have so that you can switch to an alternate internet connection if the primary connection fails.
The secondary connection plan need not be as extensive and costly as the primary one as it is only meant to be a temporary backup plan. You can also integrate the primary and secondary connections into your business network.
You can also use your phone’s data network to connect to the cloud if other methods fail. Some cloud applications can be run in offline mode and automatically synched when the internet connection is up again.