An IT Support Blog from London

Cloud booming but some variability in quality

The cloud and managed services space have mushroomed in recent years. Some of the main reasons the cloud has boomed include:

• Businesses have rushed to exploit its advantages
• VARs and resellers have jumped on the cloud bandwagon
• Knowledge proliferation around implementing cloud solutions
• Lower barriers to entry as tech costs have fallen
• Subcontracting of infrastructure to third-party data centres

Strong business case using outsourced services

Last year saw no let-up in the anxieties over cyber security. Criminal enterprises seem able to distribute malware via email to steal identities unimpeded by the international cyber law enforcement authorities; hackers continue to crack open customer databases of businesses as diverse as TalkTalk and Ashley Madison. It is a necessity for any business on the internet to be able to effectively defend against today’s agile threat environment.

Safe Harbour renegotiation by the end of January

Following the EU ruling that rendered the Safe Harbour agreement invalid last October 2015, in November Sataya Nadella (the current wearer of Bill Gates’ big Microsoft CEO shoes), announced investment in UK data centres as part of a $2bn European cloud infrastructure development plan.

Safe Harbour flounders on judicial rocks

The Safe Harbour agreement, which lets American companies use a single standard for consumer privacy and data storage in both the US and Europe, has been ruled invalid. The agreement, which would have provided clarity and certainty over complex sovereignty issues of data stored in the cloud, seems to have floundered as a result of the whistleblowing activities of Edward Snowden.