Tips for safe cloud storage

Entrusting enterprise data to a storage provider’s online cloud may be no more risky than putting it in a proprietary storage platform in your own data center, according to some analysts and users. But there are specific steps you should take to prevent problems.

 Rebecca Wettemann, Nucleus Research — “Before you sign on, do a clear assessment of how difficult it is to get your data out.” — Find out if there are proprietary tools required to move your data. — Make sure you know about any fees for data migration. — Look for specific terms in the contract covering migration.

Henry Baltazar, The 451 Group — Ask for a provision that says you can get your data put on a removable hard drive and sent to you at the end of the contract.

Ben Woo, IDC — Don’t outsource primary storage. Use a hybrid strategy so primary storage is rapidly available from in-house infrastructure. — Ask the same questions about your cloud provider’s data center as you would about your own: Backup routine? Generator?

Greg McGovern, CTO, Adventist Health — Make sure the service fits your organization’s data management strategy. — Try to use open file formats if possible. — Go through regular exercises to make sure you can retrieve your data. — Make sure you get a service level agreement that suits how you’ll need to use the data. — “You should never outsource something until you are confident that they can actually take better care of your stuff than you can.”