Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 09 | Page 46

INTELLIGENT SOFTWARE BUSINESS Compliance in Office 365 Although Office 365 may be light years ahead of its competitors on the compliance front, unfortunately it doesn’t signal an end to all your compliance-related issues, says Siva Chelladurai, Marketing Analyst, ManageEngine. C loud technology is one of the most talked about topics in today’s IT world. With a surge in the number of SaaS companies, we have certainly reached the point where an entire business can be run in the cloud. The big savings, hassle-free automatic software updates, reduced downtime and many other advantages cloud technology brings to the table should make it a natural choice for most decision-makers. But, on the contrary, companies are still hesitant to 46 take the plunge; most cite security and compliance as the main reasons for not jumping on the cloud bandwagon. Cloud compliance: an oxymoron? Unlike an on-premises setup, data in the cloud is stored in cloud service providers’ datacentres, and companies don’t really know how their confidential data is being managed. With the looming threat of non-compliance, a company might have a plethora of questions for a cloud service provider when it decides to move to the cloud, such as: • • • • Where is our data going to be stored? Who will have access to our data? What is your disaster recovery plan? With what industry regulations do you comply? Sadly, in most cases, the answers companies get from cloud app developers clearly indicate the fact that security and Issue 09 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS