Glasgow Business . 39 Continued from page 37> R DATA


“If you are tempted to try the ‘economic’ approach it is sensible to bear in mind that free security systems downloaded from the internet provide the skimpiest of protection”


without access to the web for days or even weeks. Stuart Hooson said: “You


counteract these dangers by investing in security solutions. Standard solutions include next- generation firewalls. Going one step further than previous versions, which operated a ‘block and allow’ list, these new products interpret what suspicious malware is atempting to do. Tat allows them to pick up atacks very quickly.” Using cloud-based services is


another way of counteracting some problems. Tere, content is scanned before it’s added to a site, and it’s rare for data centres to be exposed to malicious atacks. Safety and security are


especially important to businesses that take online payments. Although it can be expensive, oſten they will commission an ethical hacking company to undertake a penetration test which helps to identify potential security flaws. If you are tempted to try the


‘economic’ approach it is sensible to bear in mind that free security systems downloaded from the internet provide the skimpiest of protection. Tey may be able to


identify a virus, but won’t include many measures such as encryption and device control, which examines hardware you connect to your computer, regulates what information can be transferred, and, in some cases, will encrypt the atached device. Similarly, it is important to be


aware of the danger of using free cloud-based products to store company documentation. Again, these sites are not encrypted. Once your information has leſt your network you have no control over it. Until now, companies with


lax security mostly paid the punishment in business terms by losing competitive advantage. However, EU legislation on data protection is pending which stipulates that firms must declare security breaches, and may be fined up to 5 per cent of worldwide turnover if they leave themselves open to atack. Tese new rules will apply to all businesses and it is estimated that they will come into effect in 2016. It has always made sense to


protect your business’s vital information but, as this law looms, it is more important than ever.


> www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com Continues from page 37> >


city centre, for example, providers can’t install fibre because there is simply no room in ducting to roll it out.” Notwithstanding that


limitation, businesses are making the most of opportunities. “I’d say around 70 per cent of our clients are incorporating some cloud- based solutions in their operations,” added Wilson.


MARKET FORCES


It is not simply their own needs that are dictating business options; movement in the IT market has an impact on choices. For example, over the past 15 years businesses with under 75 users – which makes up a significant proportion of the market – have been using Microsoſt’s ‘Small Business Server’. However, Microsoſt has now dropped that product and is instead promoting its hosted exchange or Office 365 product – in effect pushing customers in a cloud-based direction. Despite this, many


businesses which have already bought their own infrastructure are opting to make the most of that investment. When faced with the higher monthly costs that a fully cloud-based solution presents they choose to take a gradualist approach rather than jumping in feet first. For them, shiſting to the


cloud essentially means starting again, especially if they have been running their own internal package for the past 10 or 15 years. Alternatively, younger businesses will oſten choose the cloud simply because they don’t have to spend big on infrastructure and on the practical side it is much more straightforward – you don’t have to find somewhere to house large, pricey equipment. As with most aspects of


business, there is never a one-size-fits-all solution. Kevin Mitchell said: “When


we speak to customers about cloud computing, there is no real matrix to follow. Every company has its own needs and will generate a different solution.”


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