Cloud Computing has been around for a few years now and is still a big buzz word. So what is cloud computing? Cloud computing is when you have a service at a third party company yet you have access to it just like it was in your office. Many people/businesses use cloud computing for their email. This is how it really started. Cloud computing has expanded in the past few years. You now can have all your computing power in the cloud. Businesses could eliminate the need to have servers in their office by using cloud computing. It has the potential to save a company money on hardware and IT staff but there is a lot to think about before you jump into cloud computing. The items below are just a few things to give some thought to.

Pros

1. Limit internal hardware purchases. You would not be responsible to replace or support hardware. This can be a huge cost savings for a company. Depending on the type of business it could eliminate the need for any in house servers.
    
2. Lessen need for some IT staff since there would be fewer or no servers to support.

Cons/Risks

1. Data Security – With cloud computing your data is in a remote data center which you have no control over. The data center staff or others outside your business might have access to your data. This is a huge concern for any businesses that must be HIPAA compliant.
    
2. Dedicated or shared servers – With cloud computing you have two options – dedicated or shared. If you are in a dedicated environment only your business data is on a server. It is a lot more expensive than shared. If you are in a shared environment you run the risk that others might have access to your data or bring down the server completely.
    
3. Physical Security – Your data may be stored in multiple locations so you wont really be able to guarantee that each location has accurate physical security. Is your data hosted outside the US?
    
4. Data Ownership – With your data physically out of control make sure you have in writing who owns the data. You could be in for a big surprise when you try to change service providers. I have seen this happen to one of our clients.
    
5. Service Level Agreements -Make sure you have one! Do not go on someone's word. Make sure everything is written down. You should make sure there is a clear understanding of the service provider's response time to problems, costs, uptime, speed, etc.
    
6. System downtime compensation – What leverage do you have to ensure you will be fairly compensated if the service is unavailable for any length of time? Remember if the internet or service provider is down you will have no access to your data.
    
7. Data Discovery – If your service provider is searched by local authorities, what rights do you have to protect your data?
    
8. Data Storage – Are there any limits on the amount of data you can have on their systems? How is it backed up? How long is the data stored on the server for disaster recovery.