Silver linings and dark sides of the cloud
Using cloud-based services can save business costs and improve business flexibility, but be aware of the potential risks.
Add BT as a preferred sourceTHE usage of cloud services has become more common in recent years. Some of the typical cloud offerings familiar to SMEs include Microsoft Office Online, Salesforce CRM, SAP Cloud, DropBox and many more.
These applications broadly classified as Software as a Service (SaaS), are made available to customers on demand via the Internet from a cloud service provider's (CSP) servers. Other types of cloud-based services are Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
For PaaS, customers have access to the prebuilt tools on the service provider's cloud-based environment to develop and deliver their applications; while for IaaS, customers have access to the storage, networking, servers and other computing resources of the service provider's environment.
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