"On-demand security services, or "in the cloud" services, refer to security technology that is managed from a central location and delivered over the Internet, eliminating the need for small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) to deal with the high costs of hardware deployment, software upkeep and future scalability.

By deploying an on-demand security service, SMBs are given enterprise-class network security, collaboration and business continuity, including email, instant messaging (IM), web filtering, hosted office and archiving, without the high cost and resources required to manage hardware and software.

Key benefits of on-demand services include:

• Ease of deployment and management: Once customers subscribe to a specific on-demand service, it can be deployed in minutes, without purchasing or installing any software or hardware on site. All services can be accessed and managed anywhere and anytime, whether employees are connected centrally or remotely to the network. Customers receive enterprise-class IT services by the slice, delivered just how they need it to meet their IT security needs.
• Always-on message archiving: Email and instant messages can be archived without any equipment, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As corporate and federal compliance requirements increase, hosted solutions give companies the security that messages will never be lost.
• Maximizes IT resources: With on-demand services, SMBs can limit the amount of IT support that is needed to manage security on the network.
• Increases employee productivity: The distractions of email spam, non-sanctioned internet and IM abuse can amount to hours of lost productivity. With backend 24/7 on-demand security services, SMBs can stop spam, set up Internet usage policies and close known network security holes, giving employees the tools they need to successfully meet business goals.
• Focus remains on business: On-demand services give SMBs the opportunity to keep a laser focus on their business, without having to worry about the expense and complexity of dealing with network security. Since these type of security services are hosted off-site, the overall cost is significantly less than hardware or other software deployments."

SOURCE: SC Magazine

Growing number of SMBs going 'in the cloud'


___________________________________________________

>> Back to Main Page

Gary E. Smith
SOA Security Architect