IT Horizons Blog

Being a Data Steward means protecting people’s information with care and transparency. As more of our work and lives move into the cloud, it’s important to understand where data lives, who looks after it, and what rules apply. In this blog, we’ll walk through the basics of the cloud, data residency and sovereignty, and why having a trusted data steward matters. What Is the Cloud? Whenever you use cloud services to save your photos or documents, back up your business information, or use online apps, your data is being stored on a real computer servers. The cloud is just a network of these servers that store, manage, and process your data so you can access your files and use software over the internet. When you use cloud-based services, your information isn’t floating in space. In reality, your data lives on physical servers, in multiple datacenters, somewhere in North America. Of...

I hear people often refer to Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive as backups. I’d like to dispel that myth by explaining why these cloud services do not provide enough data protection to be considered a true backup and also how an actual online backup system can provide robust data protection that compliments the convenience offered by you cloud storage service of choice. Cloud storage service – how does it work? A cloud storage service like Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box.net synchronizes documents and files from your personal computers and devices with your cloud provider. If you make a change to your documents on one of your connected computers or devices, those changes replicate to all your other devices by synchronizing through the cloud (and by cloud we mean a data center/set of servers and storage devices maintained by the provider). This is handy because now you can access your files...

'The Cloud' refers to accessing your data or programs over the Internet instead of locally. “The cloud” is really just a metaphor for the Internet. Some of you may have even seen the Internet expressed in drawings as a puffy white cloud, back in the day. This is where the term, 'the cloud,' started. How can a business benefit from using the cloud? Unparalleled Connectivity & Increased Collaboration: Access your data from anywhere at any time with your team. You can save thousands of dollars on your business' information technology needs. Physical onsite servers & backup solutions are now optional. Just 5 years ago, when a small business was moving to the next level and needed an IT infrastructure, the cost could be between $15,000 and $30,000! Today, instead of investing all that upfront cost for technology hardware and physical setup, we can leverage cloud subscriptions that often take a...