Technology advance is making the workplace a truly innovative arena. Teams no longer need to meet face to face or occupy the same office building or city in order to coordinate efficiently and advance their business goals. This is particularly important as we continue to navigate the perils of COVID-19, with the lockdown and remote working measures that have come along with the virus.
Remote work and coordination across locations have become an omnipresent component of business infrastructure. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the expanded use of cloud technology.
Cloud Computing
Cloud infrastructure allows for team members to contribute seamlessly, no matter where they are located in relation to their teammates. Cloud technologies like Google Drive or products within the Amazon Web Service suite are making coordinating efforts simple. Simply put, cloud computing is the use of services located in a physical space that is not on your computer. Instead of loading a Word document from the program installed on your hard drive, you load the application from an internet-connected source instead.
Using cloud infrastructure frees up memory and functionality on your computer, but it also gives access to unique and exciting new opportunities. By migrating these functions from each employee’s computer, you can create a network hub that allows for immediate and overlapping access to important corporate documents and data. Everyone can access the most up to date version of business regulations, scripts for contacting customers, or sales targets for the quarter without having to hassle the team leader for the newest revision of the materials. The cloud computing space is big business as well, with a marketplace worth a whopping $100 billion per year. Amazon Web Services makes up the lion’s share, with many other service providers excited to join the work of cloud infrastructure. In this environment, cloud computing functions as ‘rented’ space for huge corporate clients to securely store large amounts of data for easy access over the internet rather than in a local data center that requires maintenance and routine upkeep in house.
Cloud computing is rapid and agile, but it comes with unique risks that are largely tamed by the use of in house hardware for data storage. By placing your documents in the cloud, such as the Google cloud platform, you run the risk of exposure in the event of poor data management practices. Generally speaking, your documents are not part of the public cloud, but by nature of their placement in an internet-accessible container, you can potentially expose sensitive information to the outside world. This is where cloud governance comes in to ensure that your data remains secure and that it always conforms to companywide standards and best practices.
Cloud Governance
The cloud requires something known as ‘governance’ to be utilized to full effect though. Using the Turbot cloud governance platform, your company can leverage all of its data to great effect while maintaining best practices for cost efficiency and security. A platform like this utilizes an intuitive design in order to maintain strict standards for the people, practices, and security associated with your unique cloud infrastructure. Essentially, cloud governance is the set of policies in place to ensure your team is in keeping with the standards that make cloud computing efficient. The Turbot system ensures that these parameters are always met, separating itself from a simple ‘maintenance’ function in the proper use of cloud resources.
Governance involves procedures that secure your data while also keeping with naming conventions, proper placement within containers, and visibility standards so that a document can be found with agility instead of hunted for. Utilizing the cloud is the way of the future, especially as we continue to work from home and cannot always be there in the room with our colleagues so it’s important to balance this newfound agility with security and best practices.
