There was a wide variety of technical knowledge among the 40 members of the Austin business community who joined us for our cloud computing lunch and learn. Some business owners asked questions that indicated they had a great grasp on how IT impacts their businesses.
Furthermore, some business owners asked great cloud computing questions that pertained to their specific industry. For example, many accounting firm representatives asked questions specific to CPA technical needs.
This is a revised transcript of the questions and answers that are a little more technically and industry specific. For more introductory questions read our previous blog, Cloud Computing Q&A – part 1.
1. Is every firm in the cloud on one server? For example, if one company’s information was subpoenaed, how would they know where one company starts and one company ends?
Every company gets their own unique application server that is locked down to your company. Everything is always separated logically by company using permissions and is clearly separate from any other company’s data.
2. How does bandwidth influence cloud computing? Will standard business class cable work?
A standard business class cable modem is on the low end but it could work for a five user company. When assessing your connectivity, the important number to pay attention to is the lower number, 10MB down and 1MB up. This means that your upload speed is only 1MB which is low. It’s best if your lower number is greater than 5MB. That may not be enough but we would assess your company to figure out what you need.
3. Wouldn’t the data center servers get bogged down if everyone was working at once?
Server utilization is something we monitor. We can add resources on the fly to adjust for performance spikes.
4. What are security concerns with the cloud?
Data stored at a data center offers greater physical security compared to a traditional onsite server that someone could pick up and take out the door. In regards to digital security the same security for a physical server is used on a cloud server (data encryption, etc). The biggest advantage of cloud computing is the storing of data in a data center instead of your local device. Your data is more vulnerable when stored locally.
5. Are you audited on your cloud services?
The data center goes through audits, and is SAS 70 compliant, but MyITpros is not audited since we do not own the data center.
6. From a CPA perspective, is it more affordable for larger companies?
Early on, it was for enterprise level companies. MyITpros has made it affordable so that small companies can use this enterprise level technology.
7. How is the cloud PCI compliant?
We have a PCI compliant login that you can pay extra for. You would log in and it will send a code to your phone that you would use. Most clients don’t use this as they see it as a hassle.
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Lori Mankin, Marketing Coordinator
Our goal for this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about cloud solutions or any other topic please email me at [email protected]. To learn more about IT subscribe to our blog.
