Q & A
EDITOR ’ S
When migrating workloads to the public cloud , solution providers need to make their customers aware of ‘ The Shared Responsibility Model ’, where the cloud providers are responsible for the security of the cloud infrastructure , while organisations are responsible for the security of their data and applications in the public cloud .
I like to draw analogy to renting a retail space in a shopping mall . While you can expect the mall operator to provide a certain level of security , you are ultimately responsible for loss or theft of goods from
MAROUN HASHEM , SENIOR MANAGER , CLOUD AND ALLIANCES – MIDDLE EAST , AFRICA , PAKISTAN & TURKEY , BARRACUDA
your store . If you don ’ t have the tools in place to prevent attacks , you can ’ t rest blame solely on the cloud provider for any subsequent security issues .
Although when developing the cloud strategy , agility and value are of utmost importance for the business to deliver competitive advantage , hardening underlying security and doing proper dependency planning should be given equal importance to protect the continuity of the business .
Sometimes solution providers are so focused on the customer ’ s ambition to have an advantage by leveraging the cloud that they ignore security risks . Solution providers should consider the protection of the business assets of their customers when developing a cloud strategy ( whether it is data , application , communication , and people ) even if it may look like a cost centre for the client .
With the accelerated pace of digitalisation , there are growing concerns around data security , and data sovereignty . This is evidenced in the introduction of regional data protection laws such as the
When migrating workloads to the public cloud , solution providers need to make their customers aware of ‘ The Shared Responsibility Model ’.
UAE ’ s new Personal Data Protection Law , and the Personal Data Protection Law ( PDPL ) in Bahrain , both of which closely mirror the EU ’ s GDPR . Such regulations mandate that data is stored and processed within geographic borders and traditionally would have required solution providers to invest significantly in establishing dedicated in-region data centres to comply with such data residency requirements .
However , in recent years , the entry of hyper-scalers such as Microsoft Azure , Oracle Cloud , Alibaba cloud and others into the region has meant that solution providers can now offer cloud-native solutions that are hosted in these cloud data centres . This paves the way for a large number of technology providers to offer their solutions via the cloud model .
The primary reasons for cloud adoption can vary from cost-effectiveness , to scalability and flexibility , to simplifying operations by largely eliminating infrastructure management requirements . There has also been a concerted effort by governments in the region to advance the development of their digital economies , pivoting around the wider adoption of cloud . In Bahrain for example , the government has announced a ‘ cloud-first policy ’, while Saudi Vision 2030 , UAE Vision 2021 , and Kuwait Vision 2035 all place a strong emphasis on the adoption of emerging technologies which is advancing the uptake of cloud . Ultimately , organisations will embrace those technologies that enable them to operate more efficiently , effectively and in a more agile manner – all of which are made possible by cloud solutions and this is where channel partners should be paying attention to .
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