It is not uncommon for companies to consider changing cloud providers because of service offerings or because of economic aspects. However, in addition to many valid reasons, data protection should always play an important role in the decision.
There are many reasons for companies to switch cloud providers, whether from or to large or smaller providers. One of the more common reasons, in addition to the different range of services, is certainly the pricing of the cloud providers. For example, Microsoft has introduced significant price increases for its cloud services in the euro area since April 2023, which could prompt companies to consider switching providers.
From an economic point of view, a move can make sense. However, the aspect of data security should always play an important role in such considerations. Because regardless of the cloud provider, the variety of applications and the associated costs for the cloud services, the responsibility for data security always lies with the owner of the data - i.e. the company that uses the cloud services. Data security issues can put companies in difficult situations, such as data breaches under applicable GDPR or other regulations. This must be avoided at all costs.
Independent data protection for free choice of provider
In order for companies to achieve a high degree of freedom in terms of the economic or service-related choice of provider, data security should be guaranteed regardless of the cloud provider. If companies use their own resources to ensure that the data is safe with any cloud provider and regardless of the location of the data center, both economic and technical considerations and preferences can be fully played out. Then a change of provider no longer plays a role in terms of data security.
In principle, good encryption of the data is suitable for data security in the cloud. TeleTrust agrees and pays great attention to the encryption of data in the cloud with gateway technology, for example in the "Guide to the state of the art" or in the "Cloud Security Guide".
It should be particularly emphasized that when encrypting data in the cloud, it is important not only to encrypt the data in the cloud, but from the moment they leave the trusted environment. Data-centric end-to-end encryption for working in the cloud is only successful if the data encryption already takes place in the company with a dedicated gateway - similar to a proxy. One provider of such a multi-cloud solution is eperi.
Encryption and functionality must go hand in hand
However, simply encrypting the data in connection with the cloud is not enough. In addition to secure encryption, it is crucial that such a gateway not only supports the encryption of pure file traffic, but also the functionality of applications such as Microsoft 365, SharePoint, or Salesforce. Only then can the special advantages of the cloud and cloud applications be used to their full extent despite the highest level of data protection. This is how uncompromising data protection works for every cloud and for maximum freedom when changing providers.
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About Eperi GmbH
With the eperi solution, companies benefit from all the advantages of cloud use, such as efficient company-wide collaboration - while remaining legally secure in accordance with global data protection laws. eperi owns several international patents for its innovative multi-cloud technology, which offers unrivaled data protection for SaaS applications, individual applications and files. The customer retains sole control over all sensitive data as no unencrypted data is sent to the cloud.