Microsoft Sees Cloud As SMB Security Cure

Microsoft pushing the idea that cloud services offer more cost-effective security for SMBs than the alternative.

10 Everyday Android Apps For SMBs (click image for larger view and for slideshow)
If cloud computing were marketed as a medicine, it would be a wonder drug. Its healing powers would be so great that the cautious consumer might suspect quackery.
But Microsoft insists the cloud can cure a bleeding wallet, a perennial concern among small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs).
The companys Trustworthy Computing Division recently
surveyed SMBs
--companies with between 100 and 250 PCs, some who use cloud computing, and some who dont--in the United States, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Among the U.S. organizations surveyed--93 cloud, 94 non-cloud--Microsoft found that SMBs relying on cloud services feel three to five times better about IT costs, IT value, and IT security than those who shun the cloud.
But its more than a feeling: Microsofts cloud-using respondents report spending 32% less time managing security than those who dont use cloud services.
[ Get a roadmap for your move to the cloud. See
Anatomy Of An All-Cloud SMB
. ]
The security benefits of the cloud are there to see, said Adrienne Hall, general manager of Microsofts Trustworthy Computing Group, in
a blog post
.
In the past three years, according to Microsofts findings, SMBs in the U.S. that favor cloud services were five times more likely than their tradition-minded counterparts to have decreased their managed security spending as a percentage of their overall IT budget. And they were six times more likely to have reduced IT security spending overall.
Among cloud-positive SMBs, 45% reported easier systems integration, 38% reported spending less time managing security, 35% said they believed their business was more secure, and 34% expressed more confidence in their companys regulatory compliance.
SkyWire Media
, a mobile content delivery provider, reports positive results from a Microsoft cloud injection, in the form of
Windows Intune
, Microsofts cloud management service.
Thomas Castleberry, chief operating officer of SkyWire Media, said in an email that his company had previously used a variety of Windows update services and anti-malware products. Each such system required its own server, software license, support contract, and IT administrator, he explained.
SkyWire Media also had different Microsoft Office and Outlook versions, which Castleberry characterized as a bit of a headache. By selecting Intune, he said, we were able to take a unified approach to deploying software, removing unwarranted software, and creating a reliable communications platform.
We were additionally able to repurpose the hardware (or eliminate it all together), and reassign an IT person to other internal development projects, decreasing the need to hire an additional staff member, and reducing our overall IT overhead while improving our ability to service our internal customers, Castleberry said.
The net result, according to Castleberry, was more than $90,000 in equipment and personnel savings.
Gartner concurs about the benefits of the cloud, sort of. The research consultancy has concluded that
cloud computing can be more secure
than on-premises software, sometimes. A recent
security survey by Alert Logic
offers a similar assessment. The cloud has a lot to recommend it, but its not a panacea for every IT concern.
Whether in the cloud or an on-premises environment, effectively securing IT infrastructure is largely about the quality of management, Alert Logics report concludes.
High-profile breaches against cloud-based services have forced tougher security and closer scrutiny of what to put in the cloud. In our
Dark Side Of The Cloud
report, we explain the risks. (Free registration required.)

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