As cloud vendors mature, Web-based delivery of applications, storage and infrastructure is getting more secure and trustworthy. That doesn’t mean that the risks are gone–they’ve just migrated to a more difficult-to-manage form. Today, big-name cloud providers like Salesforce.com offer top-notch security, auditability and compliance. Even Google provides a compliant e-mail hosting solution for regulated industries such as healthcare and finance. Providers can now meet cor-
porate needs, experts say, as long as companies do their security due diligence and pay attention to contract fine print.
In 2005, Atlanta-based Cox Communications began using BlackLine Systems’ hosted services to replace its manual financial close process based on spreadsheets. Now, the $9 billion cable operator is moving to a cloud-based version of the same system, BlackLine’s OnDemand offering.
