Lockdowns and quarantines have rapidly changed how organizations of all sizes operate. It has created new opportunities for cyber-attacks and growing attack surfaces as businesses move to distributed working environments.
The challenge for organizations across the globe is to ensure the privacy and integrity of their data while enabling workers to work remotely and flexibly. They need the control of a secure on-premise environment with the ease and scalability of the cloud.
The biggest challenge for most organizations is that they don’t have a choice. They have to deliver a solution that matches user demands and, at the same time, protects their data.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of people that work remotely at least once per week has grown by 400% since 2010, according to GetApp. COVID-19 has only accelerated that with lockdowns and quarantines driving the use of cloud-based platforms and services.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “We saw more than 200 million meeting participants in a single day this month (April 2020), generating more than 4.1 billion meeting minutes. Teams now has more than 75 million daily active users.” This growth is impressive but it has also been matched by reports of cyber-attacks quadrupling compared to months before the pandemic, according to FBI deputy assistant director Tonya Ugoretz.
New operational models are driving organizations to move more into the cloud while corporate data is more vulnerable than ever. In unprecedented times, organizations need to look at new models that better match real-world demands, optimizing costs and assuring best possible experience at the edge.
Delivering Secure Internet Infrastructure
In many organizations, IT departments believe that there’s a trade-off between cloud and security and on-prem and flexibility. The belief is that you can have one but not the other. That is just not true.
At the same time, there’s a growing trend towards moving some data and applications into cloud and then back on-prem when organizations believe they need greater control over different aspects of their IT environment. They’re finding out that it isn’t as clear cut as cloud-first or cloud-only.
They need a solution that bridges on-prem hardware and public cloud infrastructure as a service (cloud IaaS) and offers something more than both of these can offer. At Voxility, we recognized an opportunity to deliver dedicated secure infrastructure with a simple one stop shop model.
Rather than moving data and applications to a public cloud that could have your data hosted anywhere, organizations can rent hardware and network equipment in the best inter-connected internet hubs, then combine it with high-availability internet access and DDoS security services. They have full control over their infrastructure, managing enterprise-grade dedicated servers, switches and routers located in leading carrier hotels where hundreds of other networks and cloud service providers peer directly. Custom configured hardware from vendors like HPE, Cisco, Arista, Dell Force10, Fortinet, Intel, Seagate and others are immediately available.
IT departments gain accountability, visibility and full control over their data and applications with a flexible and secure model. It removes questions about on-prem versus cloud IaaS and stops migrations in and out of the cloud.
Organizations know exactly where their data and applications are located, what kind of hardware it sits on and have dashboards that deliver real-time updates on network traffic flows, cyber-attacks and overall health of the IaaS environment. No matter where workers are accessing data and applications from, the IT department can report on the state-of-play in its digital infrastructure.
They also benefit from only paying for what they use, like on-demand IaaS, and have the freedom to scale-up or down as more cloud-based services or digital platforms are deployed or workers return to offices. It is a model that offers the flexibility and scalability of the cloud with the security and control of on-prem. In a world that is increasingly distributed, it offers a simple way to take control of digital infrastructure and build a flexible foundation.
Preparing for the Next Unexpected Event
Throughout 2020, organizations of all kinds will be reviewing how adaptable their digital infrastructure is. They have seen where it has put limits on productivity or shown vulnerabilities. They have also seen how fast operations can be forced to change and have to explore new models for building adaptability into their digital infrastructure. The ability to pivot quickly and efficiently is now essential for business continuity.
The organizations that will be successful will have looked at the challenges presented by COVID-19 and see that there is more than just cloud IaaS and on-prem. They can have the best of both worlds day-to-day and be prepared for the next disruption to their business.
