Pub. 5 2015-2016 Issue 6

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S May • June 2016 11 as well as other sophisticated security measures—to protect customers’ data. The issue is that there are no clear guidelines enforcing levels of protection in a cloud environment, so many cloud providers do not take the initiative to fully protect data. Location Believe it or not, data sent to the cloud is actually stored on servers, in a facility, not in a magical cloud. Cloud providers host a vast amount of data in locations that tend to have the cheapest real estate. Offshoring information has become a popular trend for companies to reduce data storage costs. It might seem like a smart business decision to offshore data storage at cheaper labor and overall operations costs, but there are plenty of risks involved in offshoring data. Each country has its own set of laws in place to protect information, and compliance and regulations may fall short of protecting valuable data, increasing the risk of a data loss or breach. There are also political and socio-economic factors that could affect the relationship with the cloud provider, placing data at risk. Accessibility Stored data is only valuable if an organization can access it easily. Not all cloud-computing companies make it easy for data to be obtained. When companies utilize cloud platforms to store archival data it can take hours – or even days – to retrieve the information. The retrieval lag time can be problematic if a com- pany is facing an audit or other time sensitive data references. Also, in many cases a cloud provider will let you put your data in for free, but often charge punitive rates to get it out again. Banks that are planning to store large amounts of data in the cloud could face significant costs if they ever want tomove it. At the end of the day, all companies must be strategic about data management to ensure its security and accessibility. Plac- ing valuable data into a cloud platformwithout fully vetting the cloud provider could be disastrous. Decision makers should also be sure to look into alternative methods of storing archival data to determine what makes the most sense long-term. There are so many data storage products available, each bank should find a solution that fits its unique environment. n For more information, contact Tom Gleason Sales Manager, Dynamic Solutions International at 303-754-2087 or t.gleason@dynamicsolutions.com. Tom has over 30 years of technology experience in the financial industry. COMMITMENT COMMUNITY ABA Foundation The ABA Foundation Community Commitment Awards recognize and promote the essential role banks play in their communities. This national award program celebrates financial institutions of all asset sizes and charters. Entry period opens May 1st Visit aba.com/AwardsCO to learn more. Colorado bankers: submit your bank’s programs that demonstrate corporate social responsibility today. Entry deadline is July 1.