Security Issues of Cloud Based Services - a Guide for Managers

The cloud is no longer the future, but the present for small and medium-sized computer-centric companies. Technologies in the Enterprise 2.0 area keep on gaining popularity, as the business cloud computing market flourishes. While the managers of all sizes companies start to evaluate the potential fit for cloud-based services, the security issues become more and more significant. In addition to the security provided by the cloud services providers and the security measures taken by customers themselves, a third “wave” of security sources arises: security provided as a service. Based on both literature review and action research, the paper at hand is a synthesis for the results of a thorough review of the opinions and study attempts performed during the last years among Romanian and foreign companies’ managers, in order to find and formulate a consistent, independent and impartial answer to the question: “Is the service-based security a valid option for the cloud-based services, or is it just a tempting promise made to attract customers?”