Page 10 - Security Today, December 2017

INDUSTRY
VERTICAL
With Christian Morin
Moving the Discussion Forward Cloud services shift is really happening
Only a few years ago, the inevitable shift to all things Cloud was met with guarded optimism. But today, the shift is really happening. Be- yond storage, the cloud is benefitting our secu- rity industry with cloud-based services, otherwise known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). That’s because end users are increasingly seeking easier and more affordable ways to man- age infrastructure growth, become more connected, remain agile, and access emerging technologies.
From government agencies and universities to retailers and transportation hubs, customers are seeing greater value in a full-service cloud offering. These organizations are looking at solutions outside their own environment to lower costs and take the strain off their resources. They are turning to experts and outsourcing tasks including server maintenance, software upgrades and cyber security, understanding these are intrinsi- cally not their core competency. And, they are buying the solu- tions and these all-encompassing services with minimal upfront investment. This article will show how the cloud offering has evolved in the security industry and what this active shift means for customers and integrators.
A Closer Look at the Evolution of SaaS
At Genetec, some of the first real-life applications we offered in- cluded extending storage in the cloud for on-premises systems. Without having to procure and maintain expensive servers or get IT teams involved, security teams used cloud services to increase their storage capacity, hold video for longer periods of time, or even build backups. In case of floods, fires, or unexpected events, the cloud storage served as an integral component in their disas- ter recovery programs.
While these services are still readily available, our strategy is wholly focused on offering the full extent of our capabilities in the cloud and pushing innovation forward with new cloud- based solutions.
The intent is to provide the customer with more value by eliminating a lot of the unnecessary costs in managing the in- frastructure. Whether that includes updating software, managing servers, increasing or decreasing capacity based on needs, cloud services enable customers to reduce costs and become more adaptable to change.
Furthermore, the innate connectivity and elasticity of the cloud allow us to democratize enterprise solutions, making them
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