by Steve Schlarman – March 4, 2010
We have all felt the peace and tranquility of lying on our back in the grass on a lazy day and watching the clouds roll by through a blue sky. For some of us, it may have been many years since we languished in such luxury. For others, it may have been yesterday. I have always been struck by the variety of clouds one could see – from the solitary cotton ball drifting across the sky to the massive jumble of rolling storm clouds. From my intro, I am sure you can see where this blog is going – cloud computing.
I am sure we will see new terms surrounding cloud computing and the candidates are obvious – from silver linings to rain clouds. As one who enjoys the good analogy, the options are endless. When dealing with a complex subject like cloud computing, it is always helpful to utilize simple examples to explore how a virtual topic can be represented in the physical world.
At the RSA Conference, RSA’s own Art Coviello presented in the Keynote address a vision around cloud computing focused on the challenges and opportunities represented by this revolutionary epoch in the world of information technology. He was followed by Scott Charney from Microsoft expounding even more on the transformation of computing approaches available in today’s world. Both of these leaders in the world of technology framed the challenge of cloud computing clearly and articulately. Cloud computing represents a broad new horizon for companies to leverage technology in new and exciting ways. As I listened to the presentations with my IT GRC ears on, it was clear that fundamentally, the challenges we face as IT GRC professionals remain consistent with age-old concepts:
Who is out there? Identity has and will continue to be a core piece of managing risk and compliance processes. Companies have made significant strides over the years in this area and innovative technologies continue to offer many ways to address this complex challenge.
Where is my information? Cataloging and managing data is a major challenge for companies now and will become even more complicated as the elements of cloud computing are implemented. The good news is that technologies that identify and store data are becoming more sophisticated and will continue to evolve to assist companies to improve information asset understanding.
What is going on? Systems management tools and Security Information/Event Management technologies have become a staple of the modern day network and security operations center. The capability to gather event data and correlate what is going on in the environment will also be a key piece of managing the complexities of the “cloud”.
What am I doing about it? I have written many times about the absolute need for a company to be able to articulate and demonstrate the PROGRAM around managing governance, risk and compliance. As cloud computing becomes part of the fabric of a company’s business, it will be even more imperative for executives to tangibly demonstrate how the company is establishing governance, risk and compliance processes across the entire company.
Cloud computing represents another stage in the constant evolution of the use of information technology. Risk and Security professionals have ridden the waves from the glass houses of mainframes to the “who’s on first?” world of distributed computing to the wild, wild west of the Internet age. We now face the same challenges with a new backdrop. Companies should start now looking for approaches and partners that blend together these important pieces – identity management, data management, event management and program management.
Interesting enough, these components are a profile of the combination of EMC, RSA and Archer Technologies. While it may sound as a shameless plug, it highlights the power and opportunity of our new extended family. As my product management colleagues and I explore these new opportunities, we are finding many exciting ways to leverage the power across the collective technologies to provide our customers with seamless approach for IT GRC. So while the sky may be clear now, cloudy days are ahead. And for once, that isn’t such a bad thing.