Security and Compliance for Your Cloud Data Warehouse

As the quantity of information your business collects expands, moving some of this information to a data warehouse quickly becomes a priority. A data warehouse creates a single source of truth and an essential asset to drive your business’s transformation. Embracing the benefits of cloud data warehousing also means becoming acutely aware of digital security.

As your company may be storing sensitive information, complying with regulations such as GDPR shows your customers and commercial partners you have robust and comprehensive security processes in place. Security must be at its foundation whether you are moving some or all on-prem data to a cloud warehouse.

The digital security threats to your business are a clear and present danger. The question often asked is how secure cloud services are. Creating a data warehouse will mean data is at rest and in transit. In either of these scenarios, your business can protect each piece of data by building comprehensive digital security into every aspect of your data warehouse.

Encrypting the data as it moves to and from your data warehouse and having clear access policies are the basis on which your business can ensure the data in your warehouse is safe and secure. The latter point is critical as the instances of social engineering attacks rise. Creating a security culture within your business ensures that everyone who connects with your data warehouse practices secure behaviour. Developing high levels of security culture across your business will result in fewer digital security incidents.

Building robust and comprehensive security into your data warehouse delivers several advantages, including:

• Your business can create a data warehouse that is a crucial business asset with an envelope of digital security that protects each piece of data.

• If your business is in a highly regulated industry or sector, robust security policies must be in place, and your company must show that these systems are operating and effective.

• Complying with GDPR and CCPA regulations becomes efficient and no longer a drain on your company’s resources.

• Your data warehouse is protected by state-of-the-art digital security defences that illustrate to your customers and commercial partners that your company has cybersecurity at the top of your agenda.

As your enterprise continues on its digital transformation journey, creating a data warehouse can accelerate your strategic plans. Creating your data warehouse with integrated security is a win-win for your business.

Security in the cloud

According to Garner, Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) will become the cornerstones of cloud data warehouse security for businesses that are building cloud-native applications. Cloud data warehouse security will follow a similar integrated approach as enterprises look to create comprehensive defences against the myriad of cyberattacks they face.

The cloud data warehouses that IONOS builds use a multifaceted approach to cybersecurity. From the moment a user logs on, the data they are accessing is protected. Your business can easily set user permissions to ensure only specific staff members can access this data. Detection applications also watch for unauthorised access to your data warehouse from within and outside your company.

Your business must comply with various regulations that often relate to customer data. The ePrivacy Regulation, for example, governs online communications and how personal data is collected, manipulated, stored, and shared. The cloud data warehouse IONOS can build for your company addresses all these elements to give your enterprise a fully compliant data asset but also doesn’t let the security in place erode your business’s ability to use the data you have to innovate and deliver world-class customer services.

A cloud data warehouse will also connect data residency and sovereignty to security. The cloud data warehouse IONOS can build for your company can deliver an IT infrastructure that is flexible and secure but also gives your enterprise sovereignty over customer data. This also links to your responsibilities under GDPR. This doesn’t mean these requirements constrain your business – just the opposite, as the cloud data warehouse IONOS can create ensures these regulations are met without placing barriers that stop your company from extracting useful commercial information from the data you are storing.

Protecting your data assets

Businesses like yours are paying more attention to data security. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS): “Around four in five (82%) of boards or senior management within UK businesses rate cyber security as a ‘very high’ or ‘fairly high’ priority, an increase of 77% in 2021. Additionally, 50% of businesses say they update the board on cyber security matters at least quarterly.”

Any cloud data warehouse initiative must have the full support of your business’s leaders. Also, understanding and appreciation of how digital security and compliance connect to the data warehouse you are building is critical to ensure the project meets its stated goals, is completed on budget, and delivers the insights and business advantages the data warehouse is designed for.

At IONOS, we create bespoke data warehouses that businesses can use to evolve every aspect of their organisations. We do this within an environment of robust, integrated, and flexible security systems and protocols. Controlling access with multi-factor authorisation is built into the data warehouses we build; as you know, the people accessing these systems often can be its weakest security link. Your business can mitigate these risks by developing a comprehensive security culture across your organisation. Coupled with digital tools such as encryption, it ensures your business’s data is always safe.

IONOS is a hosting and cloud partner for small and medium-sized businesses. We are experts in IaaS and have a portfolio of solutions to enhance your company’s digital profile.

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