The Report – entitled ‘Secure Your Data in the Cloud’ – aims to give those organisations with real concerns as they migrate from on-premise provisioning to cloud based solutions, answers to a host of questions relating to the issue of security. It follows ‘Secure Your Data – Protect Your Business’, published earlier in 2012, which contained best practice recommendations arising from interviews with a number of organisations on how they treat data.

Frank Jennings, Head of Commercial, DMH Stallard LLP and author of the Report, stated: “Industry surveys consistently show that data security is the number one concern when it comes to cloud adoption.

“The Report aims to answer the key questions they are asking about cloud solutions and we have asked a host of industry experts for their views as well as our own. The answers themselves reveal that data is not inherently more insecure in the cloud than on-premise. According to our experts it is all down to what safeguards there are and the responsibility for this resides with the data owner themselves,” he added.

According to recent research by the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) data security is cited by 82 per cent of companies as a key concern for them as they take the decision to migrate to the cloud.  This was followed rapidly by data privacy at 69 per cent.

The Report also takes five key lessons learnt from the research:

1. Keeping data secure is not so much about whether it is on-premise or in the cloud as it is about putting in place proper safeguards
2. You should classify your data according to importance and adopt security measures accordingly
3. Undertake diligence on your providers. Make sure they have a good reputation, have achieved recognised accreditations and have addressed security to your satisfaction
4. Don’t just look after the technology. Remember security is about people too
5. Take practical steps to protect your data and then cover this off in the contracts with customers, staff and suppliers.

Julian Heathcote Hobbins, General Counsel at the Federation Against Software Theft and one of the key contributors to the Report, added: “This is a ‘must-read’ Report for anyone considering migrating to the cloud and who may have concerns over the issue of data security. It gives the reader clear guidance to those contemplating a move to the cloud or who have expressed concerns.”

Andy Burton, Chair of the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) and CEO of Fasthosts, concluded: “Typically when people think of security concerns about cloud computing they think of the multi-tenancy nature of SaaS applications, use of an untrusted network (i.e. the Internet) and the trophy status of a large Cloud Service Provider vs. an average organisation in terms of external malicious attack.  The key thing to remember though, is that there are solutions to these concerns and that the type of cloud deployment model requires different security considerations and this will place a different emphasis on who is responsible for certain tasks.

“Security is neither more nor less of an issue for any specific service or deployment model, it just has to be properly assessed, delivered and managed.”

The Report can be downloaded free by visiting www.dmhstallard.com/data_security or by emailing frank.jennings@dmhstallard.com

Notes to Editors

About DMH Stallard
We are proud to work with some of the most innovative and successful organisations in the country, including major financial institutions, FTSE listed companies, private equity backed businesses and high profile public sector bodies. We are also delighted that the firm continues to be recognised with industry awards and in 2012 was awarded the Corporate Law Firm of the Year at the prestigious Insider Dealmakers Awards.

We are dedicated to making our clients the centre of our business. We want to develop long-term relationships with our clients and invest considerable time and resource to support this. The feedback to this approach is always extremely positive and new clients have commented that our commitment to building the relationship and making it successful is refreshing.

We provide integrated teams from our offices in London and Gatwick, that are capable of working on large complex projects which require expertise from multiple disciplines. This approach ensures our clients have access to technically excellent advice across the board that is efficient, economical and aligned to their needs.

We continue to recruit some of the best talent in the City, and our approach continues to attract clients looking for a genuine alternative to traditional City law firms.

Frank Jennings, DMH Stallard, Partner and Head of Commercial
Frank Jennings is a lawyer specialising in cloud & technology, data security, intellectual property and commercial contracts. His clients come to him not just for his specialist legal advice but also rely upon him for his "can-do" mentality and his pragmatic approach to solving problems and managing risk.

Frank chairs the Cloud Industry Forum’s code governance board, blogs at TomiLaw.com and regularly presents on cloud and data security issues. Independent legal directory Legal 500 says he is "commercially minded" and a "clear thinker" and rates him #1 for Technology & IP.

E. frank.jennings@dmhstallard.com

www.dmhstallard.com

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