Cloud Vendor Management

                                                     

In the 2021 Horizon Report, a group of panelists were asked to identify the technologies they thought would have the most significant impact higher education information security. From a total of 18 panelists, 6 key topics were discovered: cloud vendor management, endpoint detection and management, multifactor authentication and single sign–on, preserving data authenticity and authenticity and integrity, research security, and student data privacy and governance (2021 Educause Horizon Report: Information security edition 2021). Cloud vendor management is starting to become an important aspect of information security. Institutions are finding themselves facing the dilemma of balancing their need for in-house information systems, and the potential for outsourcing the rest of their needs to cloud vendors. This then introduces the need to shop for and find a cloud vendor that not only addresses all of your needs, but also secures your data, and aligns with the “institutions culture, values, budget, and needs,” (2021 Educause Horizon Report: Information security edition 2021).

                Due to the most recent COVID pandemic, most businesses and schools have shifted to more online learning. Cloud based technologies are bound to become more popular and even more necessary to maintaining a healthy work force and classroom. The trick becomes finding a cloud based solution that is secure, meets the needs of the organization, is efficient, and cost-effective (2021 Educause Horizon Report: Information security edition 2021). For this reason, vetting vendors and selection is becoming of utmost importance to organizations deciding to adopt cloud technologies. One study showed the top contributing factors of cloud vendor management (listed by importance) as: information security impact, end-user receptiveness, cost, risk, and addresses equality and inclusion (2021 Educause Horizon Report: Information security edition 2021).

References

2021 Educause Horizon Report: Information security edition. 2021 Educause Horizon Report. (2021, February 12). Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2021/2/2021_horizon_report_infosec.pdf?la=en&hash=6F5254070245E2F4234C3FDE6AA1AA00ED7960FB.