There is a lot of discussion around data security issues concerning Software as a Service (SaaS). Questions are raised as to where the data is stored, how physically safe it is, who has access to it and how secure is it i.e. what happens if the host server goes down. These are all legitimate questions, as the whole field of SaaS is comparatively new. I think we need to step back a little and take a look at the bigger picture. The questions mentioned and fears raised seem to be more of an issue of the fear of something new, something unknown. The safety offered by an on-premises solution has been shown to fail on occasion, as seen by several high profile cases over the past years involving laptops stolen from the NHS, USB sticks that have gone missing in the post, and lost computer disks to mention just a few examples.

Concerning data security in cloud solutions, Graham Anderson made reference to the matter in a highly entertaining manner with this blog post on weak passwords. We all know how hard it is to remember any number of additional passwords on top of pin numbers not to mention the birthdays of your nearest and dearest, but nowadays they have simply become a part of life you can’t avoid. A point worth mentioning – birthdays you can keep in a diary, pins and passwords preferably not. But a little research into password security might make for sobering reading and will certainly help when advising colleagues and members of your organisation as to how important safe passwords are, particularly if your mum’s maiden name and your place of birth are common knowledge! An on-site database may be at risk from a break in, but information contained in your SaaS solution is just as likely to be stolen if your lock and key ie password is easily breached.

Sales pitch: Data security is one of the cornerstones of our business and we at OpenCRM are well aware of this and do our best to ensure that your hosted CRM solution is safe. To find out more about our secure data centres please refer to this article on our website http://www.opencrm.co.uk/why-host-your-crm-solution.html