How to Tackle Your Customers' Misguided Security Fears

By Michael Brown 1

The cloud has come a long way since its genesis. In fact, most cloud professionals believe that cloud technology has passed its trial by fire, and stands today as a tried and tested technology. And yet, many survey results reveal that plenty of businesses continue to fear the perceived digital boogie man that is cloud data storage and cloud-based file sharing.

Case in point, the Cloud Security Alliance’s Cloud Adoption Practices & Priorities Survey found that 73 percent of participants cited a perceived lack of data security as holding back the adoption of cloud-based file sharing services. Another 38 percent thought that regulatory compliance unique to their industries were the number one reason why they chose not to move to the cloud.

Now, some skepticism can be expected, even against mature technologies, but 73 percent is a little too large of a chunk, especially considering the progress made in cloud technologies in the past few years.

Want to know the full extent to which the cloud is misunderstood? Check out this infographic. The fact that 51 percent of people think the weather can effect cloud computing should tell you something.

Misplaced concerns

Even with the recent hacks into celebrity iCloud profiles, which were mostly attributed to weak passwords, there hasn’t been a single major data breach that has been caused by the cloud. Most cloud-based file sharing services are getting themselves audited against some of the toughest security standards, employing more robust security features than any other IT infrastructure out there. So, why the never-ending scare-mongering?

Remember when Carmine Falcone taunts Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins by saying, “this is a world you’ll never understand, and you always fear what you don’t understand!”? This actually sums up pretty nicely why you are facing such a resistance in getting clients to sign up with your services. It’s not that your prospects do not want to adopt the cloud, they simply have no idea what to expect from you or the solutions you maintain.

Educate your clients out of their fears

As we are essentially dealing with a lack of understanding, there is little recourse here other than to ensure your clients and prospects fully know…

A strong inbound marketing program can be a great aid here. Blogging, email newsletters, press releases, social media and whitepapers are time-tested tools you can use to reach out to your clients and educate them as to the measures you have taken to protect their data.

Since we can already guess that the prospects checking out your site have data security at or near the top of their collective mind, you can also restructure the content on your website to really stress the security protocols your cloud-based file sharing services uphold.

Finally, if you have not already, consider getting your service audited, preferably against security standards such as ISO 27001, SSAE-16, PCI, HIPAA or FedRAMP. Your cloud-based file sharing service must have a myriad of controls and policies in place before you can pass the audit successfully. However, passing an audit successfully can differentiate you from your competition in the eyes of prospects, securing their loyalty in the process.