Where is Your Data Resting Right Now?

Small businesses have been quick to adopt cloud computing. For the nimble sole trader, or the agile start-up, the cloud presents obvious advantages. It’s affordable, and it can be deployed instantly. It scales without effort. And there’s no need to assign the airing cupboard as a makeshift server room.

For larger businesses, adoption can be fraught with problems, mainly because of compliance and governance. The cloud is not an inherently risky technology, yet many gatekeepers fear handing control to a third party.

Risk mitigation is all about knowing where data is stored, and understanding the means by which that data can be accessed. Cloud storage is not a compliance risk, but you should understand where your data is resting.

Boundaries and Laws

As many medium and enterprise clients ponder the finer points of cloud adoption, they often miss the bigger picture: where the data is stored. This problem was highlighted with the US Patriot Act, a piece of legislation that as arguably slowed growth in the US cloud market.

The Patriot Act was brought in to scupper terrorist communications in 2001, and it effectively gives the US government free reign over data that crosses its boundaries. This is quite an odd concept, since data is often thought of as being transmitted in a fairly random way, and without any regard to date lines, borders or continents.

In essence, the US government can intercept any data transmitted on a US network. It can also intercept data held by a US company. It’s effectively a very broad digital search warrant, and it affects the cloud because of the way cloud data is distributed.

Is It Risky?

In the US, some see the Patriot Act as being unconstitutional, but that argument is out of scope here. The real issue for internet users is access.

If you use a US cloud provider, your data will cross the boundary into US territory. For businesses, this could be seen as an unacceptable risk. If your IP is viewed by a third party, this could violate legal agreements, non disclosure agreements and contracts you’ve got with suppliers.

The US government has, in the past, demanded access to data stored in Europe because of the company’s links with the US. Microsoft was one target, in April 2014; its Irish data centre was subject to a federal court judgement.

Like With Like

Every country has privacy laws, terrorism laws, and ‘snoopers charters’. The Patriot Act is not unusual, and there are very good reasons for governments to access data in some cases.

However, if you’re in the UK, and you only do business here, it’s safest to stick with UK cloud providers. At the very least, you should try to keep your data within the EU, if only so that you know who can see it.

If government agencies have good reason for asking to see data, responsible providers will oblige. Naturally, that’s the way it should be. But it makes sense to choose only the most appropriate locations to store data, geographically speaking. And it pays to research the law before choosing your next cloud provider.

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Why Your Small Business Needs a Hosted Desktop

IT equipment is one of the biggest capital expenditures that many small businesses make. In the early months of a new venture, you could spend several thousand pounds kitting out your office, and you’ll only need to buy more as the months go on. When cash flow is so critical, it’s sensible to only buy what you really need.

Next time there’s a need for a brand new computer, consider the cheaper option: a virtual desktop, or hosted desktop. Hosted desktops aren’t just a replacement for a physical machine; they solve a host of other problems, too.

Use Cases

A hosted desktop can help you to expand your infrastructure when you need a new machine for a specific task. For an affordable monthly fee, you can deploy virtual instances of your chosen operating system (such as Windows 8), and these can be accessed from anywhere. So if you need a test machine, you can potentially roll out several and log on to them all from one physical machine.

Virtual desktops are also handy because of their portability. Not only can they be accessed over practically any internet connection, you can use practically any modern device without compromising data security. So your test machine can be deployed as a fully functional machine with remote access – no more lugging around two laptops, or dual booting one machine.

You may also feel that you’ve reached capacity in terms of support and physical infrastructure. This is particularly true of small businesses that grow rapidly; they face the point where they have to hire support teams. Outsourcing personnel is one option, but the best way to go is a hosted desktop, so that all of the maintenance is passed over to the provider – not your team.

Leaps and Bounds

Since the early days of Citrix remote desktops, hosted desktops have come a long way. If you’ve been faced with a clunky, slow and unstable remote desktop in the past, rest assured: our service is different.

You can access all of the applications you need, and your administrator can also deploy applications quickly. Desktops are served from high speed data centres rather than your own internal network, relieving pressure and resulting in fewer bottlenecks. You can also access hosted desktop machines within a web browser window; there’s no need to give over your entire machine to the system, so you can work on two things at once.

Go Hosted

Cloud4 specialise in hosted services that free up your time for business. We can offer hosted email, hosted computers, hosted backups and hosted file sync services, all with the best security on the market today. Whether you need 10 machines or 1,000, we can provide reliable, functional virtual infrastructure that takes the strain off your small business right away.


For more information about affordable subscription options, give us a call today. Hosted desktops are useful in practically every business, and we can help you realise their potential and deploy them in a managed way.

5 Things to Look For in a Hosted Desktop Provider

Virtualisation is a drcloud computingiving force behind efficiency and productivity, and hosted desktops are great for any employee that works in the field. They can access their desktop computer from a range of devices, and pick up where they left off no matter where they are.


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