Pub. 11 2016-2017 Issue 4

www.nebankers.org 24 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. The Cloud Considerations Before You Make the Move Cole Holloway, Midwest Independent Bank A RGUABLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST ONGOING BUZZ WORDS in the IT industry is “the cloud.” So, what is the cloud and how can it benefit your bank? The cloud is short for cloud computing, which, according to IBM, is “the delivery of on-demand computing resources—ev- erything from applications to data centers—over the Internet on a pay-for-use basis.” To become part of the cloud, it seems as if a bank simply has to say “yes” and then “sign here”! So, if your bank has made the decision to move to the cloud, what can you do to guarantee a smooth transition and ensure you pick the right company? You want to be certain you are getting what you pay for, just like any other purchase you make. With the existence of shared resources and the ability to sell pieces of equipment, it’s evenmore important to look closely at your expenditures. Cloud computing should be driving down the price of IT; so, if you find your bank paying the same amount of money year after year but receiving less performance, it may be time to take a closer look. You shouldn’t hesitate to ask your IT ven- dor specifics about a line item, bill, or even why you need a service at all. An example would be paying for a 100 Megabit (Mb) Internet connection when your bank only uses 5 Mb. Seek bids from multiple vendors to ensure you are receiv- ing the lowest price for the quality and quantity of service you require; this could save your bank money while you’re performing due diligence. When entering the cloud, security is a big concern. Once your data is offsite, it’s important to know how secure it is. If the data is sensitive, security becomes evenmore of a concern.