Security in the Cloud vs. ISP

I have had several talks with small businesses about their comapnies infrastructure and what the next steps are. When I bring up cloud computing, the first question I get is in regards to security. How secure is our data, our apps?

Valid questions and cloud service providers have a lot of proving to do here in alleviating the concerns of small and medium sized businesses wanting to move into the cloud.

I agree I need more proof regarding how secure things are at Amazon or other cloud providers, but really I don't see much more proof when it comes to the hosting your servers and data at your favorite ISP and Hosting Provider.

I think people just are used to it, been doing it for a while....so they feel secure.

I was just talking with a business who migrated from a local ISP to a more regional one located in Portland. I have colocated at both locations and seen severe internal security violations. I have known people who worked there that were less than "secure". But because there are "policies" in place and the illusion of security...and you can touch your servers....its all good.

I'm not trying to discount that Cloud Service Providers need to step up with strong SLA's and more information to address concerns, but I think also time will heal this.

As time goes on and more people make the transition, you will see concerns wash away.