BT severs all ties with Cloud…. in parts of Hertfordshire anyway.

The small business (or maybe that should read “small minded”) cloud evangelists that I come across with alarming frequency cannot fail to admit that the heavy reliance on a monopolistic dinosaur of a broadband infrastructure does not really lend itself to cloud computing for everyone (please see a recent blog article below regarding cloud suitability).

Only last week many businesses in Hertfordshire were left without voice and data services for a prolonged period following another attack on BT’s physical network. This time it was due to the attempted theft of communications cabling in Hatfield, South Hertfordshire.

BT and the local police force have offered a reward of £5000 for information that will lead to the prosecution of the offenders. However this should better serve as a timely reminder that moving critical systems and data to the cloud is not without its perils and requires careful consideration.

And as I have said before, it is not for everyone.  Despite my reservations I can clearly see significant financial and operational advantages of cloud computing for the right business, if you can guarantee ubiquitous connectivity. However there are few small businesses who can justify, let alone afford, resilient internet connectivity to guarantee availability. And if they do surely it negates any potential cost saving delivered by the cloud? And without availability you cannot have security.

Some say it was local residents demanding faster broadband, in the hope that BT would accelerate their roll out of fibre cabling. I say wake up and smell the coffee, Cloud Cuckoo Land. As a provider of cloud services myself, and particularly Security as a Cloud (SaaS) services, I recognise the flexible and financial benefits, however I also remain a pragmatist, rather than an ideologist.

See the BBC brief article here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-17010501