10 myths about cloud computing in Alaska.

• Author: Gates, Nathaniel
• Position: TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Alaskans are keenly aware of their proximity to the rest of the world. For some, it is the bane to their existence, for others, it is the very reason Alaska is where they choose to live. But for all of them, the isolation is a factor in their dealings and needs to be considered in business decisions.

Technology has greatly lessened the impact of isolation but the perception of isolation remains. The world is moving to cloud computing, but many Alaska businesses are burdened with incorrect perceptions and misinformation regarding the cloud. Here is a list of concerns routinely raised by statewide business leaders based on their unique perceptions:

1. CLOUD COMPUTING IS LESS SECURE THAN LOCAL SERVERS.

   Although Grandma may be adamant that her bingo stash and war bonds are safer stuffed under her mattress than trusting banks, any prudent comparison of the two obviously demonstrates the bank is safer. Why? Because the bank is in the business of security. It has spent disproportionately more money on safeguarding the property of its customers because the risk is disproportionately greater than that of a single corporation's. A brief review of the security practices, budgets and safeguards in place at any reputable cloud facility adds perspective to this. Like the banks, cloud computing providers are in the business of security and invest far more than local servers to ensure that security. Tens of thousands of companies depend on this network of data centers to be up, operational and secure 100 percent of the time.

2. MY EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS ARE IN ALASKA, SO IT WILL BE FASTER TO KEEP MY SERVERS IN TOWN.

   This might come as a surprise, but Alaska phone companies are not necessarily "kindred spirits." In fact, they rarely exchange data between each other, and instead depend on thirdparty providers in the Lower 48 to hand off the data. This means that when your customer tries to access your website, the data request is usually routed Outside where the handoff is made before being sent back up to Alaska. Then, the data response from your server heads back down on a second round trip before arriving at your customer's computer. This double round trip is made a bajillion times every time you load a webpage. The irony: by placing your servers in the Lower 48, they could be twice as fast as having the servers in Alaska.

3. INTERNET CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN ALASKA AND THE LOWER 48 IS UNRELIABLE.

   This is one of the most common fears...