Cloud security concerns make CIF Code of Practice critical to market, says e-know.net  

e-know.net has recertified against the Cloud Industry Forum’s Code of Practice, having successfully demonstrated its credentials as a safe, transparent and capable provider of cloud services. For the managed service provider (MSP), the cloud certification scheme remains of critical importance in a market that is looking for reassurance about the security of cloud-based services.

e-know.net is a UK-based managed service provider (MSP), delivering a range of outsourced solutions from bespoke Managed Desktops through to enterprise software-as-a-service. Established in 2000, e-know.net has experienced rapid growth, and now delivers managed hosted solutions, support services and business continuity services to approximately 10,000 users in over 20 countries around the world from its Tier 3 state-of-the-art data centre in the UK.

Since initially certifying against the Code of Practice in 2013, e-know.net believes that the Code of Practice has helped to instil greater confidence in its customers that their data will be safe when hosted in cloud environments.

Nigel Redwood, CEO of e-know.net, said: “Security remains high on the agenda in the industry and industry research consistently shows that security is the number one concern for those organisations looking to make the move to the delivery model. It’s therefore critical that those companies providing cloud services put their best foot forward and go the extra mile to demonstrate that they comply with industry best practice and can be trusted with customers’ data. We see the CIF Code of Practice as a great way of achieving that, which is just one of the reasons why we continue to recertify.

The Code of Practice is a credible, certifiable tool that allows Cloud Service Providers to demonstrate that they meet specified requirements of transparency, accountability and capability, as prescribed by CIF. It aims to standardise enterprises offering cloud services to provide clarity, transparency and assurance to end users seeking to migrate to the cloud. The entire process is overseen and managed by CIF’s independent certification partner, APM Group.

Richard Pharro, CEO of APM Group, concluded: “What’s unique about the Code is that it’s not prescriptive from a technology point of view. Rather, it serves to demonstrate a provider’s ethos, so that end users can have confidence that in choosing a CIF-certified provider, they are transparent, capable and accountable in the way that they operate. e-know.net’s commitment to best practice is the cloud is highly commendable, and we would encourage other providers of cloud services to follow their good example and get certified.”