In any conversation involving moving to a cloud collaboration platform like Google Apps or Office 365, one question is inevitable: Is the Cloud Secure?
The ensuing conversation is usually focused around the security of the infrastructure, whether or not the cloud application provider can see customer data, and whether hackers can break in and see what’s stored in the cloud. Once those fears have been allayed, the cloud security conversation is over.
There’s only one problem:
Cloud Security Isn’t About The Cloud. It’s About The People
Prior to the cloud, IT departments spent a huge amount of time, effort, and money on controlling access to data on premise for things like e-Discovery, Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (eGRC). But when companies move to the cloud, the same tools used for eGRC on premise no longer apply.
Not only do companies lose the IT controls they had on premise, they also have new issues to address. One of the major benefits of cloud is collaboration, but that benefit becomes a problem when companies can no longer see what data is shared with whom, both internally and externally.
Don’t Worry About The Infrastructure, Secure Your Data In The Cloud
Google has done a fantastic job securing the Google Apps infrastructure. That’s not what you should pay attention to. Instead, focusing on implementing the same IT controls for data in Google Docs and Google Sites as the data that used to sit on SharePoint and file servers on-premise will let you leverage the cost savings and collaboration benefits of the cloud while having the same (or better) data security.
Implementing the same IT controls for data in Google Docs and Google Sites as the data that used to sit on SharePoint and file servers on-premise will let you leverage the cost savings and collaboration benefits of the cloud while having the same (or better) data security. 
Having trouble picturing this? Luckily, Joel put this together in visual form (click on the graphic on the right of this post)
CloudLock For Google Apps helps Google Apps administrators secure access to their Google Docs and Sites. 7 day free trials are available on the Google Apps Marketplace.
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