Cloud Myths Reviewed: What You Need to Know for Your Archiving Strategy

Many medium-sized companies are currently facing the pressing strategic decision of which processes they should move to the cloud. In doing so, they encounter contradictory information about the advantages and disadvantages of the cloud. This often leads to uncertainty, unnecessarily delaying an important strategic decision for the company’s future.

With this blog post, we want to contribute to clarification. To do this, we examine the topic of cloud from the perspective of document management systems (DMS): How well suited is the cloud for archiving business documents such as invoices, contracts, or employee data? We pointedly present the most common prejudices around cloud archiving that we still encounter in practice and provide fact-based arguments that give you, as decision-makers, clarity and confidence for future investments.

The Prejudice: Sensitive data is more vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches in the cloud than in one’s own IT infrastructure.

The Facts: Professional cloud providers invest massively in the security of their cloud infrastructure. Security is one of the most important criteria in the highly competitive cloud market. Therefore, all reputable cloud solution providers today have specialized security teams, use state-of-the-art encryption technologies, conduct regular audits, and implement multi-layered protection concepts that a private IT department can rarely realize to this extent. For these reasons, cloud providers can offer a level of security that is difficult to achieve, especially for medium-sized companies with limited IT resources.

Important for Archiving: Cloud services suitable for audit-proof archiving can be recognized by special security standards such as ISO 27001. Additionally, certifications such as “Software Made in Germany” and “Software Hosted in Germany” seals provide clear guidance: they show that data is hosted in Germany and thus subject to the strict requirements of German data protection law.

Myth 2: “We Lose Control Over Our Data”

The Prejudice: Data stored in the cloud is no longer fully controllable by companies.

The Facts: Modern cloud solutions offer comprehensive data control tools. Through detailed access management, audit logs, and complete traceability, you have full control at all times over who accesses which documents and when.

Important for Archiving: Especially in the areas of document management and archiving, these control mechanisms are crucial for meeting legal requirements and compliance demands. This means the cloud even opens the door to more transparency in data handling. It therefore serves as a central building block on the path to greater data sovereignty in the company. With the right cloud strategy, medium-sized companies are thus enabled to meet high legal and compliance requirements now and in the future.

 
Myth 3: “Cloud is Too Expensive”

The Prejudice: The costs for cloud services are much higher than those for company-owned on-premises solutions.

The Facts: This assumption usually proves false because the hidden costs of on-premises solutions are underestimated. These items include: maintenance and upkeep of hardware, costs for electricity, cooling, and physical security, personnel resources for administration and support of company-owned servers, as well as costs for necessary software licenses and their updates. Added to this are the general investment risk of technology and the rapid depreciation of hardware.

Important for Archiving: Flexible payment models allow you to pay only for actually used storage and consumed resources. Additionally, cloud services can be scaled according to needs at any time without high initial investments.

 
Myth 4: “Cloud is Only Available Online”

The Prejudice: Data stored in the cloud is only available with internet access.

The Facts: Modern cloud solutions offer users offline access and ensure through sophisticated synchronization mechanisms that no data is lost. Documents and data that you need to access regularly can also be synchronized locally in the cloud. This ensures access to important documents at all times—even during temporary internet outages or in locations with poor internet connections.

Important for Archiving: In the field of digital archiving, the availability of information is crucial. Intelligent synchronization functions ensure that your employees can access relevant documents anytime and from anywhere.

Myth 5: “Cloud is Too Complex to Manage”

The Prejudice: The migration and management of cloud archiving solutions is complicated and requires specialized IT knowledge.

The Reality: Cloud providers place great emphasis on intuitive user guidance. Through simple dashboards and automated processes, you can migrate, manage, and secure data.

Important for Archiving: Modern DMS solutions like easy archive are designed from the ground up so that migration of existing data and seamless integration into existing business processes through standardized interfaces are already built into the program. Additionally, with cloud solutions like easy archive, you have the option to operate the archive as a managed service. This means: easy takes over the complete setup and maintenance of software and hardware, so your internal IT teams can focus on more strategically important topics.

Myth 6: “Either Cloud or Local Servers”

The Prejudice: The decision for the cloud means having to completely overhaul the entire infrastructure.

The Reality: This is an outdated perspective. Hybrid cloud models are now standard in many areas. This means: you can decide strategically which data you want to archive in the cloud and which should remain local.

Important for Archiving: Hybrid archiving solutions enable you to continue storing sensitive data with the highest regulatory requirements locally, while less critical documents are moved to the cloud. This offers maximum flexibility and contributes once again to data sovereignty in your company.

Conclusion

As you have seen, the fears and concerns regarding cloud archiving are more than unfounded. They are based on outdated assumptions that cannot withstand the rapid development of technology. Don’t let myths hold you back that block the path to a more efficient and secure future. Invest in your company’s digitalization by making a fact-based decision for modern cloud archiving.

The path to digital archiving doesn’t have to be complicated. Start now by asking the right questions. We’re happy to advise you.