Layer 7 Ensures Enterprises Security in the Cloud

As organizations adopt Cloud, security continues to be a big concern. And businesses are constantly investigating solutions to secure applications in the Cloud. To see how young companies like Layer 7 Technologies were contributing to mitigate these concerns, TMC’s (News - Alert) executive editor Erin Harrison met with Layer 7 Technologies’ CTO and chief architect Scott Morrison at last month’s Cloud Expo 2010 in Santa Clara, California.

Highlighting security concerns in this discussion, Morrison said that in the past Cloud security was on the back burner and you could get away by hiding behind a perimeter security model. Further expanding on this point, Morrison stated “The big difference now is that the minute you are in the Cloud, you are exposed”. He continued, “Literally, every application in the Cloud has to be secured and hardened.” “It is a hard and complex task,” added the CTO.

“We have a technology that allows you to create a secure perimeter around your applications that go out into the Cloud. And gives you confidence that you will not be hacked and not cracked. Plus, it gives you visibility who is accessing it,” Morrison emphasized.

In essence, the CTO was referring to three new CloudSpan products to address the critical connectivity, security and delivery needs of enterprises and providers of Cloud services. It includes CloudConnect, CloudProtect and CloudControl.

When asked to predict its growth for next six months, Morrison quickly said that six months ago, Cloud was still experimental. ‘Today, grass root organizations within an enterprise are going out and playing with the Cloud.” He noted, “In the last few months, genuine enterprise applications are beginning to move to the Cloud under the sponsorship of a CTO.” “There is a major mandate to move major enterprise applications to the Cloud. And it will continue,” asserted Morrison.

Next, Harrison told Morrison to the give the readers some idea on how the show was going for the company? The CTO’s prompt reply was “Fantastic”. He said, “There is incredible up swell in business in just last few months, as we are seeing more confidence in economy.”

Another key consideration is trust and confidence when it comes to cloud and security. And Layer 7 recently achieved Common Criteria certification. So Harrison asked Morrison to explain what it means to Layer 7 customers. The CTO proudly stated “It is a stamp of approval.” “But, to get it you have to go through a rigorous process,” Morrison said.

To see the video interview in full, please click on the video below.