In the transition from on-premise to cloud, IT infrastructure audits have fallen by the wayside for many, with the absence of tangible kit causing firms to overlook the importance of monitoring and maintenance. The truth is, evaluating the operational, financial and security performance of tech has never been so crucial. But with cloud environments continuously expanding, it's no wonder IT leaders are unsure what to look out for. Lee Thatcher, our head of cloud and innovation, lays it out in simple terms…
The era of the cloud has introduced many benefits, including scalability, flexibility and heightened performance, just to name a few. It has also ushered in an entirely new landscape, marked by exponential growth in everything from physical hosts and virtual machines (VMs) to managed databases, containers, serverless functions and more. And this dynamic environment is constantly changing too. As such, the task of auditing the IT estate can become overwhelmingly complex, to say the least.
Gone are the days of ‘bolt-on’ after-thoughts. Today, cloud solutions demand a renewed commitment to security — one that is woven into the fabric of company culture and daily operations, and considers shared responsibilities, growing threats, and stringent compliance requirements at every stage of the scale-up journey. So, what does this look like? And how can IT leaders be sure they have all bases covered when undertaking a thorough cloud audit?
Evaluate the infrastructure that’s already in place
Rarely is there a need to completely reinvent the wheel. By assessing an organisation’s existing architecture, network configuration, storage systems and VMs, as well as understanding the structure and interdependencies of the tech stack, it’s possible to see where there’s room for improvement. This may be identifying vulnerabilities within the environment, highlighting areas that are not compliant with industry standards, or pinpointing redundant elements that are draining budget unnecessarily, for example.
Ensure security and compliance requirements are in check
In every monitoring and maintenance strategy, security and compliance should come first. Along with evaluating the efficacy of security measures like firewalls, encryption, access management, and intrusion detection systems, it's crucial to confirm compliance with applicable industry standards and laws. Find any security measures that are lacking, and take the required corrective action as soon as you can.
Verify software licences and subscriptions
Do you know how many software licences and subscriptions your company is currently paying for? Better still, are you aware how many are actually in productive use? From Server OS to Apache, and everything in between, auditing and managing licences not only boosts compliance and security, but eliminates rogue spending for third-party applications and operating systems that aren’t needed.
Evaluate the efficiency and scalability of your infrastructure
Regularly evaluating the efficiency of your cloud infrastructure is the key to upholding peak operational performance. Monitoring things like resource utilisations, application response times and throughput, will ultimately help identify potential bottlenecks or performance issues that may be hindering your system's efficiency.
Whether traffic demands increase suddenly or grow over time, ensuring infrastructure can handle fluctuating workloads — without compromising performance — also enables businesses to respond quickly and cost-effectively to increase storage and performance.
Review third-party vendors and service providers
Third-party vendors or service providers can be a crucial asset for firms looking to expand their capabilities. However, they can also prove to be a weak link in safeguarding sensitive data and operations. That’s why creating a more holistic security strategy for external partners is key. Review their certifications, audit reports and data protection policies, confirm SLA compliance and evaluate their incident response and disaster recovery capabilities. This proactive approach helps fortify your cloud infrastructure against potential vulnerabilities stemming from third-party relationships.
Maximise endpoint security
With more flexible working models comes a greater number of entry points to sensitive data and networks. And a breach of any device can have far-reaching consequences, compromising the integrity of your entire cloud infrastructure, risking reputation, and causing costs to spiral out of control. In a successful cloud audit, maximising endpoint security measures — including robust authentication protocols, regular software updates, and real-time monitoring — not only safeguards data but also strengthens the overall resilience and credibility of cloud-based operations.
Consistency is key
Cloud environments are in a constant state of flux, undergoing updates, modifications, and fresh deployments everyday. That’s why conducting routine audits as part of an ongoing strategy is key, with the exact frequency tailored to the size and complexity of a specific business. While endpoints may undergo audits every three years, it is recommended that physical infrastructure and security measures be scrutinised at least once every three months. A comprehensive audit of the entire cloud environment should be conducted on an annual basis.
Organisations can collaborate with their Managed Service Provider (MSP) or auditor to rectify any concerns, and revise the associated documentation approximately twelve months later. This subsequent audit serves the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the implemented changes, confirming ongoing compliance, and identifying any new issues that may have arisen during the intervening period.
Truly cloud-agnostic, our multi-cloud offering means we’ll never push a product or service for the sake of it. Keen to continue the conversation? Get in touch to discuss your cloud audit requirements, today.
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