Going global: One cloud evangelist’s mission to protect the world’s data

Does your company have a cloud backup plan in place? Do you even know what cloud backup is? If not, you’re not alone. But according to Marcus Nyman, CEO of Cloudfinder in Sweden, that’s all about to change.  

Over the past five years, businesses all over the world have slowly grown more dependent on cloud-based applications like Salesforce, Google Apps, Office 365, and others. These Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications offer a number of advantages to businesses in terms of efficiency and costs. That explains forecasts for the global SaaS market that predict growth of 25% to $75 billion by 2014.  But adopting the cloud comes at a price for businesses. Most costly is the matter of control. Data is stored on the SaaS provider’s servers, not the company’s servers. This issue multiplies when you consider companies often use several cloud services. It is difficult to manage data that has been spread all over the internet. And, since these servers fall outside the company’s normal backup and retrieval routines, data loss becomes a serious issue. These are the problems that keep people like Marcus Nyman awake at night and that drive the booming new industry of cloud-backup services. 

Although most businesses haven’t even realized the need for cloud-backup yet, Nyman’s company has already launched the second generation of cloud backup solutions. Cloudfinder is now taking its message global. As part of that effort, Nyman has partnered Cloudfinder with The Duffy Agency, one of Europe’s leading marketing consultancies specializing in global online brand development. “I want to bring the next generation of cloud backup to the world,” said Nyman “but to do that, we need a global brand and a strong online presence to get the Cloudfinder message out.”  

“Cloud backup is an issue that will soon involve every business,” said Sean Duffy, Brand Strategist and founder of The Duffy Agency. “Since the category is growing fast, we can expect to see intense competition driving innovation over the next few years with brands like Cloudfinder leading the way.”  With data creation reaching 2.5 quintillion bytes of data daily (that 2.5 followed by 17 zeros), the opportunity for cloud backup providers is tremendous. But, as more cloud backup service providers flood the market, the ability of any one provider to standout in the crowd could pose a bigger challenge than any technical hurdles they face. “If you want to succeed globally today, it’s no longer enough to simply build a better mousetrap,” Duffy said. “You need to build a better brand as well.” 

Cloudfinder’s cloud-backup 2.0 approach seems to have struck a chord with business. Since launching the concept a year ago, Cloudfinder has won several large contracts, quickly establishing itself among category leaders in both Europe and the US. “The biggest demand for cloud backup comes from the US and UK today,” says Nyman. “But companies all over the world are using cloud-based services, they just haven’t realized the vulnerabilities yet.”

Will Cloudfinder succeed in spreading the global gospel of data protection in the cloud? Time will tell. In the meantime, you may want to have a chat with your IT department to see if you have the cloud covered.