“This investment not only validates Riskonnect as the risk technology market leader, but validates the risk technology market as a whole,” said Bob Morrell, CEO and Co-Founder of Riskonnect, Inc. “We will continue to hire the most talented professionals from both the risk management and high tech sectors.”

“Riskonnect chose Level Equity because of their stellar reputation and the founder’s track record of success. Over the years, we have been offered numerous choices of equity investments and firms with whom to work. While this transaction is the first of its kind for Riskonnect, the Level Equity team has considerable experience investing in successful companies with our business model,” continued Morrell. “By waiting until this stage in our growth to take on equity capital, we have ensured our ability to maintain management control and afforded ourselves the ability to select the ideal strategic partner for our vision and growth.”

George McCulloch, Founder and Partner at Level Equity, will join Riskonnect’s Board of Directors. McCulloch said, “Riskonnect has built a strong and durable software company solving the increasingly sophisticated challenges of risk managers worldwide. Bob Morrell and his team were early to recognize the advantage of cloud-delivered software and have grown a strong and profitable business with a blue chip client base and long-term customer relationships. Our investment will accelerate Riskonnect’s development of its cloud-based software and expand its capacity for services delivery to meet the needs of global customers.”

With offices in Atlanta, Chicago and London, the most comprehensive software suite designed for risk managers, and client users in more than 80 countries worldwide, Riskonnect is the independent leader in risk technology.

“We owe much of our success to organizations who adopted our technology early and believe in our vision to improve the world of risk management,” continued Morrell. “Even though we have grown considerably, our core values have not changed. Our values center on a complete focus on our clients.”

About Riskonnect, Inc.
Riskonnect, Inc. is the provider of a premier, enterprise-class technology platform for the risk management industry. As an independent innovator in risk management software, Riskonnect develops and markets a growing suite of software solutions on a world-class cloud computing model, helping clients elevate their risk management programs, safety solutions and programs for management of risks across the enterprise. Through its strategic, operational and insurable risk software applications, Riskonnect provides the risk management industry with the specific, configurable solutions needed to reduce losses, control risk and affect shareholder value. For more information about Riskonnect, contact us at www.riskonnect.com, email to info@riskonnect.com or call 770-790-4700.

Riskonnect, the independent leader in risk technology, received three distinguished awards in the first quarter of 2013, recognized for rapid growth across client and user counts, staff and geographic footprint, innovative technology and the company’s focus on a positive workplace environment.

Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Pacesetter Award – Placed 47th

Riskonnect was named as a recipient of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2013 Pacesetter Award. This award recognizes Atlanta’s 100 fastest growing companies. Riskonnect has seen a 46% increase in user count from April 30, 2012, to April 30, 2013, and has averaged a 40% increase in users, annually, since its inception.

“Riskonnect’s users are in 80 countries worldwide,” said CEO and Founder Bob Morrell. “To keep pace with our client growth and demand from our current clients for additional products and services, we also grew our staff over 50 percent in 2012 and continued that rate of growth in the first quarter of 2013. Our international growth has been fueled by Riskonnect’s ability to meet the needs of the global marketplace in such diverse sectors as logistics, energy, global shipping and retail. Our business model has enabled us to bring risk and safety professionals technology never seen before in this industry and allows us to rapidly deliver advanced products to our clients. The gap between traditional and legacy systems and our offerings continues to widen quarter over quarter.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Top 100 Places to Work – Placed 26th

Riskonnect was also named a 2013 Top 100 Workplace, awarded by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Being honored as a Top 100 Workplace by the AJC is a huge honor for us,” said Vice President, Operations, Kelly M. Barton. “Our culture is key. Being happy at work is such a huge part of what we are about, and it is the reason we have an office gym, a ping pong table, a Wellness Committee, a training center and a flexible work environment. Our diverse team and innovative technology continues to make Riskonnect a top place to work and helps us attract the brightest talent.”

Technology Association of Georgia’s 2013 Top 40 Innovative Companies in Georgia

Further, Riskonnect was again awarded as a Top 40 Innovative Company by the Technology Association of Georgia, which recognizes organizations for their innovation and financial impact in the state. Riskonnect also won the award in 2011. “Riskonnect’s innovative spirit is what continues to propel us throughout the global marketplace,” Morrell said. “As a part of our relentless focus on our customers, and the delivery of positive customer experiences, we unveiled four new products last week at RIMS ’13 Annual Conference and Exhibition. Our products are helping risk and safety professionals take their organizations to new levels.”

Click to learn more about Riskonnect EHS, Riskonnect Alerts, Riskonnect GRC and Riskonnect Managed Disability.

Learn more about Riskonnect.

About Riskonnect, Inc.

Riskonnect, Inc. is the provider of a premier, enterprise-class technology platform for the risk management industry. As an independent innovator in risk management software, Riskonnect develops and markets a growing suite of software solutions on a world-class cloud computing model, helping clients elevate their risk management programs, safety solutions and programs for management of risks across the enterprise. Through its strategic, operational and insurable risk software applications, Riskonnect provides the risk management industry with the specific, configurable solutions needed to reduce losses, control risk and affect shareholder value. For more information about Riskonnect, contact us at www.riskonnect.com, email info@riskonnect.com or call +1 770-790-4700.

CONTACT: Riskonnect, Inc.

Kelly M. Barton, +1-770-790-4710

Vice President, Operations

Kelly.barton@riskonnect.com

SOURCE: Riskonnect, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2013

KENNESAW, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 22, 2013–

Riskonnect is unveiling multiple new products this week at the RIMS ’13 Annual Conference and Exhibition, the world’s largest gathering of risk professionals, in Los Angeles. Today, the Company announced Riskonnect Alerts and new functionality within Riskonnect GRC. Riskonnect Alerts is an exciting new business continuity and emergency management system with mapping capabilities, workflow, notifications and automated distribution of catastrophe plans. Riskonnect GRC offers enhancements in risk visualizations and risk relationship diagrams, risk heat maps and now includes the integration of Riskonnect Alerts to help automate the management of supply chain risks in real-time. Yesterday, Riskonnect announced Riskonnect EHS, an enterprise-class, integrated risk management and safety work platform with automation in root cause analyses, hazard recognition tools and corrective actions.

Riskonnect Alerts

“Riskonnect Alerts is being offered free of charge to all current Riskonnect clients,” said Bob Morrell, CEO and Founder. “We are dedicated to providing a complete risk technology work platform and to staying ahead of our customers’ needs.” This feature incorporates real-time catastrophic event tracking into a geocoded global map. Automated notifications may be set, so that any property record is automatically updated in the Riskonnect’s real-time collaboration tool, Chatter, when an account record changes.

Riskonnect Alerts currently tracks 47 event types, including earthquakes, biological hazard, epidemics and attacks of terror. Clients are able to view any locations (the organization’s properties, vendor locations, competitors’ locations) and see all relevant properties within a certain distance of the epicenter of the event. In addition, automated workflow can escalate notification via email or Chatter to regional or corporate management or other executives, should the event be substantial or there is no response from the affected locations. Clients can access this information while working claims that occurred as a result of this event.

Riskonnect GRC

Riskonnect GRC is a comprehensive system that gathers data from around the world, tracks developing risk issues and helps your organization to minimize the cost of risk and to take full advantage of the opportunities risk generates. “Our latest release includes enhancements in risk visualizations and risk relationship diagrams, risk heat maps and the integration of Riskonnect Alerts to help automate the management of supply chain risks in real-time,” said Russell McGuire, Director, Enterprise Risk Services. “This represents a quantum leap beyond commonly used tools like spreadsheets. No other software enables users to effectively and quickly enter and dynamically visualize risk relationships, communicate risk assessment and mitigation activities and see the impacts of risk on objectives and financials.”

Riskonnect Alerts is also seamless within Riskonnect GRC. The system can be easily configured with any location information and used to track a company’s supply chain and product distribution channels. “For example, if there’s a fire near one of your manufacturing facilities, you get an alert,” McGuire said. “If there is a flood that affects one of your suppliers, you get an email and can immediately begin the process of contacting another supplier. There’s no downtime or lull in news from all over the world with this system. It helps our customers keep their products moving, no matter what’s going on in the world.”

Riskonnect will be at Booth #847 during RIMS ’13 Annual Conference and Exhibition and will host a daily Hear From Your Peers series, in which industry leaders will speak and answer questions and network with their peers. Learn more about Riskonnect.

About Riskonnect, Inc.

Riskonnect, Inc. is the provider of a premier, enterprise-class technology platform for the risk management industry. As an independent innovator in risk management software, Riskonnect develops and markets a growing suite of software solutions on a world-class cloud computing model, helping clients elevate their risk management programs, safety solutions and programs for management of risks across the enterprise. Through its strategic, operational and insurable risk software applications, Riskonnect provides the risk management industry with the specific, configurable solutions needed to reduce losses, control risk and affect shareholder value. For more information about Riskonnect, contact us at www.riskonnect.com, email info@riskonnect.com or call +1 770-790-4700.

CONTACT: Riskonnect, Inc.

Kelly M. Barton, +1-770-790-4710

Vice President, Operations

Kelly.barton@riskonnect.com

SOURCE: Riskonnect, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2013

Kennesaw, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 21, 2013–

Riskonnect is unveiling multiple new products this week at the RIMS ’13 Annual Conference and Exhibition, the world’s largest gathering of risk professionals, in Los Angeles. Today, the Company announced Riskonnect EHS, which fully integrates into Riskonnect RMIS (risk management information system) and incorporates root cause analysis, hazard recognition tools and corrective actions with automated workflows to help risk and safety professionals reduce risk and drive down costs.

Riskonnect EHS

Riskonnect EHS is an enterprise-class, integrated risk management and safety work platform. “Risk and Environmental Health and Safety professionals have a common mission to reduce risk in the workplace,” said Roger Dunkin, Vice President, Professional Services. “These integrated tools help identify, manage and lessen those risks.”

Riskonnect EHS improves workplace safety by incorporating automated features that help identify and manage safety exposures with root cause analysis and hazard recognition tools tied to corresponding corrective actions, in a fully automated process. “Riskonnect EHS is designed to simplify data collection and management and foster better decision making for all of your EHS risks,” continued Dunkin. “The collaboration tool, Chatter, is built into the system and keeps everyone involved updated in real-time.”

Riskonnect will be at Booth #847 during the RIMS ’13 Annual Conference and Exhibition and will host a daily Hear From Your Peers series, in which industry leaders will speak and answer questions and network with their peers. Learn more about Riskonnect.

About Riskonnect, Inc.

Riskonnect, Inc. is the provider of a premier, enterprise-class technology platform for the risk management industry. As an independent innovator in risk management software, Riskonnect develops and markets a growing suite of software solutions on a world-class cloud computing model, helping clients elevate their risk management programs, safety solutions and programs for management of risks across the enterprise. Through its strategic, operational and insurable risk software applications, Riskonnect provides the risk management industry with the specific, configurable solutions needed to reduce losses, control risk and affect shareholder value. For more information about Riskonnect, contact us at www.riskonnect.com, email info@riskonnect.com or call +1 770-790-4700.

CONTACT: Riskonnect, Inc.

Kelly M. Barton, +1-770-790-4710

Vice President, Operations

Kelly.barton@riskonnect.com

SOURCE:

Riskonnect, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2013

Rogers is a well-respected risk management technology expert, with years of experience in risk management. She specializes in establishing partnerships with clients – to find solutions that best fit their specific needs. Her expertise includes client relationship development and management, solutions innovation, project planning and management, problem analysis, identification and resolution, resource planning and development, service planning and delivery, quality and productivity improvement and strategic and operational planning.

Rogers joined Riskonnect in November of 2010, as Director of Professional Services. She was promoted in early 2013 to the newly created position, and reports directly to Roger Dunkin, Vice President. “Cindy is focused on delivering positive customer experiences.  She is instrumental in working with Directors and Account Management teams to provide the level of service and innovation we demand in every customer touch,” Dunkin said. “She has demonstrated  her leadership through successful  implementations that were on-time and on-budget and is dedicated  to Riskonnect’s focus on every critical component of customer success and being a customer company.”

Prior to joining Riskonnect, she worked for 15 years in Professional Services and Operations Management at Risk Sciences Group (RSG), owned by Crawford & Company. Most recently, as Director of RSG’s Southeastern Operations, Rogers led a team to most effectively apply risk management technology solutions by emphasizing a thorough understanding of each client’s specific business needs. Before Risk Sciences Group, Cindy managed an underwriting unit for Prudential Reinsurance for nine years. She has a Bachelor’s of Business in Risk Management from the University of Georgia.

Additional Riskonnect Team Members Promoted as Company Continues Rapid Growth Through 2013

• Jason Baker, Director, Environmental Health and Safety
• Andrew Barnhart, Product Analyst
• Lisa Cantrell, Senior Sales Analyst
• Andrew Claxton, Manager, Project Services
• Tom DeBates, Director, Professional Services
• Kyle Gossman, Software Engineering Manager
• Nicole Hawkins, Sales Coordinator
• Josh McJenkin, Director, Professional Services
• Darpesh “Deep” Patel, Senior Data Engineer
• David Regenwor, Senior System Consultant

With its dedicated focus on customers, Riskonnect has grown its staff an incredible 50 percent in 2012. Riskonnect’s users span the globe and can be found in the European Union, North America, China, India, Brazil and in more than 80 countries worldwide. The company’s international growth has been fueled by Riskonnect’s ability to meet the needs of the global marketplace in such diverse sectors as logistics, energy, global shipping and retail.

About Riskonnect, Inc.

Riskonnect, Inc., is the provider of a premier, enterprise-class technology platform for the risk management industry. As an independent innovator in risk management software, Riskonnect develops and markets a growing suite of software solutions on a world-class cloud computing model, helping clients elevate their risk management programs, safety solutions and programs for management of risks across the enterprise. Through its strategic, operational and insurable risk software applications, Riskonnect provides the risk management industry with the specific, configurable solutions needed to reduce losses, control risk and affect shareholder value. For more information about Riskonnect, contact us at www.riskonnect.com, email info@riskonnect.com or call +1 770-790-4700.

Contacts

Broker Announces Program for Risk & Insurance Management Society’s Annual Conference & Exhibition

NEW YORK,  March 28,  2013 – Willis Group Holdings plc (NYSE: WSH), the global risk advisor and insurance broker, today announced its program for the upcoming Risk & Insurance Management Society’s (RIMS) 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Los Angeles, CA, April 21-24. Akey industry event, the RIMS Conference brings together thousands of risk professionals in a unique format for educational, networking and business opportunities.

Willis’ theme for RIMS 2013 is “Being Best Where it Matters Most: A Global Perspective,” to reflect Willis’ deep industry expertise in a range of industries and sectors across the globe.

The Willis Booth (#521) in the exhibition hall will feature a variety of innovative solutions and resources from across Willis’ platform through interactive product demos, published industry reports and thought leadership, including the latest edition of Resilience Magazine. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet with Willissenior leadership and key country managers from Willis’ international network.

Willis subject matter experts representing key industries and segments will also be available, including property, casualty, health care, real estate, construction, professional liability, cyber, terrorism, marine, energy, financial institutions, environmental, human capital, captives, claims advocacy and members of the Willis placement team.

Over a dozen product demonstrations will be held at the Willis Booth. These presentations will feature a variety of recently launched solutions from Willis including Alert: 24, WillisCaptus and WillPLACE; as well as established offerings that have proven effective in the marketplace,including DataWize, PatentWize and PRISM. For a complete list of product demonstrations and descriptions, click here.

RIMS educational sessions will be lead by a variety of Willis experts, including:

• Loss Forecasting for Beginners (FIN100): Steven Sachs, Director Real Estate and Hotel Practice, WillisNorth America

• Financial Services Industry (IND114): Tracy Jurusik, FINEX North America, Willis North America

• Healthcare Industry (IND104): James O’Dell, Health Care Practice, Willis North America

• Think Outside the Black Box of Cat Modeling (RMG304): Steven Sachs, Director Real Estate and Hotel Practice, WillisNorth America and David Finnis, National Property Practice Leader, WillisNorth America

• Casino Industry (IND108): Christian Ryan, Senior Vice President, Willis of Texas.

• Real Estate Industry – Current Risk Management Issues and Developing Trends (IND 113): Steven Sachs, Director Real Estate and Hotel Practice, WillisNorth America

• Selecting and Working with a Broker (RMG102): Tim Carlson, Senior Vice President, Willis of California.

• Up For Sale – Your Company is Being Sold and Your CEO is Being Sued (RMG300):John Connolly, FINEX North America, Willis North America.

• Best Practices in International Claims Management (RIMS thought leadership forum):Tanja Maffei, International Practice, Willis North America.

As an alternative to the exhibition hall, the Willis Hub will be available to RIMS delegates, and will serve as a casual place to meet and network with the Willis team. The Willis Hub is conveniently located in the Platinum Ballroom (2nd floor) of the J.W. Marriott L.A. Live Hotel. The Willis “Big Event,” an open cocktail reception, will be held Monday, April 22, in the Platinum Ballroom, opposite the Willis Hub.

“We are excited to engage with the Risk & Insurance Management Society’s community of risk professionals and showcase Willis’ global platform of solutions,” said Todd Jones, President, Willis North America. “For firms operating in the global economy today, the risk landscape continues to evolve – as new and emerging risks from cyber, social media and reputational risk combine with natural catastrophes and political risk -to highlight how unpredictable the world can be. Willis is committed to delivering bespoke and innovative solutions to ensure our clients have the right protections in place wherever business takes them.”

Willis will be broadcasting its RIMS participation via social media. Visitors can follow coverage via Twitter @WillisGroup and on our blog, WillisWire. For more information on Willis at RIMS,visit http://www.willis.com/events/rims/index.html.

About Willis

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global risk advisor, insurance and reinsurance broker. With roots dating to 1828, Willis operates today on every continent with more than 17,000 employees in over 400 offices. Willis offers its clients superior expertise, teamwork, innovation and market-leading products and professional services in risk management and transfer. Our experts rank among the world’s leading authorities on analytics, modelling and mitigation strategies at the intersection of global commerce and extreme events. Find more information at our website, www.willis.com, our leadership journal, Resilience, or our up-to-the-minute blog on breaking news, WillisWire. Across geographies, industries and specialisms, Willis provides its local and multinational clients with resilience for a risky world.

• AirWatch- Mobile device application and content management
• Badgy- SEO solutions for Social Media
• Bright Light Systems- Energy efficient lighting systems
• BrightWhistle- Social Patient Acquisition solutions
• Catavolt-Enterprise Mobility Services
• Clinigence- Collaborative Clinical Business Software
• Delta Data Software- Financial Services Software
• Egos Ventures Inc.- Ranking engines for mobile applications
• Emcien Corp.- Pattern-Based Analytics for Big Data
• First Data- Electronic Payment Processing
• Innovolt- Electronics power protection and management
• Internap- Data center and cloud hosting services
• Kahua, Inc.- Cloud-based B2B collaboration
• Lancope Inc.- Enterprise network visibility and security intelligence
• Logility- Collaborative supply chain management software
• M2SYS Technology- Biometric software and scanners
• Merlin Mobility Inc.- Augmented Reality Solutions
• MetroTech Net- Cloud-based Traffic Data solutions
• MMJLabs LLC- Reusable electronic pain relief devices
• NanoLumens- Flexible and fixed large-format LED display solutions
• NextInput –Force sensitive touch technology
• NexTraq- GPS Fleet Management Solutions
• Numerex- Machine to Machine (M2M) Solutions
• Parkmobile USA Inc.- Mobile payment Parking Solutions
• Patientco- Healthcare Bill Payment Solutions
• Paymetric- Electronic payment solutions
• PGi- Audio/Video Web Conferencing Solutions
• PMG-Business Process Automation
• PrimeRevenue Inc.-Multi-bank supply chain transactions
• Rainmaker- Gaming/Hospitality Revenue Management Software
• Rigor- Web and mobile performance monitoring
• Riskonnect- Enterprise risk management software
• ShopVisible- B2B and B2C eCommerce Solutions
• SoloHealth- Interactive digital health and wellness kiosks
• Sports Challenge Network-Social mobile technology for recreational sports
• StarMobile Inc.- Cloud-based enterprise mobility platform
• The Network Inc.- Integrated Governance, Risk and Compliance Solutions
• ThruView- Collaborative Business applications and Analytics
• viaCycle- Bicycle sharing technology
• VoAPPs Inc- Adaptive Signaling Voice Applications

Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle 

“While Riskonnect is widely recognized as having the easiest to use system in the industry, training is
still critical,” Co-Founder and CEO Bob Morrell said. “We want clients to be as successful and as
self-sufficient as they desire. So Riskonnect University represents a level of training that has never
been seen before in the risk management technology industry. Through Riskonnect University, we
standardized our materials into courses and expanded our offerings to accommodate varying roles
and expertise.” Learning opportunities are now being offered monthly from the Riskonnect
University on-site training facility.

Wendi Freeman, previously Marketing Manager for Riskonnect, was tapped as Marketing and Training
Manager, to lead Riskonnect University. “We have put together an extensive program with courses
covering all skill levels of risk and safety information and technology,” Freeman said. “Our course
leaders are professionals who have decades of expertise in the industry, many of whom are
employees of Riskonnect. We also pull in course leaders from numerous other industry sources. We
look forward to providing the industry with extended learning opportunities that will allow them to
not only be better at their jobs, but also to be equipped with the knowledge and understanding to
perform adeptly using the most advanced risk management technology.”

The initial first quarter offerings of 2013 can be found here. They include:
● January 30, 2013: Cognos Business Insight Advanced Training
● January 31, 2013: Cognos Cafe: Apply your New Knowledge
● February 26-27, 2013: ERM, Where to from here?
● March 26-27, 2013: Back to the Basics: Riskonnect Platform Reports and Dashboards

Future courses will be focused on risk management solutions, automating risk and safety programs, mobile capabilities, cloud computing, business intelligence, risk management/safety and loss
preventions disciplines, ERM and GRC programs and processes, and much more, as demanded by
Riskonnect’s clients and partners.

About Riskonnect, Inc.
Riskonnect, Inc. is the provider of a premier, enterprise-class technology platform for the risk
management industry. As an independent innovator in risk management software, Riskonnect
develops and markets a growing suite of software solutions on a world-class cloud computing model,
helping clients elevate their risk management programs, safety solutions and programs for
management of risks across the enterprise. Through its strategic, operational and insurable risk
software applications, Riskonnect provides the risk management industry with the specific,
configurable solutions needed to reduce losses, control risk and affect shareholder value. For more
information about Riskonnect, contact us at www.riskonnect.com, email info@riskonnect.com or call
+1 770-790-4700.

Contacts
Riskonnect, Inc.
Kelly M. Barton, +1 770-790-4710
Vice President, Operations
Kelly.barton@riskonnect.com

Ten years ago if you told someone you stored your data in the Cloud, they looked at you funny and wondered what you’d been smoking. Then along came a guy named Marc Benioff, Founder of Salesforce.com, touting the “no software” slogan and telling us how Cloud Computing would change the world.

Talk about hitting the nail on the head. Today, everyone uses the Cloud. It would be a safe bet that in the past 24 hours every one of you reading this article looked up a contact on Salesforce.com (or a similar CRM), added an appointment to Google Calendar or Apple Calendar, uploaded a file to Dropbox, or bought a song on iTunes and added it to your library.

If so, you used the Cloud.

A few industry titans including Larry Ellison, Co-Founder and CEO of Oracle, weren’t exactly on board with the whole Cloud thing. Speaking of the Cloud, Ellison once said, “What is it? It’s complete gibberish. It’s insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?”

I’m guessing he regrets that one.

That “idiocy”, as Ellison called it, is now a $160 Billion per year industry, and experts say it will reach $1 Trillion, yes with a “T”, in the not-too-distant future.

The Security Question

No longer is the question, “What is the Cloud?” The question on people’s minds today is “How secure is the Cloud?”

Security has long been the principal concern regarding the Cloud. Are those concerns unfounded?

Bob Morrell, Founder and CEO of Riskonnect, was a very early adopter of Cloud Computing, and continues to be one of its primary evangelists. “Traditional environments have data breaches frequently, mostly from human process error, lost or stolen laptops or the like. But this is not headline news because it happens all the time.” he said.

Morrell is right. Security always has been and always will be an issue – Cloud or not.

Morrell went on to say, “I don’t understand why people think the Cloud makes security a bigger issue. Security itself is the issue, not the Cloud.”

Slow Adopters

Many corporate IT professionals see the Cloud as a big unknown. They don’t like the fact that they don’t have control – they can’t physically see the box where the data is stored. Voicing the concerns of IT professionals, Jim Reavis, Executive Director for Cloud Security Alliance, said of them, “Not having visibility creates concerns about the unknown.”

That view, in my opinion, is myopic.

HIPPA

In 1996, President Clinton put his signature to a piece of legislation known as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). “The HIPPA guidelines provide guidance so covered entities understand the minimum requirements for safeguarding the integrity of electronic protected health information,” said Beth Davidson, a health-care industry enthusiast.

For those of us in the workers’ compensation and healthcare industries, HIPAA means security. Many people in our industry wonder if storing sensitive data, such as healthcare information, on the Cloud should be done.

Is it safe to use the Cloud under the HIPAA requirements?

The REAL Question

But that’s not the real question here. The question isn’t whether or not the Cloud is secure. The question is whether or not the Provideror Facility  - where the data is stored – is secure.

Like Morrell said, security breaches happen all the time. The Cloud doesn’t make security any more or less of an issue.

So Is Claim Data Safe?

Whether your data sits on your laptop hard drive, a server under the watchful care of your internal IT department, or in the Cloud doesn’t matter. What matters are the efforts and safeguards put into place to protect your data.

There are, of course, differences in Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). You should be very careful in selecting which CSP to use for your data and applications. Among other things to look for, verify the following:

·       Do they follow the ISO/IEC 27000-series standards?

·       Do they adhere to the SAS70 Type II standard?

·       Do they offer third party auditing?

The point of this article to answer the question, “Is your claim data safe in the Cloud?”

The answer is yes – if you select a reputable and reliable CSP, and/or software development partner.

The Sky is Not Falling

Over the past few years as I’ve followed this issue, I’ve seen fewer and fewer industry experts warning people to stay away from the Cloud, and more and more experts getting on board.

According to Gartner, one of the most recognized research companies in the world, more than 50 percent of Global 1000 companies will store customer-sensitive data in the public cloud by 2016.

I think that’s great, but why wait.

I repeat: hard drive, server, Cloud – it doesn’t matter where your data is stored. The practices and procedures put into place determine whether or not your data is secure – not where your data sits.

I’ll bet even Larry Ellison uses the Cloud.

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