Recent reports of a massive data breach affecting popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google and Yahoo have many companies rethinking security practices and wondering how to protect vital data. If your company uses cloud services to conduct business and manage data or is contemplating a hosting partnership, it’s natural to wonder if your service provider is taking all the steps necessary to keep your confidential information secure.

The pace of cloud growth and adoption remains inextricably linked to the pace of cloud education. Whether it’s due to security concerns being allayed or cloud definition confusion being reduced, the small- and medium-business space seems ripe for education-based growth. Add in the continued cost-efficiency-based adoption of public cloud by SMBs who are priced out of significant infrastructure capital expenditures, and the growth trend is reinforced.