Security vs. Efficiency Dilemma

A common perception, backed up by numerous examples is: if you want solid security, you have to sacrifice operations to certain extent. Be that physical or virtual environment, security is always a tradeoff, driven by business needs and applicable regulations. Eventually both careless and paranoid security can kill the business, depending on the subject matter.

It always works like that: the more security you put in place, the more time your employees spend trying to bypass it. That’s not necessarily intentional – they just want to do their jobs while following the course of least resistance.

Today most companies are well aware of the potential benefits of virtualization. Before they can take advantage of the technology, they must address the security risks. However, direct and indirect costs of an inappropriate security solution can undermine the whole idea of cutting down on IT operation and infrastructure costs through virtualization. Moreover, once finished, an organization may find out that someone can still bypass the restrictions.

A feasible solution should be smart enough to cope with existing and upcoming threats while being transparent for end users and non-intrusive to the virtual environment.