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The issue of security and data protection in cloud computing is an extremely important one. It can seem that it is the main issue that many have when it comes to moving from on-premise to cloud technology. Fears over cloud security are quite understandable. In essence you are letting your data be held by a third party and placing your trust in them rather than taking that responsibility on yourself. It is encouraging then that earlier this week the European Union’s data protection authorities found that Microsoft’s enterprise cloud services meet the high standards of EU privacy law.

The EU data protection directive had set a high bar for privacy protection. It is an important step then that users of Microsoft’s suite of cloud services know that their data protection has met this bar. With an ever increasing adoption of cloud technology by corporations and consumers alike it is of utmost importance that this particular field is regulated. The logical step is for governance bodies such as national governments and pan-continent bodies such as the E.U. to approve providers who would offer services within their jurisdiction.

Here at Big Red Cloud, our own cloud accounting software service is hosted by Microsoft Azure. Due to this announcement we are delighted that we are able to offer our customers the best in data protection and we must commend Microsoft for being leaders on this very important issue.

Marc O'Dwyer

After completing a Graduate program in Marketing, Marc’s impressive sales career began at Allied Irish Banks, Pitney Bowes and Panasonic where he received numerous Irish and European sales performance awards and consistently exceeded targets and expectations. In 1992, Marc’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to set up his own business, Irish International Sales (IIS). Initially, this company was a reseller for Take 5 Accounts and Payroll software. Within four years, IIS became the largest reseller of Take 5 in Ireland, acquiring four other Take 5 resellers. He also found time to set up two mobile phone shops under the Cellular World brand and a web design company offering website design services for small businesses. In 2001, he bought the majority share in a small Irish software business, Big Red Book. At that time, the company was losing money. The company became profitable within two months, and Marc then acquired a payroll company to compliment Big Red Books Accounting products. In 2003, IIS were appointed as Channel Partners with SAP for their new SME product, SAP Business One. Marc sold his Take 5 business and concentrated on developing this new market for SAP As a result, by 2007, IIS was recognised as the largest Channel Partner for SAP in EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa). In 2008, the IIS Sales Manager bought the Company from Marc in an MBO. He launched Big red cloud in June 2012, the online version of big red book, to date the company successfully converts 59% of trials into sales and the number of customers is growing rapidly. Marc continues to run both Big Red Book and Big Red Cloud which now support 75,000 businesses. He is a very keen sportsman, having played rugby for 20 years, represented Leinster at under 16 and under 20 levels, and league squash with Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club for 10 years. Marc has competed in 11 Marathons, including the London and Boston Marathons, and has completed several Triathlons and Half Ironman races. He has also completed six Ironman Races in Austria(x2), Frankfurt (Germany), Nice (France) , Mallorca (Spain) and Copenhagen (Denmark)