Cloud computing refers to the underlying infrastructure for a model of service provision that has the advantage of reducing cost by sharing computing and storage resources, combined with an on-demand provisioning mechanism relying on a pay-per-use business model.
These new features have a direct impact on information technology (IT) budgeting but also affect traditional security, trust and privacy mechanisms.
There is no disputing technology's role in business today as an enabler of virtually every process and function. With this enablement and the advantages IT brings also come global risks - security, cyberattacks, privacy issues, data breaches, governance, asset management and much more. The critical question we must ask is: Are IT audit practices keeping pace in order to assess, monitor and mitigate critical risks coupled to a technology-enabled business?
In the not too distant past, many organizations viewed the data that they kept on individuals as business property, to be used as the organization determined appropriate. Today, many of the world’s leading markets have adopted regulations that restrict how and when organizations may use those data, and afford the subject individuals rights to access and correct those data. Nations have even adopted regulations that impact how an organization may use such data outside of that nation. Consumer awareness of privacy matters has also risen, creating marketing risks to organizations that are not concerned with data privacy.
Before we talk about acceptance testing, let’s clarify first what we mean exactly and how it differs from unit testing.
