Investors have been actively engaged in the cloud computing sector over the past few years. No matter the focus – seed stage, later stage or everything in between – they clearly recognize the value of this swiftly rising technological trend. Meanwhile, business leaders are interested in the cloud because of its ability to streamline operations and ease the processes of storing, accessing, sharing and backing up large batches of valuable information.

Yet despite the wide range of cloud benefits, chief executives are nonetheless concerned with the threat of data breaches. There are a variety of common cybersecurity measures in practice, such as encryption and decentralization. However, as the cloud becomes a central part of businesses across the globe, biometric security should also be a major priority.

Beckon raises $13 million for cloud marketing platform
According to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Beckon, a marketing intelligence software company, has secured $13 million in a Series B raise. The company will use the capital to further develop its cloud-based marketing strategy for major corporations such as Microsoft and Coca-Cola.

"We're now working daily with CMOs and senior marketing executives from the world's best loved brands," said Beckon CEO Jennifer Zeszut, according to the news outlet. "Our clients are some of the savviest marketers there are, but they're been wrestling with IT for years to get help with omni-channel data management and analytics."

CloudBees announces $23.5 million raise
CloudBees, a cloud provider based in Los Altos, California, has raised $23.5 million in an effort to further expand its national footprint. Longtime investor Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round. A group of existing investors – Verizon Ventures, Blue Cloud Ventures and Matrix Partners – also participated in the investment.

"This investment in CloudBees tops a year of continuous growth and acceleration, fueled by the adoption of continuous delivery as companies in all markets realize that software is eating the world," said Sacha Labourey, the founder and CEO of CloudBees. "We will use the additional capital to serve the growing demand for Jenkins-based solutions worldwide, to continue to capture market share and to further cement our position as the continuous delivery leader."

Cloud users should adopt biometric technology
To ensure access control for only the right employees, companies that are adopting the cloud into their business model would be wise to consider biometric security or dual-access systems. These stringent forms of data center security require personal IDs before enabling access to valuable data.