This paper addresses the challenges and drawbacks of in-the-cloud storage, addressing such issues as control, security, compliance, data availability, and overall management. It also shows how storage can work within a private or internal cloud framework. While the challenges and issues in each of these two different scenarios/environments differ, both stand to reap significant benefits from the implementation of an advanced SRM (storage resource management) tool such as Northern Storage Suite (NSS), as the key in making cloud-based storage enterprise-ready is having the ability to intelligently filter and streamline data before it’s moved to the cloud. This paper will demonstrate how using Northern Storage Suite in conjunction with off and on-premises cloud frameworks can mitigate the dangers and drawbacks inherent in cloud computing…making in-the-cloud storage a more viable option for mission-critical data than it currently is.