New independent research has revealed that security is still the main reason for the slow adoption of cloud computing. As a result, many IT managers are now looking to SaaS providers to safely support the roll out and management of cloud technologies.
The survey looks at trends around cloud services and the security implications associated with this technology. Key findings include:
- 78% of IT managers feel a lack of trust in security is the biggest barrier to the adoption of cloud technologies
- Over half (59%) of IT managers thought having a fully outsourced managed security service offering was of importance in order to safely support the roll out and management of cloud technologies
- 67% of IT managers thought that a Security as a Service (SaaS) provider should be held responsible for any security breaches, highlighting that SaaS providers have a significant responsibility to provide best of breed security.Security as a Service to lead UK businesses into the cloud
London: Independent IT security service provider SecureData, has announced the findings of new independent research which found that 78% of IT managers felt a lack of trust in security was the biggest barrier to the adoption of cloud technologies. The study highlighted that although cloud offers many benefits to IT departments there are still huge concerns over how to securely migrate to online services. As a result, over half (59%) of IT managers thought having a fully outsourced managed security service offering was of importance in order to safely support the roll out and management of cloud technologies.
Furthermore, 67% of IT managers thought that a Security as a Service (SaaS) provider should be held responsible for any security breaches, highlighting that SaaS providers have a significant responsibility to provide best of breed security.
The research, entitled ‘Are you being served? How can Security as a Service serve you?’ looked at trends around cloud services and the security implications associated with this technology. The research also revealed that nearly half (49%) of UK businesses are currently running IT services in the cloud due to the many advantages it offers, with the biggest advantage being cost reduction according to 71% of IT managers.
Key findings from the research include:
- 78% of IT managers felt a lack of trust in security was the biggest barrier to the adoption of cloud security, which rose to 82% of respondents from large businesses (with more than 3,000 employees)
- Nearly half (49%) of all IT managers were currently running IT services in the cloud
- Over half (59%) of IT managers thought it was important to have a fully outsourced managed security service offering in order to roll out cloud technologies
- Only 5% of IT managers saw no benefit in using a SaaS provider. However, everyone in the financial services sector saw a benefit in using a SaaS provider
- 67% of IT managers thought that a SaaS provider should be held responsible for any security breaches, which rose to nearly three quarters (72%) of people in the financial services sector
- Over half of IT managers used cloud services for web content control (55%) and storing data (53%). This increased further in the retail, distribution and transport sectors to 70% of businesses using the cloud for web content control and 60% using it for storing data.
Roy Illsley, Principal Analyst at Ovum commented “The slow adoption by enterprise customers of cloud computing is essentially down to the perceived threats around the cloud. While multiple surveys report security as the number one reason for a failure to adopt cloud computing from end user organizations, Security as a Service providers prove that the managed services and technology to allay many of these concerns exists. Ovum believes that organizations will adopt cloud computing when they have negotiated the internal issues like funding of IT security, and governance and risk management”.
Etienne Greeff, Managing Director at SecureData, commented: “This study highlights that while UK businesses want to move their services into the cloud, all too often they do not have the skills required to do so. This is largely due to a lack of trust in the security of the cloud. It is no wonder that businesses still remain uncertain regarding cloud security as it has never been more important than when data is saved in a public infrastructure. IT departments that cannot fully support the move into the cloud should look to outsource to a Security as a Service provider”.
“UK businesses will be looking to SaaS providers to take the lead on cloud security and it is vital that they get it right. Businesses are putting their trust in the providers to ensure best of breed security and peace of mind. A SaaS provider can support a business with the move into the cloud, provide on-going management and implementation of security products suited best to the business’ needs whilst also guaranteeing network security through constant monitoring”, Greeff continued.
SecureData commissioned the Vanson Bourne survey of 100 senior IT managers in large UK enterprises (more than 1,000 employees) across the financial services, manufacturing, retail, distribution/transport and other commercial sectors.