As cloud computing becomes more popular, 62 percent of IT managers have concerns about security as an obstacle to cloud adoption, according to research by Kaspersky Lab.
The research found among IT managers and directors surveyed, 41 percent of the businesses are planning to move or have moved their IT operations to the cloud.
In addition to security fears, data protection (60 percent) and a perceived lack of regulation (26 percent) were also an obstacle to cloud adoption.
As a result of those fears, 18 percent of IT managers said their businesses had considered but rejected the idea of moving any aspect of their IT to the cloud, and 24 percent had not even considered the cloud as an option.
With 79 percent of respondents representing firms with 1,000 or more employees, this means companies could miss out on the significant cost and efficiency benefits of cloud computing.
“Cloud technology has huge potential for streamlining IT operations, particularly in larger organizations with more sophisticated IT requirements,” said Andrew Lintell, corporate sales director for UK and Ireland, Kaspersky Lab. “Cloud-based solutions can make IT systems leaner as well as more agile and cost effective – freeing up valuable IT expertise and resources.
“Our research has found that there is still considerable confusion about the cloud,” Lintell said. “Companies may be concerned about where data is stored and how they can keep it secure, but they should also view the positive gains.”
From Wikipedia a good description of the concept “cloud computing.”
Cloud computing refers to the provision of computational resources on demand via a computer network, such as applications, databases, file services, email, etc. In the traditional model of computing, both data and software are fully contained on the user’s computer; in cloud computing, the user’s computer may contain almost no software or data (perhaps a minimal operating system and web browser only), serving as little more than a display terminal for processes occurring on a network of computers far away. A common shorthand for a provided cloud computing service (or even an aggregation of all existing cloud services) is “The Cloud”.
The most common analogy to explain cloud computing is that of public utilities such as electricity, gas, and water. Just as centralized and standardized utilities free individuals from the difficulties of generating electricity or pumping water, cloud computing frees users from certain hardware and software installation and maintenance tasks through the use of simpler hardware that accesses a vast network of computing resources (processors, hard drives, etc.). The sharing of resources reduces the cost to individuals.