The Ever-Increasing Importance of Cloud Security
Cloud security is on everyone’s mind.
Most are converted to the convenience, flexibility, business agility and savings offered by the cloud. In fact, recent research by the Cloud Industry Forum revealed that the overall Cloud adoption rate in the UK today stands at 84 percent – that’s more than 4 in 5.
“Cloud computing has come a long way in just a few short years. When we commissioned our first major research project into the UK Cloud market in 2010, just 48 percent of organisations had consciously adopted a Cloud service.”
Alex Hilton, CEO of CIF
Security, though, is perhaps the final stumbling block. High profile hacks, data breaches and cases of personal information theft have brought cloud security firmly into public discussion, and the question on everyone’s lips is, still, ‘Is it safe?’
According to the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) research published in June, a lack of trust is still inhibiting many organisations from making full use of cloud-based services. Trust and data security remain the most important factors in cloud use, and many still doubt it’s safety. At the forefront are concerns that data will be appropriately secured, that it won’t be compromised or inadvertently accessed, and that data can be moved or terminated when it’s no longer needed.
In a poll of 250 senior IT decision-makers in the UK earlier this year, 70% cited data security as the biggest concern during the decision-making process to move to the cloud, an increase of 9% on the year before. As a result, a majority of organisations are sticking with Hybrid, fearful of committing fully to the cloud. They fear losing control of IT systems, lack the budget or doubt privacy and security.
This research demonstrates clearly the ever-growing importance of cloud security, and why it will be the last stand in persuading people over to the cloud.
So what does this mean for the cloud in 2015?
Well, crucially, cloud providers need to find ways to put users’ minds at ease and prove, beyond doubt, that they can keep data secure. Disclosing cloud contracts to the public in a more open way, for example, would go some way to restoring and building on customer trust and confidence.
We are already seeing a rise in SaaS and, according to Information Week, should expect a rise in the cloud-based security services market to $4.2 billion by 2016. Small and medium businesses will look to cloud solutions that increase their security position and protect against risks.
We would hope that we’ll see further collaboration between security experts, making it easier to identify emerging threats in real time, and initiate immediate responses. Equally, more sophisticated analytics will help to identify anomalous network behaviour. There are greater calls for more sophisticated approaches to security, beyond encryption and password protection – like data-centric security, for example.
Cloud security is more important than ever. It appears that it is the only obstacle to universal adoption – so we’d expect to see a concerted effort to sure up any weaknesses in cloud security going forward.
Are you an expert in cloud security? Could you help an organisation on the verge with their security doubts? Get in touch today to find your next opportunity.