Tech

For cloud adoption to grow, so must trust — report

Organizations, businesses and governments are more trusting of the cloud than ever before, but they still have a small margin of doubt in providers' ability to secure sensitive information in the public cloud, according to a new Intel Security report.

By Billy Mitchell

April 13, 2016

Businesses, governments and other organizations are more trusting of cloud computing than ever before, but still have doubts about providers’ ability to secure sensitive information in the public cloud, according to a new report Thursday.

A 77-percent majority of respondents told Intel Security they trust cloud computing more than they did a year ago. That said, only 13 percent of the participating 1,200 cloud security “decision makers” from around the world said they “completely trust public cloud providers to secure sensitive data,” according to the new report, “Blue Skies Ahead? The State of Cloud Adoption,” released at Intel Security’s Security through Innovation Summit, produced by FedScoop.

Improving trust in the cloud, primarily through education, is imperative to driving its adoption, Intel Security argues in the report, especially because during the next 16 months, 80 percent of IT budgets are expected to go to cloud computing.

“This is a new era for cloud providers,” said Raj Samani, Intel Security’s chief technology officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“We are at the tipping point of investment and adoption, expanding rapidly as trust in cloud computing and cloud providers grows. As we enter a phase of wide-scale adoption of cloud computing to support critical applications and services, the question of trust within the cloud becomes imperative. This will become integral into realizing the benefits that cloud computing can truly offer.”

There’s also an opportunity to better inform the C-suite about the security risks present in the cloud, as just 34 percent of respondents felt senior management completely understands existing threats.

Another example of the lack of understanding about cloud security: 72 percent of survey respondents listed compliance as their primary concern in cloud deployments, but just 13 percent knew whether or nor their organizations stored sensitive information in the cloud.

“The cloud is the future for businesses, governments and consumers,” said Jim Reavis, CEO of the Cloud Security Alliance. “Security vendors and cloud providers must arm customers with education and tools, and cultivate strong relationships built on trust, in order to continue the adoption of cloud computing platforms. Only then can we completely benefit from the advantages of the cloud.”