Security concerns still delay cloud adoption

According to a new survey by Interxion, that 45% of European IT decision makers view a lack of security and service level agreements (SLAs) as top concerns for moving to the cloud.

Anxiety regarding vendor lock-in was also evident among respondents as 40% indicated fears over being locked into a specific infrastructure vendor.

In the area of security concerns, preventing data loss was stated as the main fear overall, with 71% of respondents identifying it as one of their top three security concerns. However, preventing outages, rated second at 64%, was cited due to the severe impact outages can have on business processes and bottom line performance.

Despite the concerns of deploying to the cloud, the survey found that 69% of European IT decision makers believe the cloud is a current priority. Large companies led the charge with 71% believing it is a priority, with small and medium companies close behind at 68 and 67% respectively. Moreover, 75% of the companies either currently use or plan to use cloud computing within the next two years, showing significant growth potential for the industry.

"Though companies have been transitioning to the cloud for some time now, there are still perceived obstacles that need to be addressed before many companies discover the cloud’s full potential," said Vincent in’t Veld, director cloud segment , Interxion. "Interxion’s goal is to help companies realise the benefits of cloud computing, including its security, flexibility, agility and cost savings potential. The findings show how essential it is for companies like Interxion to mitigate potential fears of organisations that have plans to move to the cloud in the future."

Encouraging results surrounding the future of the cloud come from nearly half of the respondents, who expect that more than 50% of their IT will be delivered from the cloud within the next two years, with 23% citing more than 75% of their IT expected to be hosted in the cloud. An overwhelming 90% of those planning to deploy a private cloud said that they are likely or very likely to choose a hosted solution rather than buying their own hardware.

TechCentral Reporters

Read More: cloud Infrastructure