Intel has found more people trust in the cloud, but few C-level leaders understand the risks
A study by Intel has found a surge in the amount of people who trust cloud computing compared to 12 months ago. But it has also found a considerable number of C-level leaders are aware of the security risks of the cloud.
A new global report by Intel-owned McAfee into the state of cloud adoption among IT professionals in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, the UK and the US noted a 77pc increase in trust in the cloud among participants compared to a year ago.
Compliance was the biggest concern with cloud adoption for 72pc of those surveyed.
But just 34pc of the surveyed IT professionals said they believe that C-level executives and senior management understand the security risks of the cloud.
Tipping point for cloud computing
The survey found that, in the next 16 months, 80pc of IT budgets will be dedicated to cloud computing.
“This is a new era for cloud providers,” said Raj Samani, chief technology officer of Intel Security EMEA.
“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 realising the benefits that cloud computing can truly offer.”
‘The cloud is the future for businesses, governments and consumers’
– JIM REAVIS, CLOUD SECURITY ALLIANCE
Cloud security investment varies in priorities across the different types of cloud deployment, with the top security technologies leveraged by respondents being email protection (43pc); web protection (41pc); anti-malware (38pc); firewall (37pc), encryption and key management (34pc), and data loss prevention (31pc).
“The cloud is the future for businesses, governments and consumers,” said Jim Reavis, chief executive officer 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.”
Climb into the cloud image via Shutterstock
