04-24-12 | Blog Post
Over 34 percent of IT budgets are spent on cloud computing solutions, according to a recent article by Forbes.com and the IDG Enterprise Cloud Computing study conducted in January 2012.
More specifically, the majority of the budgets are allocated for private cloud hosting solutions, at 24 percent, as deduced from the survey of 1,682 IT and business executives.
When it came to what type of cloud activity the respondents expected to conduct over the next five years, 27 percent planned to perform the majority of their IT operations in the cloud. Thirty-five percent stated only a few selected IT operations would be performed in the cloud, while 21 percent plan to limit their cloud activity to private clouds. Additionally, 63 percent agree or strongly agree there will be long-term cost savings realized after adopting the cloud, despite higher short-term costs for implementation.
Again, security comes into play when it comes to hurdles to adopting the cloud (70 percent). Access to information is next at 40 percent, while concerns about information governance is third at 37 percent.
What can help ease security concerns for companies looking to outsource their private cloud? Check their audit history for dates and scope of compliance – from a SOC 2 report that measures the security, availability, confidentiality and other attributes of a data center operator/cloud provider to any number of industry-specific compliance audit reports, including PCI compliance and HIPAA compliance to ensure a provider is following national standards for security. Read our white paper; a comprehensive guide to HIPAA compliant data centers for more about how to secure ePHI (electronic protected health information) in the cloud.
As for concerns about information governance, your cloud contract should outline who actually has access, rights, and the right to grant access to your data. Knowing where your data lives is also important – the compliance standards of the audit reports previously discussed do not need to apply if the data is transferred out of the country, meaning security may not be guaranteed if your data is overseas.
Security concerns may be a motivator for the deployment of private clouds, and the expected continuing trend in the next 18 months, at 33 percent.
References:
2012 Cloud Computing Key Trends and Future Effects (PDF)
More Than One-Third of IT Budgets Now Spent on Cloud: Survey
