Security, privacy key inhibitors to cloud growth: Study

Cloud computing is enabling unprecedented innovations in technology, like bring your own device (BOYD), but security and privacy issues are key inhibitors to cloud growth, a study by technology giants Cisco and Intel revealed.

New Delhi: Cloud computing is enabling unprecedented innovations in technology, like bring your own device (BOYD), but security and privacy issues are key inhibitors to cloud growth, a study by technology giants Cisco and Intel revealed.

According to study on impact of Cloud on IT consumption models, commissioned by Cisco and Intel, the explosive growth of Internet has led to about 10 billion devices connected to the Net, which will rise to around 50 billion by 2020.

"No matter which industry or global region was surveyed, security and privacy issues are top of mind and seen as a clear inhibitor to cloud growth. Robust security and data protection capabilities are also seen as the most critical factors for cloud service providers," the study said.

As for key cloud inhibitors, security concerns loom large as the biggest impediment to adoption, it added.

Global Market Insite, which conducted the study, surveyed 4,226 IT leaders across 18 industries in nine countries, including India, between March and April this year.

With so many business processes migrating to external clouds, beyond the organisation`s firewall, this is perhaps no surprise. And this inhibitor transcends geographical and industry divides, the study said.

But an interesting duality in perception of cloud security is developing. Since cloud is also an enabler of security innovation, as automated policy enforcement and other next-generation capabilities take root, there is a concurrent belief that cloud can create better security, it added.

"So, security may be the number-one cloud inhibitor, but it is also the number-three driver for cloud adoption, in both emerging and developed markets. Managing third-party cloud services and vendors will create new challenges for IT," it said.

The study further said: "Cloud, as a democratising force for IT-led value, will be one of its principal enablers" of technology.

Cisco estimates that there were only about 200 million things connected to the Internet in the year 2000.

"In the wake of unprecedented innovation on a host of fronts, including video, mobility, social media, and cloud, this number has risen to approximately 10 billion today and a significant upsurge to 50 billion connected devices is expected by 2020," it added.

By connecting the unconnected, IoE (Internet of Everything) will give rise to new sources of value for organisations in the coming years, the study said.

PTI

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