Companies getting comfortable with cloud, relaxed about security

Firms that have been dipping their toes into cloud say they are set to move even more of their apps off-prem in the coming years

Results from Equinix’s survey of more than 1,200 senior IT professionals from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa show that 71 percent of organisations will move more of their business functions cloudwards in the coming years.

In addition, 60 percent of EMEA IT leaders cite proximity to cloud service providers (CSPs) as an integral factor when choosing a data centre in their local market.

Security, muh?

Interestingly this enthusiasm is matched by overwhelming fear around cloud cybersecurity risks. 70 percent of the same respondents still perceive there to be cybersecurity risks with cloud. Thanks to high profile data breaches in 2017, almost half (47 percent) say improving cybersecurity is their firm’s top priority.

Just last week, a server security lapse exposed a huge database of customer information belonging to Rubrik, an IT security and cloud data management giant.

Multiclaims

The study also found that only 17 percent of EMEA firms are embracing multicloud, compared to 56 percent deploying hybrid and 42 percent deploying public.

This contrasts with a survey conducted by Kentik earlier this year that claimed 58 percent of businesses are deploying multicloud.

“One of the ways businesses can use the cloud more securely is through direct, dedicated interconnections between network and cloud service providers and users and data, bypassing the hacking and performance risks of the public Internet,” said Jeroen Schlosser, Managing Director at Equinix MENA.

“At Equinix, we see multi-cloud convergence hitting a tipping point and the cloud as a major catalyst for changing how enterprises will do business in the emerging global digital economy.”

The independent survey of 1,206 senior IT decision-makers across EMEA was commissioned by Equinix and conducted online between August 20 and September 13 2018.