Two thirds of UK businesses say cloud is as secure as on-premise IT

Public trust in cloud computing is being driven by positive experiences of cloud services to-date, Claranet’s third annual cloud adoption survey has found. The research has found that over two thirds (69 per cent) of respondents believe that cloud computing is as secure as, or more secure than, on-premises IT. In last year’s survey roughly half (54 per cent) believed this to be the case, demonstrating that confidence and trust in cloud services have increased over the past year.

The survey, which polled 300 IT decision-makers from a range of small and medium-sized businesses, and enterprises, found that 73 per cent of respondents were using some form of cloud service, up from 62 per cent in 2012. This adoption rate tallies with cloud adoption projections made by the Cloud Industry Forum in 2012. While adoption rates have shown healthy increases across all businesses, regardless of size or vertical, the most significant growth was found in the midmarket where 81 per cent of organisations are now using cloud services, up from 65 per cent in 2012.
Presenting the research findings today at IP Expo, Claranet’s UK Managing Director, Michel Robert, said that positive experiences of cloud services, which have met the desired objectives of end-users, continue to drive the adoption rate up and allay security concerns.

“Data security rightly remains a key concern for end users, and there is work yet to be done on this front, but it is not preventing businesses from migrating to cloud services. In fact, the research points to an increase in trust in cloud computing. In late 2012, just under half (46 per cent) of respondents said that cloud computing posed a greater security risk than in-house infrastructure. The latest results have seen this figure decline dramatically to 31 per cent, pointing to a shift in the discussion away from security, and towards a focus on the benefits that cloud is, and has, been affording businesses.

Of those respondents who cited reducing capital expenditure as an objective, 81 per cent achieved it. Meanwhile, 82 per cent of those whose aim it was to improve uptime and reliability have managed to do so with cloud, and three quarters (75 per cent) have successfully reduced pressure on their IT departments.

“Improving levels of trust are in part due to the satisfaction of end-users with the benefits of cloud services already achieved. Second-wave cloud adopters have been emboldened by positive experiences as cloud services continue to improve. The proof, it seems, really is in the tasting,” Robert concluded.