Cloud feeds on Cloud

Demand for cloud services is hotter than a sandstorm in the Sahara. Recent research by Quocirca on behalf of CA Technologies found that 60 per cent of UK senior business and IT professionals of medium to large sized organisations use cloud services whenever they can, or as a supplement to their in-house IT resources. And why not? According to the respondents, the total cost of ownership (TCO) of cloud services is lower, they offer better working practices for employees, improved efficiency and easier external interaction.

However, there still remains a group of organisations that we will refer to as ‘cloud-negatives’: the 40 per cent of UK organisations that either avoid cloud-based services, evaluate them on a case-by-case basis, or block them altogether. The dark cloud hanging over their widespread cloud adoption is data security. More than half (52 per cent) of these organisations are concerned about compliance with data protection laws, 44 per cent worry about the sovereignty of data and 40 per cent have fears about storing personal data in the cloud.

The crucial point is this: almost three quarters (72 per cent) of these ‘cloud-negative’ UK organisations believe they lack the resources and 60 per cent consider they lack the skills to secure these cloud services. All of which means if these organisations were given help to implement cloud services and the necessary security, many may overcome their major stumbling block to the cloud and reap those benefits of low TCO, better working practices, increased efficiency and easier external interaction.

An on demand identity and access management as a service (IAMaaS) solution could be the answer, addressing both the security concerns of UK cloud-negative companies and lowering the cost of security management. This can help organisations secure access to their cloud and on-premise applications by extending security to the cloud. This combination of on-premise and cloud-based security services helps organisations protect their applications today, and migrate to cloud applications at their own pace.

How can we be so certain of this? The Quocirca research finds that 82 per cent of UK ‘cloud-positive’ organisations—those that use cloud services whenever they can or evaluate them as an alternative in most IT procurements—have an IAM system in place. Importantly, 37 per cent of UK cloud-positive organisations use an IAMaaS model, or an on-demand component blended with on-premise IAM (hybrid deployment). This compares with 16 per cent of cloud-negative companies.

The conclusive proof that IAM can help UK organisations fearful of the cloud to overcome their concerns about security and resource allocation and quickly embrace cloud services is this: 68 per cent of cloud-positive UK organisations believe their IAM system is important for provisioning/de-provisioning access to SaaS applications and other on-demand resources, compared to 48 per cent of cloud-negative firms. On demand IAMaaS in particular is a powerful weapon in helping UK organisations realise efficiency gains, increase employee productivity and improve customer satisfaction. Simultaneously, it protects their critical digital resources, regardless of whether those resources are on-premise or in the cloud. This results in a lower security risk, reduced security administrative costs and improved IT agility through flexible deployment options across on-premise and cloud environments.

Service providers should take note: by introducing an on demand IAMaaS solution, they can ensure cloud-negative companies have safe access to their on-premise and cloud applications. In one step, service providers tackle the two major constraints to general cloud services adoption among UK cloud-negative companies: security and the availability of resources. Cloud-negatives also have the flexibility to migrate to cloud applications at their own pace on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis, fostering the adoption of further cloud services.

Cloud remains a disruptive technology that we will see moving from ‘trend’ status to mainstream in the next few years. It’s clear that in recognising the benefits of IAM and other security measures for the cloud, organisations will be better able to reap the full benefits of their cloud-based services and ultimately develop a competitive advantage.