A new survey has shown that opinions on cloud computing could be changing, with more IT professionals than ever before suggesting that by switching to cloud-based solutions, businesses could actually be improving the security of their data and systems.
There is ongoing debate as to whether shifting data storage and other IT workloads over to third party cloud vendors is a positive move, with many having previously expressed concern as to the security of cloud computing in comparison with traditional in-house alternatives.
In a report authored as part of the 360°IT Event, more than 50 per cent of respondents said that improvements to their overall security levels could be achieved if they chose a cloud computing platform.
Nearly 300 professionals took part in the survey, with 20 per cent suggesting that switching to the cloud would neither improve nor weaken their data security. A further 25 per cent believed that a negative impact on security would be observed if cloud technology were to be employed.
Cloud computing expert Richard Hall said that the perception of cloud computing as intrinsically less secure than internal systems was gradually being addressed. Mr Hall believes that the security industry and businesses are actually using the move to cloud computing as an opportunity to improve security across the board, creating better systems for protecting personal information and sensitive data, whether stored internally or with a third party cloud vendor.
Mr Hall wrote on a personal blog that data loss and security breaches have typically been caused by the inadequacies of in-house management tools and processes. As a result, he sees the automation of basic security measures such as encryption – which is offered by cloud providers – as being key to the argument that cloud platforms can be far more secure than was previously believed.
By removing the requirement for human intervention in essential security systems, cloud vendors can create a secure, automated environment on which data can be stored and retrieved with total security guaranteed at every point in its journey, according to Mr Hall.
