A joint survey carried out by Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and ISACA reveals that government regulations, exit strategies and international data privacy dominate the Top 10 areas where confidence in the cloud is lowest. The project was aimed to provide business and IT leaders with insight into the maturity of cloud computing and help identify any changes in the market.
The study reveals that cloud users in 50 countries were least confident about the following issues (ranked from least confident to most confident):
- Government regulations keeping pace with the market (1.80)
- Exit strategies (1.88)
- International data privacy (1.90)
- Legal issues (2.15)
- Contract lock in (2.18)
- Data ownership and custodian responsibilities (2.18)
- Longevity of suppliers (2.20)
- Integration of cloud with internal systems (2.23)
- Credibility of suppliers (2.30)
- Testing and assurance (2.30)
While there are many positive indicators that support the planned adoption and perceived use and value of cloud services in the years ahead, there remains much progress to be made to engage and gain the buy-in among business leaders. “As a first step, we as an industry must still work to provide a clearer definition of what cloud is and how the many innovative and secure services can help positively impact today’s businesses,” said J.R. Santos, global research director at CSA. “But, we need to start at the top and engage senior management. Cloud needs can no longer be thought of as a technical issue to address, but rather a business asset to embrace.”
The survey includes responses from more than 250 participants from nearly 50 countries, representing a global group of cloud users, providers, consultants and integrators from 15 industry segments. “One of the most interesting findings is that governance issues recur repeatedly on the list of the top 10 concerns. Cloud users recognize the value of this model, but are wrestling with such questions as data ownership, legal issues, contract lock-in, international data privacy and government regulations,” said Greg Grocholski, CISA, international president of ISACA. “As cloud services continue to evolve, it is critical that we work together as an industry to provide insights and recommendations on these issues so that service and solution providers can look to innovate and deliver what the cloud services market needs to advance and what enterprises need to succeed.”
