Data protection in the age of the cloud

15 May 2012

Company bosses are right to be concerned about data protection and cloud security – but can many really claim their workforce devotes as much time, money and skills to data protection as the large cloud providers do?

The cloud security debate rumbles on. On one side, there are company bosses who claim that, for them, security concerns remain the biggest barrier to cloud adoption. Why should they trust a third party to protect their company’s valuable data? On the other, there are cloud providers who claim that the money, skills and time that they devote to security means they can offer levels of security that the in-house efforts of potential customers could never match.

These providers may have a point – particularly when it comes to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) who simply don’t have much time, money and in-house skills to devote to IT security. Perhaps it’s time for a rethink about data protection in the age of the cloud – and there’s a wealth of content to fuel the debate on IP EXPO Online, as other stories in this bulletin indicate.

Now, a new study from Microsoft is claiming that cloud computing could be the best thing that’s ever happened to the data protection strategies of this kind of company. Rather than letting security worries hold them back from cloud adoption, it says, many companies of this size are actually becoming more secure and more prepared in disaster-recovery terms as a direct result of using cloud computing.

The survey, conducted for Microsoft by Comscore, found that 35 percent of respondents from SMBs worldwide said they have experienced noticeably higher levels of security since moving to the cloud. Thirty-two percent, meanwhile, said they spend less time worrying about security and the same proportion said they spend less time trying to manage it. They are also five times more likely to have reduced what they spend on managing security as a percentage of overall IT budget.

“There’s a perception that security is a barrier to cloud adoption,” said Adrienne Hall, general manager, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing. “Yet when companies embrace and invest in cloud services, they find the benefits far outweigh previous concerns. Time and money spend managing sercurity prior to using cloud services is being reinvested by SMBs to grow their businesses and be more competitive.

When it comes to vendor-sponsored surveys, there’s always an element of ‘Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they?” But the question remains, nevertheless: Could it actually be the case that, for many companies, cloud computing represents not a risk to data protection, but instead an opportunity for substantial improvement?

View the related whitepapers below:

Security-as-a-Service: Threat mitigation from the cloud

Why Content Filters Can’t Eradicate spam

SIP Federation Model: Turning Technology into Business Value

Essential email security …business requirements and competitive landscape

The Business Risks of Email - The Impact of Employment Law

U.K. Cost of a Data Breach

Data Protection: Evaluating Business Requirements & Classifying Your Data