Almost one in four UK IT directors admit that they have no plans to adopt IT systems to the cloud. This is mainly due to concerns regarding security.
These are the latest findings of a survey carried out by Robert Half Technology of 100 companies across the UK.
The survey found that small companies were least likely to migrate to the cloud; 38% said they do not plan to use cloud technology in the future. 8% of medium-sized businesses also said they do not plan to use the technology, as well as 12% of large companies. 46% of organisations said the main reason that they would not adopt cloud technology was security.
Many companies indicated reasons for this, stating that they would need to employ specialist staff to deal with cloud-based security threats. Training existing employees in order to help securely manage cloud environments was also considered to be a problem.
The second biggest concern was apprehension regarding continuity of service; 36% said it deterred them. Data integrity and speed of service were also mentioned as barriers.
So what do these findings indicate?
According to Neil Hedges, senior manager at Robert Half Technology, IT directors should be educating their board colleagues on the benefits of cloud implementation. This should include information concerning cost savings and flexibility of service.
Confusingly, Hedges comments, “the benefits of cloud computing are now well-understood, with the majority of businesses currently…achieving cost and efficiency benefits.” He continues, however, adding: “a smaller proportion of companies are missing out on these benefits because of their concerns about security and continuity of service.”
He expressed his surprise that so many IT directors do not seem to realize the value that cloud can bring to their businesses. According to him, this “may be partly due to a lack of understanding of the benefits and how it can be applied to their organisation.”
Given the potential benefits of cloud computing, it is evident that more needs to be done to make businesses aware of the advantages of cloud implementation. Cloud computing is a safe and reliable method of expanding the infrastructure of an organization on demand.
