Industry bodies shed light on end user cloud fears

Government regulations, exit strategies and international data privacy are IT professionals' top cloud computing concerns, according to a study by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and ISACA.

The Cloud Market Maturity study investigated the cloud attitudes of 252 service providers, integrators and technology consultants. While respondents were generally optimistic about the future of the cloud in the enterprise, the survey results also suggested the technology has some hurdles to overcome.

Significantly, the area respondents said they had least confidence was the ability of government regulation to keep pace with market changes. This concern was raised again recently in connection with the new EU cloud computing strategy document.

Respondents also felt that, while cloud is helping enterprises become more distributed, they are concerned viewing cloud purely as a technology - rather than as a business issue - is preventing the market from reaching maturity.

They also reported that board and executive management do not have a realistic understanding of cloud’s benefits or risks.

JR Santos, global research director at CSA, said: “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. 

"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," added Santos.