Security and cost are barriers to adopting cloud tech

Sixty per cent of Irish businesses quote security concerns as the biggest barrier to increased adoption of cloud technology according to a survey commissioned by Equinix, a data centre company.

According to the research, the typical medium to large enterprise will spend roughly €190,000 on cloud technology and services in the next 12 months, while 85 per cent of those surveyed currently use cloud technology.

However, respondents believe that there are a number of barriers to adoption of cloud technology, not solely related to security threats. The survey shows that 50 per cent believed that the loss of control of data was a barrier, while 38 per cent cited the high cost of deployment of cloud technology as an inhibiting factor.

Despite those concerns, Irish business spend on cloud technology appears to be increasing with 24 per cent of respondents saying that more than a quarter of their IT budget now goes on cloud spending. That spend would appear to be spread across a number of cloud providers as, of those using cloud technology, some 58 per cent of them said they were using multiple cloud service providers (CSPs).

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"One of the ways in which we are now seeing enterprises do this is through multi-cloud deployment - in other words, using more than one cloud service provider. There are many benefits to this but one in particular is performance. As data becomes increasingly distributed because of our mobile lives, businesses are now realising that capturing data closer to where it is generated improves the quality of service", said Maurice Mortell, Equinix's managing director for Ireland and emerging markets.

On the importance of cloud technology, Mr Mortell said: “cloud is essential for all businesses today - not just IT companies. In fact, it’s quite hard not to be utilising the cloud in some form or another these days. However, businesses must ensure that they are using the cloud in a secure, efficient and innovative way that enhances their business and helps them compete in the digital era.”

The survey questioned 120 senior IT professionals and decision-makers in Irish based medium to large enterprises and was carrier out before the recent worldwide cyber security attack.