Majority of utilities concerned over cloud data storage, says report

A global survey conducted by BT has shown that 82 per cent of utility companies are concerned about the security of cloud data storage, but fewer are willing to pay for a more secure application.

According to the survey fifty-four per cent of those who have adopted cloud-based services for data storage opted for the less secure but cheaper mass market ‘consumer’ service over the more secure ‘enterprise’ cloud applications.

Fifty five per cent of respondents said they thought the more secure systems were too expensive.

Mark Hughes, president of BT Security, said: “The adoption of cloud services has increased rapidly across the globe. Organisations are looking to reap the numerous benefits – such as scalability, fast deployment and ubitquitous network access – these services can offer. It is an interesting paradox that the survey has exposed – on the one hand decision makers are concerned about the security implications of using public cloud services but on the other, their buying decisions seem to be driven by short term cost perceptions. We invite these decision makers to also weigh up the reputational cost and impact on their brand of a cloud security breach.”

He added, “I would suggest organisations undertake a thorough risk analysis before opting for mass market cloud services. Every organisation has a different appetite for risk and these need to be factored into the buying decision equation.”

The study was carried out among IT decision makers from enterprise organisations in 11 countries and regions around the world and sampled organisations across retail, utilities, public sector and financial services.